David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As a previous Senator has stated, this Government has caused enough damage to the Seanad already this week. We are entitled to make whatever challenges we want in this House and it is about time Senators on the Government side of the House accept the democratic right of people to have their say. If they do not like it, they should leave the Chamber. I am entitled to have my say and I will have it. The Labour Party's narrative and this Government's narrative has been one of cronyism. There has been one rule for the elites and something else for ordinary householders.

The Minister of State has no difficulty in walking into this House and introducing legislation which essentially pickpockets ordinary citizens who cannot afford to pay their water charges. When the extra money being given to former politicians and Ministers in their pensions is put to the Minister of State's colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, the reply is the Government cannot do anything about it and that its hands are tied. What of NAMA and what goes on when people call for more scrutiny and accountability? The Government says it cannot do anything about it. What about the tactical insolvency we saw in Clerys and see over and over again? It is a denial of workers' rights. Workers are being treated with contempt by employers but when we demand legislation to deal with it, it cannot be done and it is too complex. However, when it comes to emptying people's pockets and bringing in cuts for lone parents or cutting the respite care grant or public services, that can be done, but it cannot be done for the elites, the wealthy or those who are really being represented by this Government. This narrative will bring about the end of the Labour Party in this State. We will see it at the next election and it will be entirely of the party's own doing.

Like the civil debt Bill, this is another sneaky Bill which the Government is using to desperately push through its water charges policy. The reality is the Government has lost the hearts and minds of citizens. It will not even tell us how many people have signed up to or registered with Irish Water or how many people have paid. Some of this might be uncomfortable for Senator Landy and his party-----