Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Tánaiste, Deputy Varadkar, is a politician who gets things done. As Taoiseach he worked hard to get so many things done. As Taoiseach, he worked very closely with his Cabinet colleagues and he was always informed. He was solution focused and was always determined to find a solution, even in the most difficult of circumstances. He took his mandate as Taoiseach very seriously and at all times was conscious of the enormous responsibility placed on his very young shoulders.

The Tánaiste does not wear his heart on his sleeve but that does not diminish his passion to serve all the people or his ambition to get things done. The politics presented to us tonight is of the rawest and most fundamental form — the politics and power. The real priority political issues of the day are sidelined. These include Covid-19, from which people are still dying, and Brexit. The ambition tonight is to inflict maximum political damage. The Tánaiste knows only too well that he would have done things differently; he has acknowledged that. This nonsense tonight — the talk about insiders and cosy clubs — is nothing short of a mockery. Regarding the question of a deal to include all GPs in a contract — GPs who look after the old, young and sick — the Tánaiste wanted to get things done. That was his motivation, and Sinn Féin does not have a monopoly on helping people.

While representatives of the NAGP were outside the gates of Leinster House, Sinn Féin was with them, roaring and shouting at the Government to come up with a solution. Unfortunately, the politics we are witnessing here tonight will be the narrow, divisive and destructive politics that will continue in the period ahead. The roaring and shouting will continue, and it will be fractious. Sinn Féin will be 100% right 100% of the time and will continue to accuse the Government of being 100% wrong 100% of the time. Deputy McDonald, in her tweet just yesterday or the day before, was on about the old boy's network. The reason we are having this debate tonight is because of the members of the old boy's network around a monitor somewhere up in Belfast tonight. It has decided to use our valuable time in the interest of power, and it has sidelined the important issues of tonight. Deputy Doherty, who got elected two years ago this month, will continue with his shouting and roaring with nothing to show for it, but he can do all the shouting and roaring he wants because he will not be making the decisions; it will be the boys in the old boy's network around the monitor in Belfast.

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