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

The gloves need to come off now when it comes to tackling and ending the housing crisis, but once again this Government has failed to land a punch.

In this budget, the Government has confirmed beyond doubt that Fianna Fáil- and Fine Gael-led Governments are bad for the health of ordinary workers and families. They certainly threw the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, under the bus, did they not? It is astonishing that there was not one mention of health in the Taoiseach’s very long, very expansive speech. There was not a mention of health. There was not an additional cent for new hospital beds. The Minister's big promise of 1,500 additional beds was torn up. Was this perhaps in punishment for the massive cost overruns that now plague the health service? The Government has allocated even less than last year, simply for the system to stand still. The capital budget will be outstripped by inflation.

Let us remember that whatever the internal dynamics of this Government are and whatever the views and rivalries are, it is not the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, who will feel the pain of all this.

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