Speaking in Dublin this morning, Sinn Féin Finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty outlined how his party would give workers and families a break by putting money back in their pockets.
Doherty said Sinn Féin would make all income under €30,000 exempt from the USC for all workers, reduce rents and then freeze them, abolish the Local Property Tax, end the insurance rip-off, reduce childcare costs and reintroduce the pension age at 65.
Deputy Doherty said;
“In Government Sinn Féin will make all income below €30,000 exempt from USC.
“This will take one million workers out of the USC. And crucially, it will benefit all workers.
“It will mean that no USC is paid on the first €30,000 you earn, putting up to €700 back in the pocket of every worker in the State each year.
“Sinn Féin is the only party in this election that is committed to reducing rents and then freezing them for a period of three years.
“Sinn Féin will abolish the Local Property tax, introduced by Fine Gael and Labour with the support of Fianna Fáil, saving families an average of €244 at current rates.
“Sinn Féin is the only party that has and will take on the insurance industry and end the insurance rip-off.
“Sinn Féin is the party that will reduce the astronomical costs of childcare.
“And we are the only party that will not only stop the increase in the pension age to 67 but will actually reverse it back to 65.
“With these measures Sinn Féin will give workers and families a break by putting more money in their pockets.”
Sinn Féin MLA Colm Gildernew has welcomed confirmation from the General Medical Council that it intends to engage with patients of Dr Michael Watt who are at the centre of the neurology recall.
The Chairperson of the Health committee said:
“I welcome the General Medical Council's announcement to engage with the patients of Dr Michael Watt, the doctor at the centre of the neurology patient recall.
“The ongoing needs of the patients at the centre of the neurology recall must be adequately addressed by the Department of Health.
“It’s important that the GMC listen to the experiences of these neurology patients and the serious impact it has had on them.
“Necessary services and support must be provided for all affected patients.
“Questions still remain around the Trust's governance and accountability and patients are entitled to the truth about what happened.”
Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin has said that today's Fianna Fáil housing policy launch fiasco shows they are not serious about addressing the housing crisis.
Deputy Ó Broin said:
"After four years of promises, Fianna Fáil were to finally launch their alternative housing policy today. Instead, they briefed the media with no policy document, no costings and no plan.
"Their spokesperson Darragh O'Brien rehashed a series of existing vague commitments without any detail. This is in stark contrast to Sinn Féin’s 52 point housing plan launched yesterday.
"Of greatest concern was their proposal to introduce a new SSIA loan. While this may sound attractive to first time buyers desperate to buy their own home, it runs the risk of fuelling further house price inflation pushing home ownership further out of reach for thousands.
"They have also proposed a 5% increase in the Help to Buy Scheme. This has all the hallmarks of the bad old days of Bertienomics. We thought Fianna Fáil had abandoned the boom and bust policies of the Celtic Tiger era.
"Unfortunately on the basis of today's announcement, that’s clearly not the case.
"Fianna Fáil’s social housing delivery commitments were also deeply disappointing. They are promising to deliver less social housing than Fine Gael, which will result in an ever deepening homelessness crisis.
"They say imitation is the highest form of flattery and Fianna Fáil’s adoption of Sinn Féin’s affordable housing proposals today is a case in point. But the question has to be asked, why didn't Mícheál Martin and Darragh O’Brien demand the delivery of these affordable homes as part of confidence and supply agreement?
"It was also disappointing to see Fianna Fáil once again abandon renters and attempt to hide behind a hastily written legal opinion on Sinn Féin’s rent reduction and freeze legislation. It was clear from the weekend that Mícheál Martin was desperately looking for an excuse to walk away from their tepid support for our Bill.
"Sinn Féin does not believe that out Bill is unconstitutional. We were told that delivering 20% of private developments for social and affordable use under Part V of the Planning Acts would be unconstitutional, and yet it wasn’t. We were told Alan Kelly’s two year rent freeze in 2015 would be unconstitutional, and yet it wasn’t. Too often politicians try to hide behind the Constitution when they don't want to do something. And so is the case with this Bill.
"Renters desperately need a break. We believe our proposal is proportionate, in the common good and adhering to principles of social justice.
"Ultimately a government would be guided by the Attorney General and the Courts. However, if it takes constitutional change to end out of control rents, then that is a course of action that Sinn Féin would energetically pursue. At least now renters know who has their backs and who has let them down.
"Fianna Fáil have spent four years facilitating Fine Gael’s failed housing policies. This is their housing crisis as much as the Governments. Today's housing policy launch fiasco shows they are not serious about addressing the housing crisis and is evidence - if any more is needed - why they should not be allowed any near the Department of Housing after this election."
Sinn Féin MLA Carál Ní Chuilín has welcomed confirmation from Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey that welfare mitigations will be extended beyond March 2020.
Carál Ni Chuilín said:
"I welcome the confirmation from my party colleague and Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey today that welfare mitigations will be extended beyond the current deadline of March 31st 2020.
"Minister Hargey gave assurances today that she will be bringing forward legislation in the coming weeks to extend these mitigations.
"Sinn Féin fought for these mitigation measures in order to protect those most in need against the worst excesses of Tory cuts and we repeatedly challenged the British government on the need for these protections to continue.
"This was a commitment given in the New Decade, New Approach document and highlights the importance of having locally elected ministers standing up for those in need in the face on ongoing punitive Tory austerity.
"We will continue to challenge Tory austerity and protect those most in need in our society."
Sinn Féin Dáil Deputy Leader and Director of Election Pearse Doherty addressed the Sinn Féin candidates launch as part of the current general election campaign.
Speaking today, the Donegal TD said;
A chairde,
The Democratic Programme, published by the First Dáil which met here on 21st January 1919, outlined an egalitarian vision of an Ireland run by and for the working people.
[A vision as relevant to Ireland in 2020 as in 1919.
Because the Democratic Programme was never implemented.
Instead, the Irish people were subjected to partition, economic inequality and injustice.
We still live with the legacy.] Sinn Féin in 2020 is as determined as our predecessors to realise the First Dáil's vision of a real republic built on equality and social justice for all.
The members of the First Dáil were rebels. Outsiders. Shunned by the establishment.
Censored. Excluded.
But they showed us that we don’t have to accept the status quo.
That we don’t have to accept the system as it is.
In 2020 Sinn Féin refuses to accept the obscenity of elderly people left suffering for days on hospital trolleys.
We refuse to accept scenes of children eating their dinner off the pavement outside the GPO.
We refuse to accept the horror of people forced to live in tents, because they don't have a home, being swept up off the street like rubbish!
At every step over the last four years, this elitist Fine Gael government has sided with landlords, developers, insurance companies and vulture funds. And the people have been left poorer.
Leo’s cabinet of posh boys has shown a heartlessness, a complete lack of empathy, and a detachment from the reality of life for most people.
And, at every step of the way, they have been supported by Mícheál Martin’s Fianna Fáil.
Their remove from the feelings of most people was most starkly illustrated by their outrageous suggestion that there should be a state commemoration of the RIC.
That proved to be the final straw for most people, hastening the end of a dreadful government.
The Irish people and Sinn Féin are very clear clear - there is not and never will be any equivalence between those forces which fought for Irish freedom and those which sought to suppress it!
Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have ruled this state for nearly 100 years.
In that time, they have provided governments for the wealthy, governments for the privileged, governments for the property developers, governments for the banks.
Isn't it time we had a government for the people? That is what Sinn Féin offers. Successive Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil governments have delivered for their friends and cronies.
They have delivered for big business, for vested interests and for golden circles. In government, Sinn Féin will deliver for the people. We will deliver homes - introducing the largest public housing programme in the history of the State.
We will tackle the hospital crisis - opening 1,500 beds and hiring thousands more nurses and midwives. We will deliver for workers and hard pressed families - scrapping the USC on incomes up to €30,000.
We will deliver for the environment - investing an additional €1bn in public transport and doubling investment in rural transport.
We will deliver on pension rights - nobody should have to sign on the dole at age 65. We will cut the exorbitant cost of childcare. We will end the insurance rip off.
In the North, with the support of the people, Sinn Féin ensured the end of the Orange state.
And, with the support of the people we will also end the failed, two party system in this state!
Sinn Féin wants to be in government to deliver for ordinary, working people.
But we don't want to be part of the system. We want to change the system. Sinn Féin represents the greatest challenge yet to those who have dominated politics here since the foundation of the state.
We represent the greatest hope for those who want this country to be run in the interests of its people.
Our opponents know this. That is why they, and some of their media cheerleaders, seek so desperately to exclude us.
They know that the stronger Sinn Féin gets, and the more people respond to our message, the sooner their power and privilege will be ended.
I am not one to place much value on opinion polls. But the recent B&A/Sunday Times poll was notable in that it showed just 1% between Sinn Féin and Fine Gael.
Yet, RTÉ still plans to exclude Sinn Féin from the final televised debate of this campaign.
They want a head-to-head between Leo and his buddy Mícheál. What an absolute joke! What an insult to the license payer! So I ask RTÉ today - What are you afraid of?
This election is not and never was a two horse race and RTÉ is doing a shameful disservice to the Irish public by seeking to frame it in that way.
Let’s be honest about this. This will be a fake debate between two party leaders who have effectively been in coalition together. You couldn’t put a cigarette paper between Leo Varadkar and Mícheál Martin in terms of policy or ideology.
Although you may not know it, if you relied on RTÉ, the combined Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael vote is shrinking with every election. This election can be won by mobilising ordinary, working people whose interests will never be served by Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil.
With the support of the people Sinn Féin can and will transform Irish politics. That is the message we must bring to the doors across this state over the coming days.
Ar aghaidh linn le chéile. Ar aghaidh linn le Sinn Féin.
Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Culture, Arts and Sport Sinéad Ennis MLA has again raised concerns over the issue of the geo-blocking of sports events by southern broadcasters.
This follows TG4 geo-blocking their coverage of the recent All-Ireland Club Final.
Speaking on the issue, Sinéad Ennis said:
“On Sunday, as Kilcoo GAC – a team proudly hailing from Co. Down, lined out in the All-Ireland Club Football Final in Croke Park, viewers from the north were unable to tune in online as a result of geo-blocking.
“It is entirely unacceptable that northern viewers have been continuously blocked from viewing live sports and other programmes by southern broadcasters.
“GAA is the national sport of Ireland; it is a sport that is played as much in the glens of Antrim and the hills of Co.Down as it is in Dublin, Cork or anywhere else on this island.
“I have previously raised concerns around geo-blocking directly with the GAA and southern broadcasters as part of our ‘Fair Play for Ulster Gaels’ campaign.
“Sinn Féin are committed to ensuring a fair, equal and unhindered access to important national, sporting events and competitions associated with them.”
Sinn Féin spokesperson for Mental Health Órlaithí Flynn MLA, has called for an increase in funding for suicide prevention.
Speaking after an open letter was sent to the Health Minister by Irish sport and entertainment stars, Órlaithí Flynn said:
"I acknowledge the concern and interest expressed by so many public figures who have signed the open letter to the Minister of Health calling for the urgent need to increase investment in mental health and suicide prevention services.
"Suicide is not just a health issue, it is an issue for all in society.
"It can have a variety of complex causes which may vary from a deep sense of hopelessness experienced by many young people, the impact of addiction, or the effect of dehumanising attitudes towards minority groups, to name a few.
"Communities must be supported to offer hope and demonstrate that life is meaningful.
"This means investment in crisis services and tackling the routes causes of inequality and suffering.
"The recent suicide prevention strategy is £3m short. I have called on the Minister of Health Robin Swann to commit to implementing the strategy in full.
"The strategy has support from all the Executive Departments. Each needs to live up to its own commitments and see implementation as a priority.
"Communities and families devastated by suicide deserve better, they deserve actions and better outcomes."
Sinn Féin Housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin has called on Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy to explain the interest rate hike for the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan.
Deputy Ó Broin said:
“As is typical of Minister Murphy we hear of interest rate changes to this government backed mortgage scheme via media reports.
“Based on the report it would seem that borrowers are facing a rate increase from 2% for a 25 year on to 2.745% and from 2.25% for a 30-year loan to 2.995%.
“These loans are for home owners who struggled to get a mortgage from banks and now Fine Gael is happy to increase the costs on workers and families.
“Over the lifetime of these mortgages, it will add €20,000 to €30,000 to the cost of finance for working people.
“That is not good enough.
“A Sinn Féin Housing Minister would prioritise the delivery of affordable purchase homes, costing less than €250,000, instead of increasing the debt burden.”
Sinn Féin Director of Elections Pearse Doherty has said RTÉ and Virgin Media must reverse their decision to exclude Mary Lou McDonald from their Leaders Debate with the leaders of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.
Doherty was speaking this evening after the latest opinion poll from IPSOS/MRBI.
He said;
“There are clearly three large parties contesting this election and it would fly in the face of fairness and impartiality to exclude Mary Lou McDonald from these debates.
“With Fianna Fáil facilitating Fine Gael in government for the last four years it has been Sinn Féin that has been the major voice of opposition.
“Both RTÉ and Virgin Media must reverse their decision to exclude Sinn Féin from their major set piece debates.”
ENDS
Sinn Féin Finance Spokesperson Pearse Doherty has written to Virgin Media objecting to a head to head debate between the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael leaders set to take place this Wednesday.
Speaking today, the Donegal TD said;
"As Sinn Féin Director of Elections I have written to Virgin Media in relation to their decision to hold a 'Head to Head' debate between the leaders of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, two parties that received less than 50% support in the last election.
"I believe that facilitating a debate in the manner proposed is capable of affecting the outcome of the election by presenting the electorate with a false, binary choice between two parties with virtually the same policies.
"BAI rules acknowledge that broadcasters have a statutory obligation to ensure that all news and current affairs programming is fair, objective and impartial.
"How Virgin Media can justify excluding Sinn Féin and the people we represent from this debate is beyond me.
"There is no substantial difference between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Their policies are much the same and this can be seen over their past four years in Government together.
"I am calling on Virgin Media to make public the criteria applied in reaching this decision.
"They should reverse this decision immediately and have a debate that's actually representative of Irish society."
Sinn Féin Health spokesperson Louise O'Reilly has called for a new and dedicated primary care strategy and funding, in line with Sláintecare, given there are countless Primary Care Centres without a GP, Speech and Language Therapist, Occupational Therapist, or Psychologist.
Teachta Reilly said:
"Primary care centres were heralded as a one-stop shop for people's basic health needs outside of a hospital. However, this promise has not been fulfilled.
"Figures I received from the HSE have shown that at countless HSE primary care centres there is no GP and at many others, such as in my own constituency in Balbriggan, there is a lack of necessary staff.
"There is no GP at around 20 Centres, while over 40 don't have a psychologist, and there is no Speech and Language Therapist or Occupational Therapist at around another 20. The list goes on and on, there is hardly a single Primary Care Centre with a full staffing compliment across the whole State.
"Due to cuts, underinvestment in staff, and a lack of government enthusiasm for locally delivered community care, the area of primary care has suffered significantly. This has heaped further pressure on hospital services.
"Primary and community care should be the cornerstone of our health service incorporating GPs, practice and community nurses, and others. It can deal with the bulk of the health needs of the population. It has lower costs than hospital care and can be delivered faster and closer to home.
"Sinn Féin in government would deliver on primary care through properly staffing primary care centres with a full complement of staff, including GPs, and other health professionals such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists and counsellors."
Sinn Féin MP John Finucane will speak at a public meeting in Westminster alongside other Sinn Féin MPs next week on the growing support for Irish reunification and the demand for a unity referendum.
The North Belfast MP said:
"It is clear there is growing support for Irish unity across the island of Ireland.
"The fact that the British government is persisting with dragging the north out of the EU against our will has led many more people to question their constitutional future and see their future on the island of Ireland.
"The Sinn Féin MP team are hosting a public meeting in Westminster to discuss the opportunities of the decade, the increasing support for Irish unity and the new Executive in the north.
"The conversation on Irish unity is well underway and we need to see the Irish government taking a lead in that but there is also a role for everyone in shaping the debate.
"In particular the Irish community in Britain and everyone with an interest in democracy can play their part by calling on the British government to live up to its responsibilities under the Good Friday Agreement and announce its intention to hold a referendum on Irish unity.
"The event will be held in the Grand Committee Room, Westminster Hall, at 7pm on Tuesday, January 28th."
Sinn Féin spokesperson for Social Protection John Brady has said that Fianna Fáil must come clean on whether they would stop the retirement age from increasing to 67, and that a review into the system does not go far enough for those already struggling.
He said;
"Sinn Féin is the only party committed to bringing the pension age back to 65.
"Fianna Fáil have effectively been in government for the past four years alongside Fine Gael and they have failed to take any action on this issue.
"Cheap promises from Mícheál Martin's party ahead of an election to review the planned increase in the pension age means nothing for those who are already struggling.
"He must clarify his party's position on this issue as a matter of urgency, instead of making open ended promises ahead of polling day.
"Sinn Féin have legislation ready to go to give workers, families and older citizens a break.
"I will introduce this legislation if returned as a TD for Wicklow, as well as a Bill to abolish mandatory retirement.
"That is what is fair, just and in line with the values of the vast majority of the Irish people."
Speaking at the launch of Sinn Féin’s Housing Manifesto this morning, Dublin Mid-West general election candidate Eoin Ó Broin has said that ‘in government, Sinn Féin will deliver the largest public housing building programme in the history of the State’.
He also said that ‘a Sinn Féin Minister for Housing will introduce an emergency three year rent reduction and rent freeze.’
He said:
“Fine Gael have been in government for nine years.
“Their record on housing speaks for itself:
“More and more people are unable to access secure and affordable housing.
“In 2016, the current government launched their flagship housing policy ‘Rebuilding Ireland’.
“They promised to fix our broken housing system.
“Instead they have made things worse, with rents and levels of homelessness spiralling ever higher.
“Social housing delivery remains glacial while overall supply lags far behind the promised 25,000 new homes per year.
“The result of this is thousands of children spending their formative years living in hotels and family HUBs.
“Tens of thousands of families are languishing on Council housing waiting lists for a decade or more.
“Tens of thousands of renters are paying up to 40% - and in some cases 50% - of their income on accommodation.
“An entire generation of young people are locked out of every owning their own home.
“All of this has happened because for three decades - first Fianna Fáil and then Fine Gael - have followed the same set of bad housing policies.
“They under invested in public housing.
“They over relied on the private sector to meet social and affordable housing need.
“They failed to protect renters from the volatility of the market.
“And they saddled working people with unsustainable levels of debt.
“Together they have created a housing system that forces hundreds of thousands of people into insecure and expensive accommodation.
“Sinn Féin wants to change all of that.
“We want to be in government to break with the failed policies of the past and implement a completely new approach to housing.
“And that is why I am committing here today that Sinn Féin will deliver the largest public housing building programme in the history of the State.
“Over the lifetime of a government we would:
“We would take 60,000 families off Council house waiting lists, give 30,000 first time buyers genuinely affordable homes and start to build up a stock of affordable cost rental accommodation.
“A Sinn Féin Minister for Housing would also take emergency action to address the rental crisis by reducing rents by up to €1,500 a year with a refundable tax credit, alongside introducing a three year freeze on all existing and new rents.
“This would be accompanied by increasing the stock of affordable rental accommodation and reducing the State’s reliance on subsidised private rental accommodation to meet social need.
“Our Housing Manifesto is fully costed and can be delivered without additional government borrowing, or additional taxes on workers earning less than €100,000 per year - the detail of which will be outlined by our spokesperson on Finance Pearse Doherty later in the campaign.
“Other key policies being launched today include:
“General election 2020 offers a clear choice.
“Do voters want to continue with the failed housing policies of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael?
“Or do they want a change of policy that will deliver secure and affordable homes for the many, not just the few?
“This election is also about who the public want to be the next Minister for Housing.
“Do they want Eoghan Murphy? Whose stand out achievements are record levels of homelessness, sky high rents and house prices, and ever rising social housing need.
“Do they want Darragh O’Brien, who has facilitated Fine Gael’s failed housing policy and Fine Gael’s Minister by repeatedly abstaining on budgets and votes of no-confidence?
“Or do they want a Minister with the vision, solutions and commitment to transform our housing system for the benefit of all?
“I believe I can be that Minister and if you agree - then vote Sinn Féin on 8th February.”
Speaking on Newstalk this morning, Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on Justice and Equality, and candidate in the Sligo-Leitrim constituency, Martin Kenny has said that ninety-nine percent of people from disadvantaged communities are decent people.
Martin Kenny said:
"A recent study by Dr. Johnny Connolly from the University of Limerick shows that, in communities where there is a high prevalence of disadvantage, the overwhelming majority are ordinary, decent people going about their business, with just one percent engaged in criminality.
“These communities are victims of drug dealing and gun violence.
"We have to take a tough line on criminals and the Gardaí must be fully and properly resourced these thugs and these gangs.
"We have to make sure that they can go after these criminals with an immediate response, like was done after the murder of Veronica Guerin.
"Early intervention is also needed and this requires that resources are provided, such as social workers, educational facilities and community policing.
“As a society we have to examine how to deal with all of this and a national conversation must be had to ensure we avoid the horrific consequences of these past weeks.”
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Housing Eoin Ó Broin has criticised Fianna Fáil and its party leader Micheál Martin for executing another flip-flop on its position in respect of a rent freeze which shows Fianna Fáil cannot be trusted on housing.
He said:
"One month ago, in the Dáil chamber, Fianna Fáil were supporting Sinn Féin’s rent reduction and rent freeze Bill.
"Yet today, the Fianna Fáil leader has flip-flopped on this support.
"This is despite Micheál Martin standing up during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil on the 12th of November and stating: 'It is time for the government to consider imposing a rent freeze, given the exorbitant levels of rent people are facing.'
"This is disappointing, but not surprising.
"While Micheál Martin criticises the rip-off rental culture that currently exists he has no interest in helping out hard pressed renters.
"This another empty promise from Fianna Fáil - the party that will say anything to get back into power. t is clear that Fianna Fáil has not learned from its mistakes.
"They supported four Fine Gael Budgets that have resulted in no affordable homes being delivered and they have supported an incompetent Minister for Housing in votes of no-confidence.
"Fianna Fáil simply cannot be trusted to deliver good quality, affordable homes for people who need them.
"Sinn Féin will outline our Housing policy tomorrow and we will show voters how we’re the only party with a plan that will deliver much needed homes.”
Speaking following comments made by the Taoiseach today, Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald has said:
"The disrespect shown by Leo Varadkar and Fine Gael knows no bounds.
"Retiring from a lifetime of work at 65 is not an 'early retirement' as the Taoiseach has described it.
"I think his remarks will anger a great many people.
"Leo Varadkar clearly has a poor view of people that have spent decades working hard and paying taxes to fund this State. They also pay his considerable salary and pension, as it happens.
"This really smacks of the 'let them eat cake' attitude that the Taoiseach has demonstrated during his time in politics.
"Sinn Féin is standing up for 65 year olds who wish to retire.
"They are entitled to the respect and dignity of finishing work on a State pension, and Sinn Féin is the only party committed to bringing the pension age back to 65.
"That is what is fair, just and in line with the values of the vast major of the Irish people."
Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald has strongly criticised RTÉ's decision to exclude Sinn Féin from the leaders debate in the final week of the general election, saying that excluding alternative voices does a disservice to the public interest.
She said:
"This general election has been framed by some as a two-horse race between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil; two parties that have been in a confidence and supply arrangement since 2016.
"Regrettably, this includes the national broadcaster RTÉ, who have chosen to exclude Sinn Féin from its leaders debate in the final week of the election; despite the fact that Sinn Féin has led opposition to their government arrangement over the past four years.
"This decision, quite frankly, is wrong.
"Politics is about people and it is about policies.
"It is about opinions and it is about views.
"It is not about personality contests.
"Yet, this is what RTÉ are proposing to host by facilitating a debate between two parties with no real discernible policy differences and no alternative vision for the country.
"This morning, I have asked Sinn Féin's Director of Elections Pearse Doherty to write formally to RTÉ outlining Sinn Féin's absolute opposition to this decision.
"We are also now seeking legal advice on this matter.
"Because this election is about much more than these two parties.
"It is not a two-horse race and the media - particularly the national broadcaster - has a responsibility to make sure that all voices are heard.
"Excluding other views does a disservice to the public interest and prevents the public from hearing real issues being debated.
"That is Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil's game plan.
"They want this election to be about them.
"But it's not. It is about the Irish people and our future.
"RTÉ should not be playing Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil's game.
"That is a failure of their duty as a public service broadcaster."
Sinn Féin Leader Mary Lou McDonald has said Fine Gael has learned nothing after Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy’s statement that he wants to return to his ministry after the election.
Ms McDonald said the government and Eoghan Murphy, backed all the way by Fianna Fáil, had caused untold hardship in the area of housing.
Ms McDonald was campaigning in Meath today with party candidates Johnny Guirke and Darren O’Rourke and said Sinn Féin would reconnect Navan to the rail network and end commuter misery.
She said;
“Fine Gael have clearly learned nothing. They can’t accept or acknowledge the scale of their failure.
“The statement from Eoghan Murphy that he wishes to return to the Housing Ministry is the starkest evidence of this. The government and the minister have been disastrous in this area.
“Micheál Martin and Fianna Fáil were happy to keep Eoghan Murphy in his job but the people are wiser than that.”
Setting out some of Sinn Féín’s transport proposals, Ms McDonald continued;
“Ending commuter misery in places like Navan is a key priority for Sinn Féin. We need to invest in public transport in urban and rural communities, we need to invest in our public transport network and increase capacity on our rail network by investing in more carriages. Critically for places like Navan, we need to reconnect the town to the rail network, something which would immediately improve the quality of life for thousands of commuters.
“The best way to reduce car dependency is to provide alternatives, and so we need to invest in rail, bus, and active modes of transport such as cycling. This is essential as we move towards a carbon-neutral society.
“Sinn Féin will invest an additional €1bn in public transport above what is already committed in the National Development Plan, including doubling investment in rural transport. This is what is required to:
· Provide free transport for under 18s.
· Expand rail services including the completion of the Western Rail Corridor
· Complete the Cork to Limerick motorway and the A5 from Dublin to Derry/Donegal.
· Ensure public transport is accessible to those with disabilities.
· Keep public transport in public ownership.”
