Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We remember it. The Labour Party said it would oppose water charges. It broke its word.

It said it would oppose a property tax. It broke its word. It said it would protect child benefit. It broke its word. It said it would not raise taxes and yet a litany of taxes and charges increased. It said it would not cut social welfare but it cut rates and made payments harder to get. It promised that it would stand up to the European Central Bank, ECB, and burn bondholders, but then it buckled under pressure. It made working families pay the price for the economic crisis caused by Fianna Fáil and its banker and developer friends. It voted through five deeply unfair budgets that hit working families hardest. It failed to stand up to Frankfurt, and it failed to stand up to Fine Gael. It let Enda Kenny set the agenda. It broke its promises. It did not keep its word. It disappointed the nation and because of the Labour Party, people throughout the country are suffering yet.

As the Tánaiste and her colleagues once again promise to protect working families and the vulnerable-----

See this speech in context