Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday, the Taoiseach told us, when Deputy Halligan correctly registered the importance of marking May Day, that we have moved on since the days of "Big Jim". The Taoiseach was obviously not aware of the massive unemployment, the forced emigration, the return of soup kitchens and evictions and children going to school hungry. It demonstrates how out of touch the Government is with the majority of citizens in this State. This was displayed graphically by the Government's handling of the long overdue X case legislation, which was necessary because of the 1983 referendum which fudged the issue and equated the right to life of the unborn with that of the woman. Rather than addressing that fudge, the Government has chosen to reinforce it by even changing the title of the Bill to one of protecting life during pregnancy when we all know the legislation is necessary to protect women's lives.

For the past two weeks, we have been introduced to a new specimen, the Fine Gael backbencher, an entity that nobody knew existed. Suddenly, it has found a voice and a conscience.

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