Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish the incoming Taoiseach the very best. The public wants delivery, not an intent to deliver or promises to deliver that are broken time and again. The public needs delivery now. It needs delivery that is real and tangible and that improves their lives rather than making them worse. Many are busy trying to survive without access to vital services. They are trying to survive without homes. They have needed a Government that will respond effectively and not talk down to them. While I accept that the Government sits in this very important building, this Chamber is not the real world. Those in government need to stop assuming that they know more and, therefore, that they know better. That is not the case. Those who know best will always be the people who are impacted. They should always be front and centre. That is the Government's duty. That duty has not been fulfilled, either during the term of this Dáil or previously.

The vast majority of the public watching today could not care less about who sits in that chair opposite so long as they get the services and supports they need. They do not need skirting around the edges. There is no referendum in sight to make housing a right for all. There is no legislation for the right to personal assistance hours and a centralised system. People need recognition of the hardship they have suffered. What they need has not been delivered. We need a ban on no-fault evictions. That was not a big ask, especially when you consider that we are an outlier in Europe in this regard; nor was a commitment to the reinstatement of Ennis emergency department, particularly in light of the poor management of the so-called reconfiguration. I say that because the necessary and promised resources and funding were not delivered. Ratification of the optional protocol of the UNCRPD could and should have been done on the same day as the already delayed ratification of the convention way back in 2018 with no excuses or delays.

I fear the Government is missing the point that it is crucial that the public can trust the Government, politicians and, by extension, can trust Government agencies. It is imperative-----

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