Speaking at an event organised by TASC this afternoon, Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald responded to reports that the government is looking at introducing Troika-like spending rules.

Teachta McDonald said:

“Reports that the Minister for Public Expenditure is looking to impose Troika-like rules on government spending are extremely worrying.

“It was Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael austerity that weakened our health services and left them so cruelly exposed when Covid hit. It is these policies that poured accelerant onto the housing crisis, and which shaped the inequalities we see in our economy today.

“The worst thing that could happen now is that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are allowed to reset the clock to last February and pick up where they left off. It is time to look to the future, not to relapse into austerity. 

“We need a totally new approach to rebuilding from this pandemic; one that is based on investment, stimulus and job creation. 

“This is not a time for the government to step back. This is a time for the government to step up and show ambition.

“The danger now is not that the government does too much, but that it does too little. Investment and growth are key to delivering the real change that Ireland deserves. Ordinary people should not be made pay the price for the Covid-19 crisis. 

“We need a strong, ambitious government that will get our people back to work and fix the failings of the past. We cannot sleep-walk into the so-called recoveries of the past.  

“Those recoveries that were really for banks, corporate landlords and about ring-fencing wealth. This time must be different. We need a fair recovery, a recovery for the people.”