-----or indeed for anyone else, that their voices are equal, that their views are equal, that their hopes for the future are equal and that there are no second-class mandates and certainly no second-class voters.

There is no reason to believe that, having caused a housing crisis and made it worse, having sustained a crisis in health, having failed to deliver for working people, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, its junior partner, are in any position to straighten matters out. The parties that created these problems are not going to solve them. It is as simple as that. I was alarmed this morning to hear, as I went innocently about my business in my kitchen, Members from Government benches on the airwaves congratulating themselves …

Be aware. Be very aware that you will be judged-----

-----on the big promises you made to get back into power at all costs. History tells us that campaigns are where Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael make their promises and in government is where they break them. It is a tale as old as time itself. We already have sight of what is in store should Micheál Martin and Simon Harris get this deal of theirs over the line with the manful help of Deputy Michael Lowry. What we will have is more of the same. They simply propose to pick up where they left off before the election. The d…

That is democracy. I respect everyone who voted in this election. I respect the choices they made on their ballot papers. My message to those who feel downhearted today is simply that it is okay to feel disappointed but they cannot and must not feel defeated. The working people of Ireland are no strangers to adversity. They know better than most that night is darkest just before the dawn. It may a take a little longer for the sun to rise but it will eventually rise on a new day in Ireland. We have not lost hope, no…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for his forbearance and patience, as ever. The Government is a serial waster of the public’s money. Its waste leaves people shaking their heads in disbelief. The lack of accountability angers people. There has been no accountability for the €336,000 bicycle shelter, nor for the €1.4 million security hut or the doubling of costs for modular housing for Ukrainians, and that is before we even mention the children’s hospital. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil squander taxpayers’ hard-earned money an…

The Taoiseach talks in billions when it suits him but then penny-pinches on the essentials. The Government increased capitation for schools by €10 million. The capitation money is what keeps the show on the road. A sum of €10 million is not enough and well the Taoiseach knows it. There is €10 million for that, to light and heat schools, and then €9 million and an additional €2 million year on year for phone pouches. I listen very carefully to people. I have not met one teacher who approves of that use of public mon…

I have not met one taxpayer out on the beat who thinks that was a smart use of money.

As a matter of fact, people are outraged by that and all the more outraged when they discover a mere €3 million from all the Government's billions has been provided for youth mental health services at a time when we hear a lot from young people, their families and their educators about how desperately people need these services and the fact they wait and wait.

I asked the Taoiseach to confirm for the Dáil, and he might do so, that €9 million is actually the initial outlay on these phone pouches and the scheme will in fact cost the taxpayer €2 million annually. Will he confirm that as a matter of fact?

I have the documentation to hand.

They are not.

Take it up with the DUP, Taoiseach, and answer my question.

And it is €2 million per annum. Is that right, Taoiseach?

I do not know whether the Taoiseach is familiar with Dublin city's flat complexes. If he has been in and out of them, he will know that they are fairly unique and are incredible communities. He will also have observed how badly let down they have been by successive Governments. Some of the living conditions for citizens in our inner cities are reminiscent of another era, such is the level of hardship and the extent to which there is overcrowding and damp. There is a real need for regeneration. People have been wait…

-----saga. Do not mind me, Minister. This issue is about the people who live in these flats, not his sensitivities, with all due respect to him.

In O'Devaney Gardens, only 56 units have been delivered 20 years on. There has been a six-year wait for progress for the flats at Constitution Hill. I could go on and on. Why are these communities and families left to wait and live in conditions that no one here lives in or would be prepared or tolerate living in?

When Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil joined together with the Green Party in coalition four years ago, they promised that it would be the Government to fix housing. This was a very bold claim from the parties that had, in fact, created the housing crisis in the first place. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have had more than a decade to solve housing but it have only made it worse. Now, as their Government heads for the exit door, their record of failure is clear and people live with it every day. House prices are through the r…

They can choose to back a real housing plan from Sinn Féin. This is a plan to make housing affordable, to bring home ownership back into the reach of working people, to get families off council waiting lists and into homes, to end long-term homelessness and to give hope back to a generation so badly failed by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. This is hope that they can have a home of their own and build a good life here in Ireland. Léiríonn Fine Gael agus Fianna Fáil nach réiteodh siad ceist na tithíochta. Tá sé thar am d…

The Taoiseach's very great problem is nobody believes him.