FF questions Govt priorities as crucial matters are refused Dáil debate

Fianna Fáil has raised serious questions about the Government’s priorities, after Dáil debates on the shocking revelations in Tuam and on the large scale job losses in Waterford were rejected today in favour of debates on Libya, school places in Co Wicklow, school management of weather alerts, and the Garda e-crime unit.

Fianna Fáil’s Jobs Spokesperson Dara Calleary has expressed his disappointment that three requests from Fianna Fáil for debates on the deaths of hundreds of babies in Tuam and on the threat to hundreds of jobs in Waterford were rejected outright.

“There is very little that is more urgent and needs greater political attention right now than the appalling revelations surrounding the mother and baby home in Tuam and the devastation caused by the threatened loss of hundreds of jobs at Bausch & Lomb in Waterford,” said Deputy Calleary.

“And yet, all of our requests for debates on these too extremely urgent issues were rejected in favour of requests from two Government backbenchers about weather warnings and local school places. While these local issues are important, as is the crisis in Libya and garda investigations into computer crime, I do not believe they should take precedent over the far more pressing developments in Tuam and Waterford.

“This raises serious questions about the priorities of this Dáil under Fine Gael and Labour. Fianna Fáil is seeking a statement from the Taoiseach immediately outlining how his Government intends to handle the deeply upsetting revelations in Tuam. We are also seeking an urgent Dáil debate on the jobs crisis in Waterford and the Government’s handling of impending job losses at Bausch & Lomb since they first became aware of the situation months ago.”