Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the motion put forward by the Labour Party. I agree with the sentiments expressed, the motion and the proposals. I cannot emphasise enough how much I agree with the motion when it says "it is the first duty of Government to provide for the wellbeing, education and development of children". I am at a loss, however, as to why the Labour Party did not come to the same conclusions when it was in government not that long ago. Everything the Labour Party has said in the motion makes sense. Labour was in government with Fine Gael and had the Ministers who could have implemented many of these proposals. Not only did the Labour Party not do that, it did the opposite. The Labour Party in particular brought in some of the cruellest and most vicious cuts specifically targeted at the most vulnerable in society. Far from giving children a fair start Labour crippled their chances to rise out of disadvantage and poverty.

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