Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As the Taoiseach will know, there was much in the programme for Government, to which Sinn Féin objected from the outset, but, even by this Government's standards and its own brand of politics, its first year has been a failure. Policing and justice are in crisis. The health service is in crisis. Homelessness and housing are an ongoing crisis. Níl an réiteach ar an ghéarchéim i dtaobh an Ospidéal Náisiúnta Máithreachais go fóill.

The Government's strategy for dealing with the challenges of Brexit, which is the greatest threat to the economies of this island in generations, is deeply flawed. I also have my own view on the confidence and supply agreement with the Government's loyal opposition. The reality is that this so-called new politics is not new. It is the same old, same old. Consequently, there is a deep paralysis in the body politic. Whether that is due to the Taoiseach deciding when or where he is going, and perhaps we will learn more of that later on, or the desire of Fianna Fáil to keep the minority Government weak and not to allow it any real successes, the result is that this Government is staggering from one crisis to another.

I dealt earlier with the Government's failure to provide social supports for children at risk and with respect to the health service. I want to touch briefly on the issues of housing and homelessness. There are now 15 vacant properties for every homeless person in Cork. A total of 295 people accessed a shelter in Cork in one week in March. The incidence of homelessness is up 20% since the Minister took office. His 1 July deadline that no homeless families will be living in hotels or bed and breakfast accommodation is looming and we have yet to see any detail of how he intends to achieve that. Social housing delivery is being exaggerated and is moving at a snail's pace.

Consequently, the Government's first year has been a failure. If the Taoiseach is honest with himself, he will accept that the first year of his Government has not been marked by success but by crisis, particularly in the areas of health and housing.

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