Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In fairness, the most recent lease of life given to the Fine Gael component in government was given by Sinn Féin when it strengthened the Fine Gael Party in Seanad Éireann in the recent election. That is a concrete demonstration of the underlying direction of the Sinn Féin Party in recent times as opposed to the rhetoric we might hear from time to time.

In terms of the programme for Government, in the past seven years Fine Gael's handling of health policy has been appalling and has compounded an already difficult situation, in particular in the absence of any proper governance following the removal of the HSE board. Various service level commitments were given in the programme for Government on accident and emergency departments, for example, but we now know that overcrowding in such departments is at historic proportions. That is despite the fact that there is a specific promise in the programme for Government to reduce overcrowding in accident and emergency departments.

There have been significant failures in the mental health area in terms of meeting the targets in the programme for Government and building further capacity in child and adolescent mental health services. Many children throughout the country, in particular in the south, are waiting extraordinary periods to access vital services that are needed for young teenagers who are at risk of suicide and who have very challenging mental health issues. The three commitments on page 66 of the programme for Government are simply not being met in respect of mental health.

I could speak about homelessness.

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