Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is all well and good for the Minister and the Government to talk about what they are doing for the State and to slap themselves on the back. Unfortunately, this announcement of a recovery and resilience fund does nothing to reopen the out-of-hours GP service for the people of the Cork North Central constituency, SouthDoc Blackpool. Three times this year SouthDoc has told the people of Cork North Central and me that it would reopen. It still has not. Fifteen months ago, it closed its doors under the guise of an excuse of the Covid-19 pandemic and it could not reopen.

The whole country is now opening up and there is even talk about international flights in July. SouthDoc in Blackpool, however, is closed. When I hear Deputies from my constituency talk, they do not mention it. Why? It was closed under this Government. Will the Minister explain to me where is the resilience fund for Cork North Central to reopen SouthDoc?

The cuts to the pandemic unemployment payment are unbelievable. Does this Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael-Green Party Government learn from anything? Last year, it cut the payment and then had to reverse the decision after Deputy Pearse Doherty and Sinn Féin, along with other Opposition parties, said it was the wrong thing to do. Again, this year the Government wanted to cut it. People lost their jobs, through no fault of their own because of the pandemic, but Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are abandoning them. I listened to Deputy Bruton speak about being fair and balanced. It reminds me of the catchphrase of the Fox News channel. I will leave it up to people to decide whether that station is fair and balanced. To cut the pandemic unemployment payment at this stage when people have lost their jobs through no fault of their own is wrong. The Government should fix this and go with Sinn Féin's proposals which are balanced.

The Government talks a lot about housing. The vulture and cuckoo investment funds are still coming in here. Until such time as the Government invests the money needed to deliver social and affordable purchase and affordable rental homes, the housing crisis will never be solved.

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