Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Government is not just out of touch; it is arrogantly ignoring the appeal of the vast majority of people for an ending of the burden of austerity on their families and their communities. It may seem strange to Government Deputies that this anger has spilled onto the streets and into the ballot boxes. Puzzled backbenchers are asking how this can be. The troika is gone, the economy is growing, people are back to work, the deficit is under control and the recovery has finally arrived. "Are people really that ungrateful?" and "Can they not see that things are getting better?" are the two questions Government backbenchers are asking. What they do not understand is that, unfortunately, for the vast majority of people, there has simply been no recovery.

Ó thosaigh an ghéarchéim seo, agus le trí cinn de na buiséid is míchothroime, cuireadh go leor teaghlach agus níos mó eile chun bochtanais. Agus Fine Gael agus Páirtí an Lucht Oibre i gcumhacht anois, ní hionann post a bheith ag duine agus greim a choinneáil faoin bhfiacail. One in seven working people are living at risk of poverty. One in four live in jobless households. These are the same families that the Taoiseach expects to pay water charges. Where is the recovery for the family with only €8.75 left at the end of each week when the essential bills have been paid? The plight of such families was highlighted in a recent survey by MABS. Where is the recovery for the family sleeping in a hotel room or on their parents' couch because the rent supplement trap drove them out of their home?

See this speech in context