Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

My eyes are wide open. Listening to the Taoiseach, one would imagine there is no problem at all. One would scratch one's head and wonder why thousands of our young brightest and best are mobilising on the streets today because according to the Taoiseach, there is no problem. According to him, it is not a problem that students commute for hours and hours to the extent that their social lives are totally broken and their mental and physical well-being is compromised. According to the Taoiseach, it is not a problem that rents are at record highs and that students really struggle to meet these rents. We heard about the young person who makes that decision about whether to eat or pay rent.

According to the Taoiseach, it is not a problem, it seems, that we are losing again a generation of talented, qualified people who we need in this country to build Ireland. Apparently, that is okay. According to Leo Varadkar, it is all going to plan. That is in his world. In the real world, where people with their eyes open look and care to see the evidence before them, our young people are really struggling - struggling to get basic accommodation so that they can pursue their study.

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