Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The tabling of a motion of no confidence in the Government at this time says more about the party opposite than the Government. This is a cynical political tactic to raise Sinn Féin's profile in the last week of a Dáil session, taking up valuable time when so many issues needs this Parliament's focus. What makes this stunt even more cynical is the reality that it will not succeed. There was never a realistic expectation in Sinn Féin that it would. This is about disruption. It is about reinforcing negative messaging to damage the Government before a recess, at a time when stability and solution-focused politics are so badly demanded of us all.

I was in London yesterday meeting Opposition parties and my counterparts in the UK Government to discuss Anglo-Irish relations, which are not in good shape, and the ongoing instability in Northern Ireland. At a time when there is no functioning Government in Westminster because of a leadership challenge, no functioning political institutions in Northern Ireland, no North–South bodies and no devolved government, and at a time when we are approaching the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, what is Sinn Féin's primary focus?

It is to collapse the Government in Dublin along with all of the other challenges we face on this island right now. This is what Sinn Féin does. This is its sixth motion of no confidence in five years. Fortunately, this House has had the wisdom to see through the motivation behind Sinn Féin's disruption tactics. It is a party whose record in collapsing governments on this island is nothing to be proud of. It is a party that continues to focus on reinforcing difference, division and what divides us rather than focusing on what needs to unite us at a time of instability.

These are not normal times. They are exceptional times in terms of international and domestic challenges for this country and its people. We are living on a continent at war. We are living through a global pandemic. We are living with all that flows from both of these things. The Government is facing these headwinds with resolve, unity and purpose. On the issue of housing, which will probably be the biggest challenge for the Government in the years ahead, we continue to increase our investment and focus to improve life for many who feel under pressure because of housing. This is despite Sinn Féin constantly opposing every new initiative we take. Sinn Féin opposed the Land Development Agency building homes. It opposed the help to buy and shared equity schemes. It is against financial interventions to get apartments built. In Dublin, Sinn Féin local authority members have opposed 6,000 homes on council land because they are not being built in the way Sinn Féin decides rather than being based on the democratic decisions of those councils.

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