Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I strongly support my colleague, Deputy Halligan. It is important to look at the wording of this motion, that Dáil Éireann has no confidence in the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection. I will discuss this key phrase, "social protection", later. Insiders have contaminated politics for many years. Politicians of all parties have grossly abused their power. I insist that they surrender the right to make political appointments. This demand includes the end of the practice of parties in government putting their favourites on the boards of State bodies, into the Judiciary, the top ranks of the Garda Síochána and the Central Bank commission. Independent bodies must be set up to exclude all politicians from the ranks of those making such choices. Political patronage and cronyism must end. That is what this motion is about and these are the key issues in regard to the broader debate.

This debate is not just about one Minister, but includes the Government and other Ministers. In recent days, we have seen a blatant display of cronyism. This has contaminated politics. We need to end the practice of political appointments. We also need to develop and focus on selecting people with ability based on merit. Ability and merit should be at the heart of all appointments. Political patronage should end. We have many highly talented people with expertise in our wider society. People selected for these boards should be selected on merit. The key words for this debate are merit and transparency.

It is about merit and ability, without cronyism.

In the past 24 hours we have seen how three other Ministers or Ministers of State used this get-out clause to make appointments to top State posts. The Tánaiste bypassed the public process and the others involved are the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, and the Ministers of State, Deputies McHugh and Nash. The latter is here tonight. We are talking about transparency versus cronyism and people in broader society deserve better. We were promised a breath of fresh air and new politics in 2011. Many of us on the doorsteps gave such a commitment following the crash and the leaders in that campaign were Fine Gael and Labour. Where is this new type of politics? Even the Government backbenchers are extremely unhappy about this issue.

Not only are we saying we have no confidence in the Tánaiste, we are also challenging the insiders in this House and across society. We need to reinforce transparency by means of a proper and mandatory application and interview system, as is the case with every other job. In most parts of society, if a person is going for a job, he or she does an interview after sending in a CV. Independent experts usually supervise the allocation of the job, so why does it have to be different for people appointed by Ministers?

There are wider issues of social protection. Any vision from a Minister for Social Protection should contemplate protecting people, particularly the vulnerable in society. Only last night we heard about bed bugs, mice and cockroaches. There are 800 families in temporary accommodation. We heard about leaking water, mould and faulty electrics. This is not 1913 or the Lock-out. This is 2016 in Dublin and the Labour Party should face that reality. It is an absolute disgrace that young children are living in conditions like this when a Labour Minister is responsible for social protection. Where is the social protection for those children? Where is the support and care for those families? One child in three in this country is deprived of basic necessities. This fact was highlighted in the Growing Up in Ireland report in the context of the major inequality in Irish society. The Ombudsman for Children has indicated that approximately 138,000 children are living in poverty. Where is their social protection? Consistent poverty rates have increased from 6.8% to 11.7%. Where is the social protection in that? It is predicted that 37,000 children will live in poverty by 2020. Some 1,054 children are homeless at present and the rate is rising. I am not speaking about just one Minister but rather a Government and its ethos or vision. This is about the need for a radical vision that will bring real equality and rights for children. We need real social protection.

The European Anti-Poverty Network in Ireland stated in a recent report that 1.4 million people, or almost 31% of the population, suffered from deprivation. A quarter of the population cannot afford to heat their homes adequately and 37% of children suffer deprivation. The worst deprivation is felt by lone parents, the unemployed and people not at work because of illness or disability. I will return to the disability issue later. This is a stark reality but the Government wants to dip people's pockets time and again. The numbers at risk of poverty, or those below 60% of median income, have fallen slightly, although they are still above the 2008 levels. The numbers experiencing consistent poverty have doubled since 2008 to 8.2%. The Government needs to remove almost 193,000 people from poverty and half the current number to meet its target of 4% for 2016. These are the facts.

The Government and mainstream political parties must ask where the money will be obtained and how services may be funded. According to the Department of Finance, the top 1% or 21,650 earners have an annual gross income of €8.7 billion, with the average earnings of €403,703 per year. That is more than ten times the average industrial wage. According to the Revenue Commissioners' latest available statistics, corporate profits are increasing, with gross trade profits increasing to €73.8 billion in 2011 from a previous figure of €70.8 billion. There is wealth in the country but there is a lack of emphasis in challenging those in possession of it.

A very important element of social protection is the health of people living in disadvantaged areas. We must target health policies and services in such disadvantaged communities. We must put these people first as they have a complex social and medical need. These people have higher rates of health-related problems and three times the mortality rates of more affluent patients. Males die 18 years sooner than those in more affluent groups. I raise that reality in the context of the broader motion. We need social protection for our people and particularly our children. We need social protection for the whole of society.

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