Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, decidedly of the right, have failed Irish society and citizens. Yes, the budget was developed in the shadow of Brexit. However, the policies and budgetary decisions of Fine Gael since 2011 and Fianna Fáil before it cast a darker and longer shadow over the lives of workers and families who will be looking at the budget and wondering what is in it for them. Sadly, the answer is very, very little. I am now more convinced than ever that the needs of ordinary people will not be prioritised unless and until there is a Sinn Féin Government and a Sinn Féin Minister for Finance. It is then and only then that families and workers will get a break and the new deal that they so badly need and richly deserve.

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