Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Last Friday, the Taoiseach said that Northern nationalists would never again be left behind by an Irish Government. Teachta Martin's phony outrage at this would be amusing if it was not such a serious issue. The reality is that nationalists in the North were abandoned for generations by successive Irish Governments, but today, like a broken record, Teachta Martin repeats the sham argument about the two problem parties and accuses Sinn Féin of contriving to pull down the institutions or preventing them being reinstated. He chooses to ignore, as he did when he was in office, the serious allegations of corruption, in his case in his own party but in this case made by a former DUP Minister and his colleagues about the First Minister and the enormous financial cost, estimated at £700 million, it will inflict on the public purse.

Teachta Martin turns a blind eye to the abundant evidence of DUP disrespect for, and rejection of, the rights of nationalist citizens in the North. I notice there is only one other Fianna Fáil Member on the Fianna Fáil benches this evening. They are probably as sick of listening to his drivel as everybody else.

See this speech in context