Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Is é toradh pholasaí Fhine Gael ar an ngéarchéim tithíochta an leibhéal is airde easpa dídine ar taifead, na praghsanna tithíochta agus cíosanna is airde a bhí againn riamh, an leibhéal úinéireachta tí is ísle le 50 bliain agus seirbhísí sláinte i ngéarchéim. Is toradh pholasaí Fhine Gael é sin. Ní anois an t-am don tríú Taoiseach ó bhí an t-olltoghchán agus ní anois an t-am le leanúint ar aghaidh le polasaithe an Rialtais, atá tar éis teipeadh. Tá sé in am d'athrú agus d'olltoghchán.

The Tánaiste and his party have been facilitating the election of Fine Gael taoisigh since 2016, and the legacy of Fine Gael in office and of Fianna Fáil's time propping it up is the housing crisis. The State, to its shame, has the highest ever level of homelessness. It has seen the highest house prices ever, the highest rents we have ever seen and the lowest levels of homeownership in 50 years. That is Leo's legacy, but it is also the Tánaiste's legacy and his Government's legacy. No matter who becomes Taoiseach from within this Government, it is the policies and the approach that are wrong. No matter who leads Fine Gael, that will not change.

I am not surprised, and I can understand why, many in the Tánaiste's party are questioning its purpose when Fianna Fáil is set to facilitate the election of a Fine Gael Taoiseach for the fourth time since 2016. We are told the front-runner for the highest office in the land is Simon Harris. Let us remember that this is a Minister whose record in the Department of Health was so bad that it precipitated the last general election, a man who made false promises to children with scoliosis and their families about when they would get their treatment. Most importantly, this is a man who has backed Government policies to the hilt, who has been instrumental in successive Government failures in health, housing and mental health services. If he is the best this Government can muster, it is clear this is a Government that is out of touch, out of time and out of ideas.

We are, since yesterday, in uncharted territory. We are set to have had three taoisigh in a single Government term. Two taoisigh will have come from a party that came third in a general election. Yesterday, the Taoiseach, Deputy Leo Varadkar, threw in the towel, acknowledging he was not up for the job, but it is our view that no one in the Government is up for the job. On the key issues and challenges this State faces, in housing and the provision of healthcare, this Government has not only failed but failed miserably. The next Taoiseach should have a mandate directly from the people, not from the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party only to be rubber-stamped by the Green Party and Fianna Fáil.

It is time for a general election because this is a defining moment. People right across this State are crying out for change. Fine Gael, we all know, have been in government for far too long, and changing its leader will change nothing. What we need is a change of approach. We need a change of approach in housing, healthcare and the support for workers and families in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. If the Tánaiste is confident of his record, why does he not put it to the people and let the people decide? What is he afraid of? Why does he not call for a general election now? Let us go toe to toe and see who comes out the better end.

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