Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Everyone realises we are in the grips of a series of crises that have rocked the world. Anyone who went to the photographic exhibition the Ceann Comhairle put on today of the damage being done to lives in Ukraine would not doubt this is the reality. Mercifully, we are far from that reality but we are feeling the brunt of it. The evidence shows the Government has been caring and innovative in its response to the crisis. It is undertaking deep-seated reform in many areas that had been left untouched for many years. It is doing so with the caution required by what these underlying crises imply for our country. We need to proceed with caution and not with rashly jumping on every bandwagon that comes by our door.

There are many people bearing the scars of the multiple crises we have been through. There are many whose expectations have been far from fulfilled. What I find disconcerting about the Sinn Féin response to this is that its response is simple and cynical. It seeks to portray the Ministers in the Government as uncaring, out of touch and trying to line their own pockets or the pockets of so-called developers or wealthy interests. This portrayal is an entire fantasy. I have worked in Cabinet with Ministers from the Labour Party, Fianna Fáil, the Green Party and Independent Members. I can say with absolute confidence that none have spared themselves. None have pursued special interests. They have sought to provide government for a country that is trying to grapple with what are worldwide problems.

No matter how often the Sinn Féin communications juggernaut repeats these charges in scripts that come off its wonderful word processors, elevating it now to theatre, the truth is that those who hitch their wagon to this juggernaut today should not for one minute think it will not shortly reverse over them and the parties supporting this. Most people enter politics to resolve conflict. Unfortunately, we see too much of politics that is all about generating conflict. Twice in my lifetime I have seen the sort of situation where faith placed in the triumph of political hope over expectation has destroyed opportunity. It has been the weakest who have been damaged by this failure. Unfortunately, I see the seeds of this same approach being sown today and many days previously. We are asked to consider a change of government to Sinn Féin. I do not have the time to do it now but look at the policies and plans it is offering. There is no solution to the multiple challenges we face from the strategies offered by Sinn Féin.

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