Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

"Future Ireland fund" - yes, future Ireland indeed. Today, 10 April, is the 101st anniversary of the death in action of Liam Lynch, who fought in the War of Independence and the Civil War. I think of the ideas that man had, the noble man he was and of his many colleagues who gave their lives for freedom across the country from 1916 until that period.

We see the democracy we have now and the waste of money is unbelievable. The wonderful Seán Lemass and T.K. Whitaker and visionaries like them did so much to bring electrification, water supplies and everything else and develop Ireland when we had nothing. I heard Deputy Richard Bruton talking earlier of the Ireland we have now. I do not know what planet he is on. Despite the money we have and are turning over, we see poverty, neglect and abject failures of Government and of the public service; I mean nothing personal to the public servants here. We see the Secretary General in the Department of Health getting savage money when there is failure after failure. There are good things being done as well but the children's hospital, the scoliosis waiting list and the hospital in Limerick are three issues Government Members should be ashamed of their lives about.

We had a new Taoiseach yesterday with adulation, congratulation and jubilation. He never turned up for work today. I see his office is telling us now that he was working at his desk at 7.50 a.m. More power to him. He was elected yesterday here. Many people believe there should have been an election to elect him but he was elected here by members of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Greens, some Fine Gael Independents, as well as one Fianna Fáil Independent, namely, Deputy Grealish. He may be a Progressive Democrat or whatever you want. It was a dolly mixture. Anyway, that is their business. That is their right and they can answer to the people. However, they are besmirching the names of Independent Deputies because they are not independent. Imagine that the Taoiseach did not turn up for work today and he was going to move mountains yesterday. Deputy Healy-Rae was afraid he was going to go moving Carrauntoohil and there would be no tourist industry left below in Cork. I do not know where he is but his duty or that of the Tánaiste is to be here in the Dáil, or the Tánaiste. It is happening successively, week after week, that neither the Taoiseach nor the Tánaiste are here to duly listen to Members raising questions. They are elected under the Constitution to govern the people. They want to be anywhere whether it is the WEF, Timbuktu, Europe, Syria, Damascus or in Ukraine. They want to be anywhere bar here. Their duty is to be in the House to take the questions. The Tánaiste was here today because he came in for the vote. I had met the former Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, in LH 2000 earlier and was going to go back for him to see whether he would come and sit in. The other man was running up the stairs - we were told he was mad for this job - and the first day he does not turn up. What impression does that give to the public? If he got a job anywhere and did not turn up on the first day, it would be a red card or definitely a yellow card. It would be two strikes and he would be out.

On infrastructure, I am for putting away money. Certainly, we need to be careful and prudent but we are still short €2.5 million this year to continue the work, the studies and the design of the N24 from Cahir to Waterford. We are struggling for that kind of money and we cannot get it. I also ask about the money we have not got for Irish Water for all the sewerage schemes infrastructure in Newcastle, Dundrum, Golden, Kilsheelan; you name it. Tá Ardfinnan Bridge dúnta ar feadh deich mbliana. It is closed for ten years. A flood came and the bridge was damaged. Money was spent on consultants and as we cannot get €1 million to put a cantilever footbridge over the bridge, it is closed. It used to be a bridge over troubled waters. It is now a troubled bridge over tranquil waters. Money is needed in so many places in so many areas. We should put some away certainly but if we cut out the waste we could put four times away. There is unbelievable waste. Whether it was broadband, the children's hospital or any project being worked on by the State, the Government it is not able to control or deliver them. We need to put money away but we need to take heed of the way in which we are wasting money.

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