Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

That is hypocrisy and deception of the most shameful kind, particularly viewed in the context of this motion. Is the party tabling the motion tonight the same party that is closing 70 schools in Northern Ireland, only a matter of miles from my constituency where we are building a considerable number of schools and extending even more? By slashing spending in the North to the tune of €5 billion, as it is preparing to do on the one hand, while keeping a straight face when opposing any adjustments at all in the South, Sinn Féin is taking the Irish people, North and South, for something of a ride. There is a credibility problem Sinn Féin must address, but it will not because it cannot.

The motion states the party wants to reduce pressure on acute hospital services when members of Deputy Adams's organisation in my constituency have apparently spent thousands of euros in recent weeks publicly thanking me for doing just that by securing a 30 bed step-down unit in the cottage hospital in Drogheda to take pressure from a hospital Deputy Adams could not identify on a map less than a year ago.

Where issues arise around the prioritisation of funding for home care support, I can say with confidence that we can and will address them. Unfortunately the Members opposite who tabled the motion will continue to find it impossible in the next few years to reconcile their words in the Chamber with their actions in the North.

See this speech in context