Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Inniu fáilteoidh an Rialtas roimh ráiteas eacnamaíoch an tsamhraidh. Cé nach mbeidh sonraí an bhuiséid ar fios againn go mí Deireadh Fómhair, tá a fhios againn go bhfuil dúshláin mhóra roimh oibrithe agus teaghlaigh. Tá tacaíocht de dhíth orthu anois agus ní níos mó fógraí agus gealltanais fholmha ón Rialtas.

The Government will today publish its summer economic statement. This will be the 13th such statement published by a Fine Gael-led Government, including Governments led by the Taoiseach. It marks an important part of the budget process. It is true to say that the Irish economy has much to celebrate. We are a home of exciting businesses, both established and emerging. We have a young population, a talented and agile workforce and a record tax take. All of that is to be welcomed and none of it is to be taken for granted. However, it is also true that throughout the same period, housing has deteriorated into a disaster and the crisis in health has got worse day by day with no prospects of improving. Our young people are once again emigrating as they lose hope of having a future here in Ireland. Workers and families are not getting the services for the taxes they pay and, in fact, their taxes are being consistently wasted by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. This is happening because despite being in government for more than a decade, Fine Gael is still failing to get the fundamentals right in health, housing and planning, and in delivering large-scale projects on budget and on time. Instead we have seen a continuation of slow and gridlocked politics, and a complete failure to get the basics right so that we can deal with the challenges of today and plan for the future. That is why we need a change of direction.

While today's statement will tell us very little about the measures that will be included on October's budget, the needs for workers, families and public services are very clear. Workers and families continue to face the biggest cost-of-living crisis in a generation. Energy bills remain sky high as a result of Government inaction, while mortgage costs continue to rise. They face a deepening housing crisis. It is a housing crisis that was created and overseen by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, and which worsens by the day. Rents continue to spiral upwards and homeownership remains beyond the reach of tens of thousands of workers and families across the State. The national shame of homelessness continues unabated. The numbers of homeless people are breaking all records for all the wrong reasons. This crisis is a direct result of the Government and its policies.

In our health service, nearly 900,000 people are on hospital waiting lists. We had the worst level of hospital overcrowding last month since records began. That is why we do not need more of the same. It is why we need a change in direction. We need delivery because our people are sick and tired of listening to the Government make announcement after announcement and empty promises while it fails to deliver on the core issues. Year after year, the Government has failed to deliver affordable homes. It has failed to address rising waiting lists in our hospitals and the cost-of-living crisis. Year after year, these problems have not got better. Indeed, they have got worse. The Taoiseach has had 12 years to deliver. He has been Taoiseach for some of those 12 years. How will he ensure that what is announced today will be different? Will it continue to fail on those fundamental core areas? Will it prove the Government has finally got it and is about to change direction and provide the resources that are required to deal with the problems that have only worsened on the Taoiseach's watch?

See this speech in context