Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

-----where establishment TDs talk to themselves and the NGOs and ignore the people.

I do not believe he is a man of convictions. I believe his motto is, "There go my people, I must find out which way they are going and then I will lead them". Simon Harris has a record which I believe has cost this country dearly. He threatened striking nurses with financial penalties. He announced free smear tests for women to save himself, placing pressure on the system and leading to dangerous delays for women. In the early days of Covid he refused to meet with the nursing homes sector, which was the most vulnerable element of that crisis. Indeed, at that time, thousands of people were moved from hospitals into nursing homes and many of them were not tested, which seeded Covid right through the nursing home system and led to many deaths. During Covid he cancelled cancer screening and reduced cancer services, leading to 100,000 fewer women being screened for breast cancer and a tidal wave of more advanced cancers. According to Simon Harris, the overspend of billions of euro on the national children's hospital was not a scandal. In 2017 he promised that no child would wait longer than four months for an operation. A response to a parliamentary question from Aontú has shown that, in Temple Street and Crumlin hospitals alone, 55 children are waiting more than one year for scoliosis surgery. Deputy Harris was Minister for Justice for the first half of last year, and during that time violent crimes increased, the number of gardaí resigning and retiring increased, and the number of gardaí being attacked increased as well. I do think this is a historic day. I think we are seeing the elevation of a caretaker Taoiseach who will have the record of having the shortest term in the history of the State.

See this speech in context