Over the past month, we have seen the Government drop ball after ball. It has been unwilling to talk, slow to make a decision, refusing to listen and unfit for Government. When it allows a situation to run out of control, it panics and it talks about bringing in the Army and putting it on the streets and it attacks the media. The time has come for TDs to make up their minds. Do they believe the Government has handled these situations well in general? It is not just last week, since 28 February or the presidential election, but back from when the election deal was done and the carve-up was completed. Are the Government and its supporters able to deal with a crisis and react to it? We have already seen that some people are running from Government. People do not feel supported. I have seen the proposals and the reaction to the housing crisis. There is little or no affordable housing, long waiting lists, record numbers in emergency accommodation and spiralling rents but at the same time, there are grants in the form of tax breaks to huge developers to build expensive for-rent apartments in the larger cities. Landlords and large property owners are favoured but people need a home they can call their own. There is not enough funding for early intervention classes and ASD units, and parents of adult children with additional needs are being ignored and left to fend for themselves. Even the weakest are ignored. For years, there has been a refusal to extend the child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, compensation scheme and the boarded out children are still left behind. However, there have been plenty of statements, announcements and publicity videos that we were obliged to fact check. Were college fees reduced? No, they actually increased. Was there more money for the local improvement scheme, LIS? No, there was actually a decrease. Was there more money for roads in Kerry? Again, this was not true. Funding for local and regional roads in Kerry actually decreased by €2 million this year. It was said housing targets are being met - another lie. Energy credits were granted not because the Government believed they were effective in dealing with a cost-of-living crisis but to buy the election. After the election, there was nothing. Earlier on, I heard the Taoiseach refer to a report today that Government measures had shielded people from energy bills. Those are the same energy credits that the Government stripped away, and we have already seen the reaction to that. No wonder Danny Healy-Rae called for Fianna Fáil to oust the Taoiseach when you cannot believe a word that is being said. After St. Patrick's Day, the Government reacted to the Sinn Féin pressures with a half-baked package but we knew it was too little too late. I spoke to constituents over the last week, working people angry at Government waste, two-income families, small farmers, factory workers, HSE employees, some of the 750,000 people who are using home heating oil and struggling with their energy bills. These people cannot afford electric vehicles. They cannot afford the retrofitting scheme. Now was a chance to tell people where the Government TDs stood. They should follow the lead of their colleagues in government and the advice of their former supporters, leave this Government and vote no confidence in this Government.

Sentiment score: -0.05