Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim comhghairdeas leis an gCeann Comhairle as a bheith atofa agus go n-éirí leis ina phost. Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leo siúd a thug vóta do Shinn Féin sa toghchán deireanach agus dom féin i gCorcaigh Theas-Lár. Is mór an onóir dom é.

I have one vote in this Dáil and on each motion today. My vote is worth no more than that of any other Deputy. We have no golden chair or special status. We have no more an automatic right to be in government, as some claim we believe, than anyone else. However, it is worth no less either. I, and the people who voted for my party and me, have as much right to be heard as anyone else. We have the same right to play a role in how this Government is formed as anyone else.

5 o’clock

Tá mo vóta cothrom le vóta aon Teachta eile. Many people who voted for us, and, indeed, quite a few who did not, are intensely frustrated that some people in this House will not so much as speak to Sinn Féin about forming a government. The word around these halls, and among the public, is how to deliver a Government for change. This was a change election. While we, and others, may have evoked that change in our speeches and policies, the appetite for it was organic and grew and strengthened as time went on. It grew from frustration at how little had changed in many areas of Irish life and politics in recent years.

In my office, directly in my line of sight as I use my computer, held up by a thumbtack, is the maiden speech which I made in this Chamber almost four years ago. It referred to the increasing numbers on our streets, sleeping rough, and described the utterly unacceptable number of people living in hostels, hotels and travel lodges by way of emergency accommodation as an ongoing scandal. Níl an Rialtas tar éis na ceachtanna staire a fhoghlaim. Is toradh í an ghéarchéim tithíochta ar an easpa tógála tithíocht sóisialta.I spoke of rising rents, the poor condition of housing and overcrowding.

People want change because if there has been change in terms of housing, it has only been for the worse. Rents and the numbers of homeless have continued to rise to record numbers. People want change because they want to live in a society where having a permanent, affordable home is not a pipe dream. People want change because they want to live in a society in which the ill can be cared for quickly and with dignity. People want change because they want to live in a society that gives people a decent quality of life and good public services.

Some Members believe that the best parties to deliver that change may well be Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, whose representatives have failed to deliver that change over the past nine years. They are entitled to that view but I cannot agree with them. I will vote for the candidate who I believe can truly lead a Government for change. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald has understood the mood of the public. She led a Sinn Féin team that delivered a manifesto that captured the imagination of the public. She is courageous, competent and ambitious. Sinn Féin does not only want a change in policy but to change the course of Irish politics. Is í an Teachta Mary Lou McDonald an t-aon rogha más mian le duine Rialtas le fís úr agus nua a chur ar bun - Rialtas chun athrú a dhéanamh. If Deputies want a Government for change, one that will deliver, I call on them to support Deputy Mary Lou McDonald.

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