Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on this motion of confidence this morning. I was disappointed to see the Labour Party table a motion of no confidence. I served in government with members of the Labour Party between 2011 and 2016, and when it came to making the really hard decisions that were needed to get this country back on a sound economic footing, the Labour Party never shirked its responsibility. I would go so far as to say that had it not been for the work of the Labour Party along with Fine Gael during that Government and throughout those very difficult years, we would not have the strong economy we enjoy today. It acted in the national interest, and the decisions it made helped to lay the foundations for the record levels of employment we have in this country today. I have no hesitation in acknowledging that, because it is the truth.

The Labour Party politicians I know are decent, honest, and hard-working. As a Member of this House, and as someone who has always had absolute respect for the work they do as parliamentarians, I would be genuinely disappointed if what we are seeing now is the start of the Labour Party going down the populist road of political opportunism and grandstanding. I can tell Members one thing. If the Labour Party is trying to take on Sinn Féin when it comes to political opportunism, it will be a race to the bottom and a race that it will lose. Sinn Féin's policymaking amounts to: "The answer is yes. Now, what was the question?" The Labour Party is better than that. They are not hurlers on the ditch. They normally talk sense, and bring forward thoughtful, well-worked proposals. Yet when one hears, as one did at the weekend, "1 million houses in ten years", that might be a nice soundbite, but where was the substance or detail on how it will actually be delivered?

Regarding confidence in this Government, I look at some of the major policy initiatives in my Department: pay-related benefit, a major expansion of the school meals programme, the delivery of the auto-enrolment pension scheme, and the continued drive towards remote and flexible working. These are the policies which the Labour Party supports, which will help workers, and help families. If its motion of no confidence were to succeed, all of that work falls by the wayside.

I saw at the weekend Deputy Alan Kelly, someone who I have a lot of time for, describe Labour as nationalists, not populists. He is right. The Labour Party stood for this State when others stood against it. The Labour Party is the oldest party in this country, and believe it or not, James Connolly's parents actually came from beside Newbliss in County Monaghan, my local village, and his memory is commemorated there.

I really hope the Labour Party does not go down the road of populism, and simple solutions to complex problems. The Labour Party has served in government; it knows it is never that straightforward. We have enough populism in this Dáil. We do not need any more.

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