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

I will oppose the Government motion of confidence in the Minister, Deputy Coveney, for the simple reason that I have no confidence not just in the Minister, but in the Government. I do not have confidence in the Government dealing with issues such as the housing crisis.

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission report yesterday was not a surprise but it was a shocking read.

The Minister, Deputy Coveney, stood over housing policies up to 2017 that have failed the people of Ireland. I have no confidence in the Government's delivery of health services. There is an ongoing crisis in health provision, with 1 million people out of a population of 5 million on waiting lists, many of them for more than 18 months. I have no confidence whatsoever in the Government's credibility in delivering Sláintecare and I have serious concerns about what is happening in that regard.

Having said that, there are questions to be answered by the Tánaiste, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Finance in this debate. They relate to the deletion of texts from mobile telephones and the response to freedom of information requests to the Tánaiste's office. Both Ministers, Deputies Coveney and Donohoe, have stated that they regularly delete text messages from their telephones in order, as they claim, to free up space. We know that one of the messages deleted by the Minister, Deputy Coveney, was a message from Katherine Zappone inviting him to her party at the Merrion Hotel. This message was deleted as the controversy about the party blew up. In the case of the Tánaiste, we know that the response to an FOI request to his Department was that no messages relating to Dr. Zappone or the Merrion Hotel affair could be found. Twelve days later, however, such material was available.

Any logical interpretation of these facts would pose the question as to whether there was an attempt, probably a co-ordinated attempt, by the individuals involved with Katherine Zappone's appointment to hide the truth of their involvement in this shabby affair. This behaviour displays the arrogance of a political establishment whose members feel they are untouchable. It is a reflection of the culture of Irish politics and the way members of the Government parties have always done business over decades. Fianna Fáil never challenges Fine Gael on these issues and Fine Gael never challenges Fianna Fáil because they are complicit in their cronyism, jobs for the boys and girls and their lack of transparency.

I will finish by saying that what I see is a quiet word here, a text sent there, a bit of lobbying here, and soirées to celebrate and copperfasten the deal that was done. The man and woman on the street know this only too well. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, should resign and, if not, the Taoiseach should ask him to resign.

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