Sinn Féin Leader Mary Lou McDonald this week told Taoiseach Micheál Martin: “Your time is up. It is time for an election. Let the people have their say. Your government no longer commands the confidence of the Dáil and of the Irish people. And it’s your time to go.”
Speaking during the debate on confidence in the government, Ms McDonald said that Sinn Féin had “provided government with an alternative that would have made fuel affordable and supported people” and “asked for the Dáil to be reconvened” but that the Taoiseach “sent the Dáil home for 20 days while people struggled.”
She said that while ordinary people struggled to put food on the table, workers struggled to fill their tank, and carers and people with disabilities faced the choice of heating or eating, the Taoiseach’s response was one of arrogance – sneering at ordinary people, demeaning peaceful protests, and that the government’s message to them was clear: “Like it or lump it.”
She said that the government’s belated response amounted to yet more half-measures, adding: “You come back with more half measures. Not the comprehensive package that you brag about today. A small cut in excise which doesn’t make fuel affordable. A delay in the carbon tax increase. It still does not meet the scale of this crisis. A cut – gone with the next price spike. No removal of excise or carbon tax on home heating oil. No real relief for households.”
