Dáil debates

Wednesday, 14 June 2017

Nomination of Taoiseach (Resumed)

 

12:45 pm

Photo of Louise O'ReillyLouise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, on his effective appointment as the new Taoiseach. I am sure it gives great hope to other Fine Gael Deputies who have failed to excel in their ministerial posts and are unwanted by their own membership, to see that failure and unpopularity are not barriers to becoming the leader of Fine Gael. I also congratulate the de factoTánaiste, Deputy Micheál Martin, who yet again has stood steadily by his very best friends in government. Maith an fear Deputy Martin. He is indeed the gift that keeps giving to Fine Gael. I also wish the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, well in his new role. I hope, for the sake of the Irish people, that he can find it in himself to be benevolent and to work to create a fair and equitable society but I do not think he will.

I have seen nothing from him in his career in politics to date that gives me the hope or the confidence that he will be anything other than the most right-wing Taoiseach this State has ever seen.

As Minister for Health, Deputy Varadkar missed targets, saw record numbers of patients on trolleys, oversaw botched recruitment schemes, saw the numbers on waiting lists soar, abandoned universal health care, perpetuated the drive towards the privatisation of the health service and generally stumbled from one disaster to the next. Added to this, he had the audacity to insinuate that investing in fixing the health crisis would somehow make front-line staff lazy and unmotivated. However, during his time as Minister, there was only one lazy and unmotivated person.

As Minister for Social Protection, he tried to become the Minister for fraud but he exposed himself. We now know that his crusade was nonsense and that his "Welfare Cheats Cheat Us All" campaign cost over €200,000. Interestingly, I have never heard him challenge the levels of tax avoidance and tax evasion in Ireland. He says he wants to take a special interest in health. He can start by looking at the failure to recruit and retain nurses, midwives, doctors and other vital front-line health workers. The Government's less-than-ambitious target of 130 nurses per month is not even achieving 50%. Nothing in his record or plans gives me hope that he will be the best person to lead the charge to recruit these vital staff.

I also note that he wants to ban strikes for front-line staff. He can spin his statement any way he likes. I have worked in industrial relations and I know a Thatcherite strike ban when I see one. I know that making Labour Court recommendations compulsory and binding is effectively a strike ban. This is the message he has already sent to emergency service workers and other health workers.

Finally, as I am running out of time-----

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