Mary Lou McDonald: Your time is up, calls for election

Ceann Comhairle, seo bon agus bar an sgéil, am bhuil muiníon mhuinsine tíra tílse ag an ríoltas seo. Tair éis muine de costas ag ordu, na bhor daí éinebh éirnebh fealóirebh, buséidh a rhaig aibreitha tseawlaí cúraimhóirí agus díní liomí chomas is léir noc bhuil. Rinne an ríoltas an gercaim seo níos measa. Tá caid an marachtáil ag titim, tá díní ffí brú ullbhúir, tá an ríoltas seo ag tep, níol muiníon na dáile seo tílse ag. Today, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Independents ask us to vote confidence in their government, in their judgement, in their competence, in their ability to protect people in a crisis. It is a very brazen ask. From people who have abandoned the Irish people, from those who have stood idly by while workers, families, communities and key sectors, the backbone of the Irish economy, struggled and struggled hard. A government that tried to shortchange people with half measures. One that sent the Dáil home for 20 days in the middle of this crisis and that refused and refuses to listen. A government that at every turn acted only to inflame an already desperate situation. Yes, there is global instability. The illegal war by the United States and Israel against Iran has driven oil prices upwards and that war must end. But it is your own arrogance, your lack of judgement, your lack of any empathy that has left people with no conclusion other than this. Your time is up. And let's be honest, all of this didn't start last week. The seeds were sown in your budget in October. A budget of 9.4 billion euros that still managed to leave people worse off. A budget where you claimed that the cost of living crisis had passed. A budget where you turned your back on reality. A budget that looked after developers, corporate landlords and the banks but left workers, carers, people with disabilities and families behind. You pretended that everything was fine while people knew it was anything but that. And since then, things have only gotten worse. People feel it every single day. They live it in the supermarket, at the petrol pumps, when the bills land on the kitchen table, as workers head out the door in the morning wondering how they'll afford to fill their car, as families ration heat, deciding which rooms they can afford to warm, as carers and people with disabilities face the choice of heating or eating. That's their lived reality. And what do you do as this pressure built? Well, you sent out bills to parents to increase school transport fees. You reintroduced exam fees for leaving CERT and junior CERT students. And prices continued to rise. And the warnings came to you. You were told and you ignored every last one of us. Your half measures three weeks ago only tinkered at the edges. A modest cut in excise wiped out almost immediately. Absolutely no action on home heating oil. No meaningful support for workers. And we told you, we told you clearly that your half measures wouldn't cut it. And remember, we also provided you with an alternative that would have made fuel affordable and that would have supported people. But you walked away. You sent the Dáil home for 20 days. 20 days while people struggled. 20 days while costs surged. 20 days while families were left to cope alone. And Taoiseach, I wrote to you and I asked you to convene the Dáil immediately. And you ignored me. You ignored me because you are completely out of touch. That's the truth. And people have had enough. Because workers across the state know exactly what's happened here. They know that they are paying more and getting less. They know that life has become unaffordable. They know that Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Independents are not on their side. And now people are demanding real measures. And yes, it has been the farmers, the agricultural contractors, the hauliers, the bus companies and others who have led the charge. But people everywhere now are calling for real action. They're calling for real leadership. And you don't provide that. On the contrary, your attitude over the past week was the arrogance of this government writ large. Your message to the ordinary people that you sneered at was, like it or lump it. You demeaned peaceful protesters. You insulted them. And you insult them here again today. You refused to meet them because you decided that it was beneath you, it seems. Beneath you. As if your government has any great lofty standard about who you will sit down with. Give me a break. Whether you like what you've seen or not. We only have to look to your grubby deal with Deputy Michael Lowry to see how very far from the truth that is. You see, you'll do deals when it suits you with anyone. You'll negotiate when it suits you. But when ordinary, decent people raised their voice, you turned your back. And incredibly, you then escalated the situation through your rhetoric, through your refusal to engage. And then you threatened people, including talk of sending in the army. That is not leadership. And even after all of that, the pressure, the protests, you come back with more half measures, not the comprehensive package that you brag of today. A small cut in excise, which doesn't make fuel affordable. A delay only in the carbon tax increase, not meeting the scale of this crisis. A cut that will be gone with the next price spike. No removal of excise or carbon tax still on home heating oil. No real relief for households. And you completely ignore carers, people with disabilities, for whom fuel is essential. It's not a discretionary spend. So today, as you backslap, as you congratulate and flatter each other, just know that beyond your bubble, people see a government that's out of touch, refusing to listen or act in their interests, unable to understand their lives. And they have had enough. Trust between Fianna Fáil Fine Gael, the independents and the people is shattered. Big promises made at the general election, broken one after the other. You promised income tax cuts every year. You broke that promise in your first budget. Not one red cent for working people. Developers, landlords and banks looked after though. You promised affordable childcare. Where is it? Parents are still waiting. You promised to abolish student fees and then you increased them. You promised to abolish the means test for carers, but at your pace that will take decades. You promised cheaper energy. Bills have gone up and you took away the energy credits. You promised support for renters and then you changed the law, threw renters to the wolves with the potential massive hikes for new tenancies. Then that promise tarnished the Simon Harris, that promise that no child would make more than four months for spinal surgery, broken again and again and again. The hallmarks of a government with no vision, no direction, no leadership at a time when our country desperately needs all of those things. Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and your independent backers, your time is up. And now listen to the voices of those decent working people who are out on the streets peacefully demonstrating and calling you out. And by God, you don't like the people calling you out, do you? They were telling you, they were telling you that they have had enough. And now today we, on their behalf, reiterate that stance and tell you that it is time now for an election. Let the people have their say because your government no longer commands the confidence of the Dáil or of the Irish people. And it is your time to go.