Sinn Féin Leader Mary Lou McDonald TD has criticised Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin for what she described as their “phoney stand-off regarding the date of the forthcoming general election.”

Ms McDonald said that both should be focused on delivering solutions for families and workers.

The Sinn Féin President said;

“Leo Varadkar and Micheál Martin should be more concerned with delivering solutions for workers and families. Where is the date for the start of a massive public housing programme? Where is the date for ending overcrowding in our hospitals?

“Right now, we need to see the passage of Sinn Féin’s legislation to reduce and freeze rents through the Oireachtas to ensure that renters get the break they so badly need. However, the Taoiseach and the Fianna Fáil Leader are more concerned with their phoney standoff.

“This spat is just the latest round in the sham fight between the Taoiseach and the Leader of Fianna Fáil. The truth is they are political partners. They are on the same page when it comes to the major issues facing workers and families.

“As co-architects of the crises in housing and healthcare, Leo Varadkar and Micheál Martin have used the alibi of Brexit to sit on their hands as people continue to suffer. The coalition government of Fine Gael and Fianna Fail has been dominated by a lack of action and by failure to solve the problems facing ordinary people.

“It is incredible that Leo Varadkar and Micheál Martin think it appropriate to engage in another tiff designed for PR when the disastrous consequences of their partnership are writ large in terms of unprecedented homelessness, hundreds of thousands on hospital waiting list and a year-round trolley crisis

“Frankly, they need to cop-on. People want solutions and leadership, not self-indulgent play-acting.”

ENDS