Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We have the usual empty slogans and speeches, new outfits and new hairdos, but it is a million miles away from the real lives of citizens in this State. I would be relieved if I could turn on a television or listen to the radio without having to see an Independent wheeled out to tell us that they are batting for the national interest and not themselves. That is a relief, but we must ask at what cost, because what is being put before us and the people today are the same neoliberal policies perpetuated by the previous Government and the one before it. They are packaged up with a few bows to make them appear different, but they are the same.

I want to deal with the real world by sharing an e-mail I got this week from a constituent, a woman who is known to me, in which she refers to the tragic death of her sister as a result of mortgage debt, and other cutbacks, that she experienced. As a result of pressure that the bank put on the family, the woman's relationship with her husband failed. Her sister states:

Her Mental Health suffered and she sought help from her GP. She was on medication for depression but her GP [said] this needed to be re-evaluated [so] she was put on a waiting list to see a Psychiatrist who she had attended previously. The waiting list, with the cuts to Mental Health, was 4 months and [she] still [had] no date for an appointment. She had been working [but she was unable to keep it on so she was put on disability benefit], but a letter arrived to say she had not arrived for her appointment for her review so [her] payment was suspended.

The woman went on to state:

I found that letter and all the letters from the Banks and Financial Agencies scattered around her room on the 28th of January 2015.

Today I called the coroners office to ask when the inquest into her death will be [held].

Because of the high rate of suicide they are estimating 18 months ...

That is the Ireland for which the Members opposite have been responsible. The titbits of the programme for Government we have seen are a perpetuation and continuation of that situation, one in which only 26% of the population voted for Fine Gael and the Taoiseach.

When one takes in those who did not vote, it is less than 17%. Despite this, as a result of people who claim to be independent and Fianna Fáil, the Taoiseach will get his hands back on the reins - maybe. I remind him of one thing - today is the birthday of Robespierre, the famous French revolutionary who challenged the system and fought the old order. The Taoiseach is certainly not him but I remind the Taoiseach that he ended up on the guillotine, and I think that might yet happen.

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