Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I offer personal congratulations to the new Ministers. We wish them well in their portfolios. We need to see positive change delivered by this new Government. There is one very negative change: we see a reduction in the number of women in Cabinet from four to three. There are as many men named James as there are women in this incoming Cabinet. That is a negative change, and we do not see any sign of positive change either from the programme for Government. There is no transformative vision, no State construction company, no public childcare scheme, no strengthening the protection of workers' rights and no radical measures to protect our climate and biodiversity. We in Labour cannot support this programme for Government; it is a recycled programme in a circular economy. Our new TDs will outline further why it lacks vision and lacks any sense of positive change for the communities we represent.

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