Wicklow Sinn Féin TD John Brady has argued that following the decision by Leo Varadkar to throw in the towel and resign as leader of Fine Gael, and his plan to step down as Taoiseach once a successor has been chosen, the country needs a general election.
It is undemocratic that the next Taoiseach will be selected by a handful of political insiders. With a series of crises across the state including, housing, cost-of-living, and the health service, along with an immigration system that has become a by-word for chaos, the current government is deeply unpopular.
It is the right of the people of Ireland, not the Fine Gael parliamentary party, supported by their allies in Fianna Fail and the Green Party, to choose who will be the next leader of the country.
Brady said:
“Over the next two weeks we will all be witnesses to the charade of the Fine Gael leadership contest. With the ultimate decision as to who will succeed Leo Varadkar as Taoiseach being taken by a handful of privileged individuals in the Fine Gael parliamentary party. Who arguably have demonstrated over the last four years that they do not have the interests of workers and families in Wicklow or anywhere else in the country for that matter at heart.
Leo Varadkar has been joined in his decision to throw in the towel by 11 other Fine TD’s, who have seen the writing on the wall, and have decided to walk away rather than contest the next election. They are acutely aware of the public mood towards this government.
The country needs a general election. It is the sovereign right of the people of Ireland to choose who the leader of the country should be. That Fine Gael would attempt to usurp that right is wrong.
The fact that we are in the middle of a housing crisis which has devastated the home owning ambitions of a whole generation, leaving thousands homeless, and is forcing many more to leave the country in search of a better quality of life, I think is unforgivable.
The health service is in chaos, the costs of the National Children’s Hospital spiralling on a regular basis, waiting times through the roof, shortages of beds, along with patient services.
The government’s immigration system is in chaos.
The fact that a body of privileged individuals, the vast majority of whom are themselves landlords, will assume the right to select who will be the next leader of the country is absolutely wrong. It is immoral.
The people of Ireland, those that have borne the brunt of this government’s calamitous tenure need to be allowed to have their say, to adjudicate on the housing crisis, the crisis in Health, and the crippling cost of living.
They need to have their say on the chaos, the incoherence, and the abject failure of this government to implement a fair, efficient, and enforced immigration strategy.
The Dáil needs to be dissolved and an election called which will allow for the election of a representative government chosen by the people and tasked with resolving and overcoming the shambolic legacy of the current coalition.”