Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Anti-Austerity Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Does the Taoiseach agree that the best support we can give is to people to ensure he does not act out on them? He has now been elected and will not change suddenly. More in-depth analysis will obviously take place when the results are fully analysed.

It speak volumes about the neo-liberal policies that in the past few years have alienated many millions of people in America which is the richest country in the world. These policies are quite similar to those of the Taoiseach in that the barons on Wall Street were bailed out and rescued and are now enjoying the fruits of the recovery in America. The 20 richest people in America possess the same wealth as the bottom half of American society. Under President Obama's Democrats administration, the level of income equality has actually grown four times faster than under President George W. Bush. Is it not a totally dysfunctional capitalist, electoral and economic system that puts a choice before the American people of either electing a billionaire developer or a creature of Wall Street? The inequality of which I spoke could never be tapped into by a candidate like Hillary Clinton who represents Walmart with its food banks for its own workers, who supports fracking, who refused to stand with the indigenous people at Standing Rock and who rejoinced publicly when bombs were dropped on Libya and Pakistan. Perhaps the Taoiseach might tell us when he will be true to what he said about Donald Trump before the election.

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