-----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 hard. This is a Government that tried to short-change people with half measures, one that sent the Dáil home for 20 days in the middle of this crisis and refused and refuses to listen.

This is a Government that at every turn acted only to inflame an already desperate situation. 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 the Government's own arrogance, its lack of judgment, its lack of any empathy that have left people with no conclusion other than this: its time is up.

Let us be honest - all of this did not start last week. The seeds were sown in the budget in October, a budget of €9.4 billion that still managed to leave people worse off. In that budget, the Government claimed that the cost-of-living crisis had passed and it turned its back on reality. It was a budget that looked after developers, corporate landlords and the banks, but left workers, carers, people with disabilities and families behind. The Government pretended everything was fine while people knew it was anything…

-----and I asked you to convene the Dáil immediately, and you ignored me. You ignored me because you were completely out of touch.

That is the truth.

People have had enough. Workers across the State know exactly what has 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. Now people are demanding real measures. 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 and real leadership. The Government does not provide that. On the contrary, its attitude over the past week was the arrogance of this Government writ large and its message to the ordinary people whom it sneered at was like it or lump it. The Government demeaned peaceful protesters. It insulted them, and it insult them here again today. It refused to meet them because it decided that doing so was beneath it, it seems.

It was beneath the Government, as if it has any great lofty standard about who it will sit down with. Give me a break.

We only have to look to the Government's grubby deal with Deputy Michael Lowry to see how very far from the truth that is. It will do deals, when it suits it, with anyone. It will negotiate when it suits it, but when ordinary, decent people raised their voice-----

-----it turned its back. Incredibly, it then escalated the situation through its rhetoric and refusal to engage, and then it threatened people, including with talk of sending in the Army. That is not leadership. Even after all of that, the pressure and the protests, the Government come back with more half measures, not the comprehensive package that it brags of today. A small cut in excise, which does not make fuel affordable-----

-----and only a delay in the carbon tax increase do not meet the scale of this crisis.

That cut would be gone with the next price spike. There is no removal of the excise or carbon tax still on home heating oil. There is no real relief for households. The Government completely ignores carers and people with disabilities for whom fuel is essential, not a discretionary spend. Today, as Government Members back-slap, congratulate and flatter one another, just know that beyond their bubble, people see a Government that is out of touch, refusing to listen or act in their interests, and unable to understand…

Trust between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Independents and the people is shattered. Big promises made at the general election were broken one after the other. They promised income tax cuts every year. They broke that promise in their first budget. There was not one red cent for working people. Developers, landlords and banks were looked after though. They promised affordable childcare. Where is it? Parents are still waiting. They promised to abolish student fees and then increased them. They promised to abolish the…

They promised cheaper energy. Bills have gone up and they took away the energy credits. They promised support for renters and then changed the law and threw renters to the wolves with the potential massive hikes for new tenancies. There is then that promise from the Tánaiste, Simon Harris, that no child would wait more than four months for spinal surgery, which was broken again and again. These are the hallmarks of a Government with no vision, no direction and no leadership at a time when our country desperately ne…

By God, they do not like the people calling them out, do they?

They were telling the Government that they have had enough.

Today we, on their behalf, reiterate that stance and tell the Government that it is time now for an election.

Let the people have their say because this Government no longer commands the confidence of the Dáil or of the Irish people and it is time to go.

Hear, hear.