Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice Found There, published in 1871, featured the characters Tweedledum and Tweedledee. According to Wikipedia, "The Tweedle brothers never contradict each other ... they complement each other's words, which led John Tenniel to portray them as twins in his illustrations for the book." Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are the Tweedledum and Tweedledee of Irish politics. As if to prove the point this morning, they swap around the top jobs and the policy of the Government will stay more or less exactly the same.

On Wednesday morning, at 4 a.m., queues began to form outside the Capuchin Day Centre here in Dublin for tickets for Christmas hampers for those in need. By 11 a.m., gardaí had to intervene to stop the distribution of tickets amid what was described by the centre's co-ordinator as, "absolutely chaotic scenes". This happened in the capital city of a wealthy, First World country - a country which Deputy Varadkar has helped to shape having been a Minister for 11 years now.

My colleague, Councillor Leah Whelan, 25 years of age, is in a WhatsApp group with 21 of her friends. Since the start of the year, 20 of Leah's friends have emigrated. In a State led for 100 years by Governments headed by Fine Gael of Fianna Fáil, a State from which many more than 1 million people have been forced to emigrate, youth emigration is starting up again in earnest. Back in the day, emigration was driven by mass unemployment. Today, it is driven by the housing emergency. No party in this House is more responsible for this crisis than Deputy Varadkar's party, which has been in power as it was allowed to develop all along the line.

If the people had a vote today they would vote for change and Deputy McDonald would probably be the one heading off to the Park. As this Dáil enters its second half, I say to Deputy McDonald the change the people need will not be found in Governments that include Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael, nor will it be found in discussions with the likes of Mary Harney or the big property developers. We need an alternative to the capitalist market and its representatives, not a second 11 for it. I will be voting against the nomination of Deputy Varadkar.

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