Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It has been a turbulent summer for the Taoiseach and his Government, so I am glad to see they actually made it back here. There is a sense of some normality as we finally come back into this Chamber. That is what I want to ask the Taoiseach about. I have a direct question: What has changed since we left this Chamber last year? What has changed for the Taoiseach and his Government in how they will deal with things? We in the Labour Party believe that everything has changed in that year - how we think about things and, collectively, our political ideologies and philosophies. Everything has changed because Covid, quite simply, has been the biggest disruptor in 100 years - in our thought and in every other way. I therefore want to know what lessons the Taoiseach has learnt. I am not asking about the Zappone affair; I am asking him about what lessons he has learnt from Covid and how, collectively, the Government will ensure we change things for the better. I believe the public want to know this. Why? Because their priorities have changed in the past year. I refer to how they look after their families and their communities and what they expect from the State, particularly when it comes to public services. The need for investment in healthcare, education, housing - everything has changed. It has changed for me in respect of my time management, my work-life balance and my need to spend more time with my elderly parents, my wife and my children. I believe it is the same for many people. I 100% get the sense that the public's tolerance for short-termism and for a lack of consistency in political thought and action is absolutely exhausted. They do not have a tolerance for our not seeing through major reforms; they do not have a tolerance any more for a two-tier health system; they do not have a tolerance for an education system whereby students today cannot get accommodation to go to college; they will not have a tolerance any more for a hugely expensive private childcare system; and they will not have a tolerance for people no longer being able to get houses where they are from.

I therefore ask the Taoiseach genuinely what has changed for him and his Government since we left this Chamber a year ago. We know that the great white hope of Sláintecare is now at a standstill. The Government has launched Housing for All and I genuinely wish it the best in delivering that. However, what I am asking the Taoiseach, as we step back in here, is what has changed for him and his Government in how we can deliver for the people. Everything has changed, in our opinion. If the Government works towards the issues I have just spoken about, the Labour Party, for one, will meet it halfway on ending the short-termism and delivering for the Irish people.

How is the Government going to deliver for the people in what has changed in the past year?

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