Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

A general election will focus the minds. If a clear left alternative is on offer and there is a chance to end the rule of 100 years of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, which are responsible for the housing crisis, the health crisis, the lack of action on the cost of living, and the disgraceful situation facing families with kids with additional needs, I think many people will take that chance and a much greater number of people will turn out to do that. We will see.

In this election, we saw a cynical attempt by the Government to make immigration the central issue to distract from its failures. Almost every week in the run-up to the election, the Government had new policies of performative cruelty. I have new figures to show that the Government spent almost €100,000 on clearing tents and erecting fences at the canal while there are thousands of empty beds in State-provided accommodation. The Government announced cuts to payments for Ukrainian women and children and means testing of asylum seekers. It was a trap designed for Sinn Féin, which it unfortunately fell right into by welcoming each of these measures and saying that it would go further. The truth is that none of these policies will do anything to address the housing crisis, the health crisis or the cost-of-living crisis. That €100,000 would have been much better spent on emergency accommodation for homeless people.

The truth is also that the vast majority of people did not fall for this weapon of mass distraction. The big issues on the doors were the housing crisis, healthcare, investment in facilities in our communities and so on. Immigration is not the cause of any of those issues. Responsibility lies with the Government and an economic system which prioritises profit over people's needs. It poses a challenge for the left. We need to come together and to mobilise on the issue of housing. We need a mass demonstration, supported by the trade union movement, on housing before the budget, because with this Government, housing will continue to get worse and worse, because it represents those who profit from the housing crisis, not those who suffer from it. Finally, there will be a general election. We need a vote left, transfer left movement. We need a commitment from parties of the left that there will be no coalition with Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael no scapegoating of asylum seekers, and a commitment to take on those who are benefiting from these crises.

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