Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

On a personal level, I wish the Taoiseach well. Politics can be tough and it takes its toll. We can all understand that.

However, a new Fine Gael leader will not address the fact that the writing is on the wall for this Government. Clearly, the Taoiseach can see that as well as the rest of us. Throughout 14 years in office, Fine Gael has failed to tackle the major issues facing this country. Another Fine Gael Taoiseach will not address housing, healthcare, disability services and climate action because if we are going to address any of these issues, we need a change in approach. At this point, four years into the Government's term of office, the Taoiseach stepping down does not instill confidence in the public about the future of this Government and it is clear that this Government does not believe the public has confidence in it.

It is in that context that the next Taoiseach should be elected by the electorate and not by Fine Gael because its track record is one of record house prices, record rents, record homelessness, an entire generation locked out of home ownership or secure housing and another generation forced on to planes in Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports with 21,000 people forced to leave for Australia last year because they could not see a future for themselves here.

The Government claims over and over that housing is its number one priority but where is the evidence? Week after week, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste come before the House defensive about broken promises and missed targets but the reality on the ground is clear to everyone. The Government has failed to address the housing crisis, which is the number one issue facing Ireland today.

I listened to the Taoiseach's statement earlier where he spoke about how during his term of office, the country's finances went from a deficit to a surplus. This is the truly frustrating reality of Fine Gael. Even with an €8 billion surplus, our health service is on its knees with a chronic trolley crisis in the mid-west, a nationwide shortage of GPs and a recruitment freeze that is preventing the expansion of healthcare services we truly need. Disability services are threadbare and shameful, and are ruining people's lives. Waiting lists for an assessment of need are preventing children from getting crucial early intervention. People simply cannot access children's disability network teams while some people cannot access education. We have the lowest employment rates for disabled people in the EU, we are so far off reaching our climate targets and money is not the issue. The Government's approach of throwing money at the private market to fix these issues in all of these areas is tried and tested and has failed. We do not need a continuation of this approach. We do not need a new Fine Gael Taoiseach. We need a new Government. We need a general election.

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