Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ní raibh rud ar bith nua i ráiteas an earraigh ar an gheilleagar inné do shaoránaigh nó do theaghlaigh atá ag obair go dian agus atá thíos leis le blianta anuas mar gheall ar an déine ón Rialtas seo.

Yesterday's spring statement marked a depressing, boring and tedious continuation of the conservative and deeply destructive political agenda of Fine Gael and Labour which has so badly served our people over the past four years. It is clear from the outline provided by the Government that it intends that the next general election campaign will be reduced to auction politics with the Government parties seeking to outbid each other in terms of tax cuts, but this will do nothing to address the serious needs of our society. It will do nothing to rebuild our battered public services, to tackle the scandal of hospital overcrowding or poverty, to build affordable childcare provision, or to tackle homelessness or the housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government stumbles from one political crisis to another caused by increasing revelations of Fianna Fáil-type cronyism in government despite all the Taoiseach’s promises of a new era of openness, transparency and a democratic revolution. The Taoiseach is clearly a very skilled politician and I often wonder how he and his colleagues get themselves into these binds and how, when an issue presents itself, they do not deal with it in an appropriate way in keeping with the mandate they sought.

We have seen the continued breaching of pay caps for ministerial advisers, the scandalous waste of €85 million of taxpayers' money on consultants at Irish Water, the cruel way the Government took away medical cards from children and others with profound disabilities, and the abuse of the Oireachtas with strokes such as the McNulty affair. Now we have the IBRC scandal and the Government will not face up to the need for a fully independent commission of investigation. Its refusal to have the very serious issue surrounding Siteserv and the IBRC transactions independently investigated shows it is not in the slightest bit serious about genuine political reform. One of the issues with Siteserv and the IBRC scandal that outrages ordinary citizens is the presence of the same group of solicitors, brokers and accountants on the various sites of the deal.

There also was, as we famously know, another small group of insiders in place when this State was brought into the very serious financial collapse that all of us experienced. Fianna Fáil and then Labour and Fine Gael took this so-called banking debt, which was created by these elites, and turned it into the people's debt and saddled citizens with €64 billion of a bill, which our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren will have to pay. The other aspect that really annoys people and which is causing deep anger, because of the degree of radicalisation, education and politicisation that has taken place, is that there are insiders still making huge sums of money out of the recession, and that is the truth of it. The overriding theme of the Fine Gael-Labour coalition has been a deeply unfair economic policy. It has imposed destructive austerity measures on struggling families and vulnerable citizens. Thousands have been forced out of work or into low-paid jobs. Hundreds of thousands have been forced to emigrate. This Government's budgets have been the most regressive in this State's history. It has heaped onto citizens one stealth tax after another. The imposition of domestic water charges, in the face of huge public opposition, has proved to be the final straw for many families. This Fine Gael-Labour Government is all about protecting the wealthy, the privileged and the insiders. It offers nothing but hardship for the majority of families, workers and vulnerable citizens.

The Government has also seriously undermined public services. Children, older citizens and citizens with disabilities who are reliant on these services are the victims. The Government ignores poverty, including child poverty. Mar shampla tá na rudaí uafásacha seo déanta ag an Rialtas. It cut jobseeker's allowance and respite care. It abolished the cost of education allowance and undermined the school completion programme. It taxed maternity benefit and cut the invalidity pension and rent supplement.

The spring statement has done nothing in terms of dealing with the crisis in our hospitals. There are 450,000 people on waiting lists as a result of the accident and emergency crisis. The Government has failed to make any inroads into reducing waiting lists and waiting times. January of this year saw record numbers of citizens on trolleys, more than 600 for the first time on the Taoiseach's watch. Despite promises to end the scandal of patients on trolleys, there is no sign of this problem being resolved. On the Taoiseach's watch, the health workers available to tackle this crisis have been reduced by 11,000 full-time equivalent staff. Yesterday's announcement saw no change in direction, no new course being charted, no relief to low and middle income earners or vulnerable citizens.

The Government talks about a recovery but it is an unfair, two-tier recovery. Most people, and the Taoiseach has acknowledged this, are not experiencing any improvement in their daily lives. The Taoiseach accepts that they are not feeling the benefits of his talk of a recovery and that is because there is no recovery for those people who he has impoverished. If they cannot feel it, it is not happening. The reason they cannot feel it is that it is not happening. Vast swathes of rural Ireland have seen no recovery whatsoever. Rural schools, Garda stations, post offices have been closed at an alarming rate. The genuine bottom-up approach that was so central to the Leader programmes has been removed. Small and medium businesses have been starved of credit and neglected by the Government so that many of our rural towns are dying on their feet. If the Taoiseach were to go up the main street of any small village or town, he would see the number of closed shops. The Government has consistently made living in rural Ireland more difficult with cuts to rural transport programmes, higher costs for private car users and cuts to Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann.

The Government has also presided over unprecedented levels of emigration in modern times. The Taoiseach described this as a lifestyle choice. We were told yesterday that a reduction in the marginal tax rate is about bringing home emigrants. Does the Government seriously believe our emigrants left because of the marginal tax rate, that there are people in Boston, Baltimore and Brisbane waiting for this news, that they got the news yesterday that the Government is brining in a marginal tax rate and said "let's go home" and that they are now packing their bags?

Yesterday’s economic statement had nothing to say about this major housing crisis. Thousands of tenants face an uncertain future as rents continue to rise and those in mortgage difficulties continue to be pursued by the banks. What has the Government done? It has given the banks the veto and then the Taoiseach stands up here and says he is unhappy at the behaviour of the banks. The Government voted down a Sinn Féin Bill to protect the family home that could have prevented the repossessions that are now occurring. The Government claims it will take action on the issue of mortgage arrears and interest rates but its response to the housing problem has been to impose a tax on the family home.

On the jobs front, every job is to be welcomed, but this State has the second highest percentage of low-paid jobs in the developed world - sin í an fhírinne. More than 20% of jobs are now low paid. Many workers are poorer now than at the time this Government took office. The Low Pay Commission will not deal adequately with this issue. It does not need the Low Pay Commission, rather it should be moving in a structured way to having a living wage for all workers in this State.

After four years of the Labour Party in government, workers still have no right to collective bargaining. What is the Labour Party in government for? The failure of the Labour Party has been stark. We know that Fine Gael governs primarily in the interests of the privileged and the elites but the Labour Party continuously tells us that it is there to put the brakes on Fine Gael and that things would be worse without it. The evidence, however, tells us the opposite. The Tánaiste lauded and commended herself today but let us not forget that the Labour Party leader, Deputy Joan Burton, helped to negotiate the programme for Government. She is one of the architects of the austerity policies of this Government. That programme saw the Labour Party buy into the austerity policies of Fine Gael and deliberately break its election promises. Did no-one stop to think, "We said this during the election; we cannot do that. We made a promise, a commitment, a contract and sought a mandate"?

Politics is about choices. The choice this Government faced was whether to invest in public services so that all our citizens have the same rights or to return to pre-election promises about tax cuts. The Government has chosen to pursue policies which have increasingly polarised our society. The richest 250 people in Ireland are worth a combined €75.03 billion and have seen their wealth increase by 15.9% in the last year. The Sunday Timesrich list claims that Ireland is home to 13 billionaires who have a combined fortune of €37.89 billion and that the net worth of the country’s wealthy elite is now significantly ahead of that recorded at the end of the so-called Celtic tiger era in 2008. During the recession, these folks have become wealthier than they were during the boom. Under the Taoiseach's Government this is still the best small country in the world for golden circles. Meanwhile, homeless people are dying on our streets, families are being evicted from their homes, children are going to school hungry and workers, including gardaí, are being forced to sleep in their cars.

Sinn Féin would choose a fairer way of doing things. We believe in putting the interests of citizens first, as opposed to those of the rich and powerful. We believe in putting the interests of citizens at the centre of political considerations. Sinn Féin would use any improvement in the public finances to build a fair recovery, to repair the damage that has been done. That means investing in public services, not repeating the boom and bust cycle caused by tax-cutting. Why did the Taoiseach not do that? He says that he does not get constructive suggestions from the Opposition. Why does he not stand for a basic threshold of economic justice? Imagine economic justice - the right to a home, access to education, the right to a job and to universal health care. Sinn Féin believes it is the State's responsibility to improve conditions for ordinary citizens and struggling families, and in particular to deliver on jobs, housing, health care and education. We would seek to relieve the burden on struggling families by abolishing water charges. Why did the Government not do that? Why did the Taoiseach not announce the abolition of the family home tax? That would give €800 million back to working families. Why does the Government not take 200,000 people earning below €17,542 out of the universal social charge net? Why does it not invest in public services and ensure that they are accessible to citizens regardless of where they live in this State? Sinn Féin would genuinely work to bring our emigrants home but this Government will not even deliver on voting rights for Irish citizens abroad, notwithstanding the Constitutional Convention's recommendation on the issue. There is also a need to ensure a recovery for rural communities. It is beyond me how Teachtaí like the Taoiseach, who represents a rural constituency, do not appreciate that people in rural areas have the same right to a decent life as people living in urban areas.

Why does the Government not ban the scandal of zero hour contracts and get rid of JobBridge? Why does it not introduce rent controls to help stem the rising tide of homelessness? Why will it not offer greater security and protection from exorbitant rent increases? We have spoken about poverty and economic difficulties but the biggest challenge facing people is stress as a consequence of their social and economic position. We should be at least able to offer people greater security and some sense of protection for them in their pursuit of human happiness. Why does the Government not help to keep tenants living in the private rented sector in their homes? The security of a home is fundamental. Why will the Government not change the insolvency laws to remove the banks' veto? It has refused to do that but we will do it after the next election if we have a mandate.

Fianna Fáil has a point when it says that this Government is implementing Fianna Fáil policies. This is true and is why it is so hard for Fianna Fáil really to oppose what the Government is doing. It might pick one or two fights but in reality, the Government is implementing what Fianna Fáil set in train. Yesterday was all about election promises and was an abuse of the Dáil for the purposes of party political propaganda. However, the citizens who have felt the brunt of Government policies will not be fooled by the empty rhetoric. What is required now is a radical change of political direction. We need a fair recovery, a recovery for everyone, one that leaves no family or community behind. That is not on the agenda of this Fine Gael-led administration. This Government has figured out the demographic to target with its promises and as long as it delivers that vote, to hell with everybody else. This Government prefers giveaways for the wealthy and the privileged and tax cuts for the better off.

I have asked the Taoiseach consistently since coming into this House what the social consequences of his Government's policies are. What are the social out workings of those policies? What kind of society will be left after another year of this Government? Where is the recovery for the thousands of families in mortgage and economic distress? Where is the recovery for our rural communities blighted by emigration and starved of investment?

We need to ask ourselves, as we approach the centenary of the 1916 Rising and the proclamation of the Republic, if we want another period of austerity for low and middle income families while the wealthy remain untouchable. Do we want a real republic, based on equality; a citizen- centred and rights-based society? Do we want an economy built on property bubbles or one where, when the banks fail and the golden circles cause a calamity, the people have to foot the bill? There was no chance of socialising the wealth of the Celtic tiger but no problem with socialising the debt caused by the golden circles. Sinn Féin stands for a real and fair recovery, for decency and for a society that is based on the right of citizens to live in comfort, with some modicum of contentment. The alternatives that we have put forward, of reducing the tax burden on low and middle income families, protecting public services and investing in real jobs, are the ingredients of a genuine recovery.

I note that the Tánaiste mentioned the North, while the Taoiseach did not mention it all. The Tánaiste and the Fianna Fáil leader rolled out the usual misinformation about issues there. This is the same Tánaiste who said not a word in my presence at meetings with the British Government when Sinn Féin made it clear that it would not embrace austerity, whether from the Tories in London or Fine Gael and the Labour Party in Dublin. The Fianna Fáil leader, to my knowledge, has not yet met the Deputy First Minister since he took up that position.

1 o’clock

What of the Tánaiste's friends in her sister party, the SDLP, who failed to turn up in the Assembly this week to support marriage equality legislation put forward by Sinn Féin resulting in the Bill being lost by two votes? One third of the SDLP MLAs did not turn up. The Tánaiste is welcome to comment on the North as is the Fianna Fáil leader, but I ask them to try to be accurate. The platitudes that come from here impress no one - not in this State and especially not in the North.

Fine Gael and Labour have long since abandoned the mandate on which they were elected. Rather than yesterday's PR exercise, they should put their policies to the people and call a general election.

See this speech in context