Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

First, I express my thanks for the warm and friendly response I received on the doorsteps in Dublin South-Central during the general election campaign. Second, I thank the people of Dublin South-Central for using their canny voting skills to re-elect me to the Thirty-third Dáil. I am humbled and delighted.

The main issues I encountered on the doorsteps were the dire housing crisis; the health crisis; the for-profit childcare crisis; work-life balance; pension age; access to services such as physiotherapy, speech therapy, and assessments; access to school age teams; and access to education for children with autism. In south Dublin, over 80 children do not and cannot access education. Home help hours and the mental health services were also raised. There were many issues.

The main message I received was that people did not want Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael. In 2016, people voted against those parties, but they got the same and felt betrayed. The parties of austerity and hardship continued in government from 2016 to 2020. As an elected representative, I am expected to do my best politically to support and implement policies of progressive change. I will positively engage to deliver that change and the onus is on all progressive Deputies to pursue such policies. I stood on the Right 2 Change policy document, which was born out of extensive consultation between individuals, community groups, trade unionists, political parties and independent representatives, who were all involved in the anti-water charges campaign. This is the document that was pulled together, and it includes the right to housing, health, water, jobs and decent work, debt justice, education, democratic reform, equality, a sustainable environment and national resources. I am determined to pursue those policies with the progressives in this Dáil who also wish to do so. On that basis, I will be voting for Deputy Mary Lou McDonald to deliver those policies. Sinn Féin has committed to pursue them and we will try to implement them. I will support the policies on declaring a housing emergency and delivering a local authority led public housing programme on public lands, to be funded by the European Investment Bank. On healthcare, I support declaring a health crisis and the implementation of Sláintecare with the allocation of appropriate funding, along with many other issues, such as a public, not-for-profit banking system as put forward by the Public Banking Forum of Ireland. These are the issues I want to take forward. I will work with groups in the Dáil which also wish to pursue them, to the point where we can put the change being demanded to the people, rather than to us in the Dáil.

See this speech in context