I thank Independent Ireland for tabling this motion. As my colleague said, we would not agree with all the proposals set out, but this is an important debate that needs to happen. When we look at what is going on right now across the country, we can see that people are really struggling. They are not just struggling financially; they are struggling to get around on public transport and they are struggling with the lack of basic infrastructure. This is the fundamental problem. Ireland is not working for people. It is not working for anyone. Our economic infrastructure and social infrastructure are completely inadequate. The Social Democrats have set out a different approach. It is a social democratic approach which puts the State central to delivering and guaranteeing the social and economic infrastructure so that our economy functions. The reality, as I have stated previously, is that this Government is cruel - it stands over the highest level of evictions since the Famine and the highest level of homelessness on record - but that it is also incompetent. There are record budget surpluses, yet people cannot get around our capital city. They cannot access health services or housing, the most basic of infrastructure. Why is that the case? It is because the State, rather than building up its own capacity, is outsourcing. We see this most clearly in the area of housing. Over €1 billion per year is going to for-profit providers of emergency accommodation and private landlords through the housing assistance payment, HAP. That is €1 billion every year that gives nothing by way of a permanent, public asset in return. Talk about poor value for money. In the area of childcare, there are similarly huge subsidies for the private sector. Why are we not building up public housing and public childcare models? These things would permanently bring down the cost of living. That is the structural change that is needed. What is going on, as I said, is that there is still an issue with ideology and the belief that the market is the best way to deliver things. The Taoiseach gets up here and says that we have no substance in our proposals. That is spin. It is completely untrue and he knows it is untrue. We have set out detailed proposals, whether for a public childcare model, for a State construction company, and for solar for all. There are clear, detailed policies, but this Government is showing an absolute reluctance to take our proposal seriously, because it does not want to change and does not want to acknowledge the depth of this crisis and of the Government's failure. Communities need real investment. We believe that rather than cutting the tax of investor funds, we need a tax that in respect of the super-wealthy in this country to allow us to end child poverty.

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