Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I think of men like Collins and Liam Lynch, who we will commemorate in ten days’ time, who gave the ultimate sacrifice that we would have freedom, we would arrive at our destiny, we would have homes for our people and decent standards of living and entitlement to a job, not flooding the place with people from all over the world and driving our people into penury.

Here we are today with the phoney Labour Party and the new leader with a dream of 1 million houses that she would build. The only million she knows about are the millionaires out in the leafy suburbs of Dublin 4 who she was elected by. She had this dream. When Deputy Kelly was Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government some years ago he did not build hen houses not to mind houses for people. It was all blunder and bluff.

The legacy of the Deputies over there in housing is appalling. It is shameful. It seems like self-preservation is the order of the day for the Government, and the Government's senior officials. There was a Secretary General recently who would not move office from one Department to another without a hefty rise. It is time that we got rid of this greedy grip that is on power, that the Government wants to hold onto. It is the same with the officials, the permanent government. They should serve the people who elected us to serve, not self-serving themselves and staying in power at all costs. We are waiting then for our people to come in here to take over. What change will the people get? Even the kids in the Gallery left a while ago in disgust at the charades going on here today.

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