Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)

The Taoiseach sat on the Opposition benches for a long time, during which he asked questions and was not given answers. I would like to think that in his heart of hearts he appreciates that he sometimes waffles, avoids the questions he is asked and offends and insults Deputies who have a mandate and are trying to be constructive. If he does not like the proposition Sinn Féin has put forward, he should tell us the reason. My party argues for Government-led investment and contrary to what the Taoiseach charges every so often, we welcome job creation, as the record of the House will show. I know he is aware of this and that he is, therefore, spoofing. Incidentally, these jobs are being created in the middle of this period of instability. Why can the €7 billion jobs fund promised by the Government not be introduced? I ask the Taoiseach to explain the reason, given that he was elected with a mandate to introduce it. Why has the Labour Party not brought forward the strategic investment bank, one of the commitments on which it was elected?

The Taoiseach went through a list of measures about which I did not ask him. For the record, the Government is also introducing water charges and will use the National Pensions Reserve Fund to cover the cost of installing the meters required to charge people for water. It has also introduced septic tank and household charges, increased VAT and implemented cuts across a range of necessary social protections.

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