Dáil debates
Thursday, 23 January 2025
Taoiseach a Ainmniú (Atógáil) - Nomination of Taoiseach (Resumed)
2:45 am
Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source
The answer that they settled on was 23, which is in contrast to that in previous years' exam papers, which was lower. Anyone who would have paid attention to the way they campaigned during the general election would have been forgiven for thinking that their focus today would have been on the people and the people that we represent, but, no, they are not having their focus on people across this State but on the needs of the people in this Chamber.
We have often heard from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael over the past five years - I have heard it so many times - that they cannot solve something overnight. There are some things that they seem to be able to solve overnight and these issues that could be solved overnight relate to Government pay, positions and allowances.
Day one of a government tells us what the government will be like. Today, we hear it loud and clear. Your focus is on you. Not only did you want to control the Government, you wanted to control the Opposition by putting your own people over here on the Opposition benches. What a remarkable feat that would have been, acquiring the ability to be in two places at once - supporting the Government's positions but trying to hold decisions to account from the Opposition benches.
Once again, the people of Ireland are left to one side. Prior to this election, the Government said it would commit to abolishing the carer's means test. After the election, it said it would commit to it, in an undefined way, by some undisclosed date, hopefully, in the not-too-distant future. Translating that from political-speak to ordinary plain language, that means, "God knows when this will happen or if it will happen."
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