Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

If the Tánaiste believes in that record, he should put it to the test and let the people decide, because I have nothing to fear from letting the people decide which vision they want - the leadership on this side of the House by Deputy Mary Lou McDonald or the leadership the Tánaiste he is offering, a leadership that ignored my points. He wants to continue the momentum on housing. We have the highest house prices, the highest rents, the highest levels of homelessness and the lowest levels of homeownership in the history of this State. He talks about progress on healthcare. As he is taking to his feet, countless people in accident and emergency services who have been admitted to our hospitals cannot get to access to hospitals. That is the reality.

The Tánaiste is running scared, just as he did the last time he was in government. In 2010 - does he remember that? - I had to take the Government to the High Court, which found it guilty of breaching the constitutional rights of the people of Donegal by not having an election. The Tánaiste is running scared from the people. This Government's time is up. The Taoiseach has thrown in the towel. He has said he is not up for the job. No one in the Government is up for the job. The public need change; they do not need a rearranging of the deckchairs in this Government, a Government that is spectacularly failing. If the Tánaiste believes in everything he said, let the people decide, because we will go toe to toe with him in the morning.

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