Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Last night, I attended the campaign launch of the People Before Profit candidate in Wexford, Cinnamon Blackmore. It was a good meeting, with many women there, and I heard about the issues that affect the people of Wexford. What jumped out at me was the complete lack of mental health services for children, and the crisis that most of the women in the room had experienced or their families had touched on, a fact that the former Deputy, Mick Wallace, consistently raised in the Chamber. It also jumped out at me that for ten years, until earlier this year, not a single council house had been built in the entire county of Wexford. A third thing was that parents are not able to find secondary school places for their children in Gorey and its environs. The level of homelessness is rising throughout the county of Wexford and tents are appearing outside Aldi and Lidl shopping centres, wherever people can get a bit of shelter.

Fine Gael's candidate in the by-election, Verona Murphy, has doubled down on the hateful rhetoric we have heard from her in the media. Today in the Wexford People, she is quoted as claiming that addiction and homelessness are the result of bad choices. Not only does she blame the poor for poverty, but she also blames migrants for every other crisis that exists. She blames migrants for everything and stated ISIS is infiltrating this country in large numbers, without knowing that the lowest number of migrants and refugees who come to this country come from the Middle East. Her statements are absolutely incendiary and are not just made to get attention.

She is playing the racist card, which has a double impact. It deflects from the things I have mentioned, namely, the crises in health, homelessness and mental health services for children, which will go under the radar because the Fine Gael candidate is playing the race card.

That is compounded by the visit the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Charles Flanagan, took Ms Murphy on to a centre for asylum seekers outside of her constituency. I happened to visit that centre about 18 months ago when I travelled on the greenway in Waterford. I knocked on the door and was told I could not come in. I produced my identification to show I was a Teachta Dála and, after a long argument with the manager, I was allowed into the reception to talk to a limited number of families. How does a candidate who is not a Teachta Dála have automatic access to a centre like that? Is this about her being able to say, "I'm sorry; I didn't mean it"? If she is sorry and did not mean it, what else has she said that she did not mean? Are we going to engage in the type of electoral politics where the race card is upfront and apologies from both sides of the House are given and accepted left, right and centre? The Taoiseach described the candidate as an outspoken, independent woman who does not toe the party line. How high does the Taoiseach's bar go? When will he address this issue and deprogramme and deselect this candidate? If he does not do so, the increased use of the race card will be on his shoulders, as the leader of this country.

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