Wicklow Sinn Féin TD, John Brady, has hit out at what he described as the proposed Fianna Fáil/ Fine Gael stitch-up saying it is an attempt to ignore the desire for change among the Irish people. Deputy Brady said that the joint framework paper published by those parties on Wednesday was a ‘wish list of vague promises’ which aimed simply to exclude Sinn Féin and their voters out of government.
He said:
“This stitch-up by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael is not about the Coronavirus. Every political party recognises that the immediate priority right now is public health and saving as many lives as possible.
“Rather, this is an attempt to exclude Sinn Féin and all those who voted for change, this trajectory by those two parties had begun before Covid-19 ever reached Irish soil. The paper produced by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael is an insult to those who want a change in direction. The promises of those two parties to fundamentally reverse the policies they have championed for decades would be laughable were this not such a serious matter.
“Most of the aspirations outlined in their document will never become a reality while those two parties share power. We know this from the experience of their confidence and supply arrangement of the past four years.
“The people that voted for change last February know that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael cannot be trusted to affect that change. They know that those parties will not deliver for ordinary workers and families.
“Delivering the change that people voted for means delivering the biggest house building programme in the history of the State, it means everyone being able to see a doctor when they are sick, it means delivering truly affordable childcare, it means addressing the neglect of our rural & farming communities and it means ensuring that workers can avail of a State pension at 65.
“Real change requires a stable government that will lead – and deliver – and that is what Sinn Féin wants to see. We will continue to work to this end and will continue to liaise with all political opinion to stop this stitch-up”.
