Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim comhghairdeas leis na Teachtaí a bhfuair postanna nua agus a dteaghlaigh. Mo chomhbhrón leis na Teachtaí a chaill anseo.

This morning I returned to the speech the Taoiseach made on 9 March 2011 on the nomination of his Government. Three years is a long time in politics. In that time all his fine words have faded. Mar a deireann an seanfhocal, "Is maith an scéalaí an aimsir." He may remember that he then told us that “We are on the threshold of a new era of achievement, prosperity and potential.” He talked about how the Republic had been betrayed and how people were frightened about losing their homes. He stated: "Parents are rendered speechless at the sight of their children boarding planes to countries [here he waxed lyrically] where spring is autumn and our today is their tomorrow." He went on about workers praying for invisibility as they queued for the dole and the worry that neighbours might see the representative of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul calling at the door. He promised that what had been done would "most certainly not be done again." He committed to “create a new Ireland that works and is fair and honest.” He spoke about a covenant with the people. He promised “to close the gap between politics and the people, between Government and the governed." He has done none of these things. In truth, he has done the opposite. The people are not stupid. That is why the Government parties did so badly in the recent elections. Citizens kept a report card on the Government and marked it clearly; they marked it with the word "Failure".

In his speech in March 2011 the Taoiseach did not mention the North. Under his watch, the peace process is facing fresh challenges. The anti-Agreement elements are renewing efforts to undermine and destroy the power-sharing and all-Ireland political institutions. While I welcome the comments of the Tánaiste on the peace process, in his speech today, as in 2011, the Taoiseach did not mention the North. The Government needs to be seized by the urgency of the current situation. There is an onus on it to take a lead in defending the peace process and ensuring the necessary momentum for change is reinvigorated. In its term the North has generally been mentioned by Fine Gael, the Labour Party and Fianna Fáil in a futile attempt to attack Sinn Féin. That is no way to deal with the partition of the island and its consequences and the necessary job of building good relations with our Unionist neighbours, nor is it the way to get the British Government to adhere to its obligations under the Good Friday Agreement. This forms no part of the priorities set out today, which is not good enough. The Taoiseach is a co-equal guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement and it is time the Government lived up to that responsibility. It should do so not only on the day before 12 July but every day.

The Taoiseach had the opportunity to change political direction in his announcements so as to be socially conscious and fair and make the rhetoric of his speech in March 2011 a reality, even belatedly. Theip air é seo a dhéanamh. Tá daoine fós ag fulaingt. For struggling families, a Cabinet reshuffle is of no consequence whatsoever unless it can bring positive change in their daily lives. The new Cabinet the Taoiseach has announced is no different in political outlook or approach from the outgoing Cabinet. It is, in turn, no different from that of his Fianna Fáil predecessors.

That has been the tragic record of politics for decades in this State. Three years ago, the Taoiseach's rhetoric was all about a democratic revolution, but that is not what happened. The Government has broken one election promise after another.

When the troika was here the Taoiseach dishonestly blamed it for his decisions, even though he embraced and continues to embrace austerity with a passion. His Government has been the EU's good little boys and girls, doing it Frankfurt's way by giving the people's money to the banks and heaping private banking debt on long-suffering families. However, since the troika left, even though its mentality is alive and well in the Cabinet room, he has steadily lost control of political events, as his Government stumbles from one embarrassing debacle to another. The time of the stumble was when the big boys left.

This is probably best represented by his handling of the crisis in the justice system and in the Garda. The Taoiseach spent months defending a dysfunctional system and attacked the Opposition for asking entirely legitimate questions. He strongly rejected suggestions that the Minister for Justice and Equality should resign in the face of mounting scandals. He adopted the same attitude in respect of the Garda Commissioner before he had to go. The Taoiseach ignored, dismissed and ridiculed warnings from Sinn Féin and others about the way his Government was reacting to these serious issues.

Arrogance has crept into the way this Government does its business. That arrogance is evident in the appointment of political cronies to State boards in the run up to today's Cabinet reshuffle. In the dying days of the last Government, Fianna Fáil packed State boards with its cronies, and it was loudly and rightly criticised at the time by the Taoiseach. Now, however, the Taoiseach is doing the same thing. He also sought to retain control over the banking inquiry by stacking it with Government Deputies and Senators. His Ministers have favoured their own constituencies for funding. The Taoiseach also said he would not cut child benefit or supports for citizens with disabilities, but he has done both. He said he would get a deal on the banking debt, but he failed to get such a deal. What the Taoiseach has delivered is cuts to living standards and vital public services, an unsustainable banking debt for decades to come, ten people - mainly young people - emigrating every hour, hundreds of thousands of families in mortgage distress, a homelessness crisis, a crumbling health service, a family home tax and water charges - buille ina dhiadh buille tubaisteach eile dírithe ar ghnáth daoine an Stáit seo.

Sin an fadhb mór leis an Rialtais seo - thug sé cosaint don ciorcal órga. There is plenty of money for consultants, investors, bankers and politicians, but little for children with disabilities. The number of special needs assistants has been cut back and senior citizens have been hit by the Government again and again.

Most citizens understand that people must shoulder their share of the burden of recovery, given the way Fianna Fail left the country. People know that, but they resent the unfair way this is being done by a Government which is clearly ruling in the interests of the elites. I have met parents, and I am sure the Taoiseach has too, whose children have all emigrated. They are the Skype generation, the scattering. These people and their families know exactly who is responsible for their forced emigration.

Today's Cabinet reshuffle changes none of this. Being in government is about making choices. This Government could have made different choices. Tá bealach níos fearr ann. Last October, Sinn Féin put forward budgetary proposals based on fairness. These would have reduced the deficit, reduced tax on families, protected public services and invested in jobs. The Government chose a different route which has led to hardship for ordinary citizens. It is time that this Government gave ordinary families a break, rather than rhetoric. October's budget must give something back. It must ease the tax burden on working people and distribute the burden of recovery more fairly. However, people have lost any hope that the Government will do this.

Since the last elections, Fine Gael and the Labour Party have said they will subject Sinn Féin's economic policies to greater scrutiny. I welcome that. There is a need for an honest, forthright and genuine discussion about a different economic approach. However, the Government's view of the economy is based on its core political values. If one supports privatisation and does not believe in the right to public services, one will have a particular view. That view is best represented by this Government's austerity policies. However, if one believes in a real republic, a citizen-centred, rights-based society, the right to a home, the right to universal health services and access to education, the right to freedom and equality and if one believes, most important, in solidarity, that will shape one's economic policy. That is the ground on which Sinn Féin stands.

During the period of the Celtic tiger economy, Sinn Féin pointed out the dangers of the developing property bubble and the potential for an economic crash. We warned about the over-reliance on taxes from the property sector, the over-dependency on construction and the danger of auction politics. We argued for the wealth of that economy to be invested in real, sustainable jobs, public services and infrastructure. We were ridiculed by the same people whose flawed, greedy, self-serving policies collapsed the economy, forcing hundreds of thousands out of work and almost half a million of our young people overseas. Sinn Féin was right then and Sinn Féin is right now.

We believe that it is possible to make the necessary deficit adjustments without harming families or front-line services. The Cabinet made the decisions, not individual Ministers. Time and again, we have been told that each decision was a Cabinet decision. It is possible to create real jobs. It is possible, although the Government might consider this a strange thing to hear, to ask the wealthiest to pay more. What is wrong with that?

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