Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Despite the high-flowing rhetoric and noble aspirations articulated both by Fine Gael today and by Fianna Fáil in their confidence and supply document, there is no real sign of either the new politics or the new policies people so desperately want. There was no sign of it in the long protracted process that has led up to this day in which Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael led us on a very merry dance. It might be understandable and justifiable if there were any substantial difference in policies between them. Then people could understand if that protracted process was going to lead us to a new departure in policies or in politics.

Of course, the truth is that there is no difference between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. They both promoted the policies and the interests of the bankers and developers who crashed the economy in 2008. They both agreed to guarantee the losses of those banks to protect those bondholders and those private interests while unloading the cost with vicious austerity on ordinary citizens. They both slashed the social housing and health budgets, which have left us with such a devastating crisis. They both cut the jobseeker’s allowance, first, for the under-20s and then the under-26s. They both cut the payments to impoverished lone parents and child benefit. They both signed up to water charges and even now refuse to abolish them when there is a clear mandate for this House to do so. They both refuse to repeal the eighth amendment, despite the deaths and suffering of women and families affected by fatal foetal abnormalities. They both refuse to increase the tax contribution of the largest and most profitable corporations in this country.

All of this might just be seen to be in the past if the programme for Government had new policies. However, incredibly, we still have not seen this programme as it has only been leaked. We are expected to vote for a Taoiseach having not seen this document. Where is the new politics there? In the leaked documents we have seen, this is the no change programme for Government. There is no change in policy or politics.

In the key areas of social housing, what do we have? It explicitly refers to more incentives for landlords, more incentives for developers and more outsourcing to the private sector to deliver social housing. All these are precisely the policies which have led us to the crisis today. The new programme intends to accelerate them. In the area of health, there will be an accelerated move towards an even more privatised and two-tier system where health services will be outsourced to the private sector, while the entire public health service is to be marketised.

Despite all the false concern expressed by the supporters of water charges about water infrastructure, there will be no significant increase in the level of investment in it. We have had such dishonesty on this issue over the past several weeks both from politicians and the media. Let us inform the people through this House of the facts. In 2007, €900 million was spent on water and sewerage infrastructure.

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