Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Níl an Taoiseach macánta liom. Táim sásta go ndúirt sé go raibh sé ag smaoineamh faoin cheist a chuir mé air, ach ní chreidim an méid a dúirt sé liom. In Irish or English, the mark of this Government is one of breathtaking arrogance. It is clear from the Taoiseach's reply that he is indifferent. It is not that he does not know what is happening. He is indifferent to what is happening. It is not a matter of giving us pat answers in this forum. He is guided by a very narrow economic and ideological view that is to the right of the Tea Party in the United States. What he is doing is disgraceful and shameful. The axing of the telephone allowance to senior citizens is not even in the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013. The Government will not even give Members of this House, who have been elected and have a mandate, the right to vote on this issue.

The Taoiseach ignored my question about time allocated for the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013. He lambasted Fianna Fáil because it gave two days to the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill in 2009 and accused it of bulldozing the Bill through the Dáil in two days. He is going to do it in nine hours - a pathetic nine hours to deal with measures that will cut deeply into the very fibre of society. Whatever the Taoiseach thinks about the Labour Party, and it is obvious he treats it with indifference, does he not believe that citizens have the right at least to have these issues properly debated in this Chamber?

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