The Dáil should have no confidence in a “tired, arrogant and complacent Government” which neither acknowledges nor addresses its “many and growing failings”, TDs have heard.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said on Tuesday that the people had shown they had no confidence in the Government to address their concerns and the needs of the State, and the Dáil should do likewise.

Speaking on the Government’s counter-motion of confidence in Taoiseach Enda Kenny and in itself following Sinn Féin’s planned motion of no confidence, Mr Martin claimed the Government “is in office but not leading. All it has is the ever-more desperate desire to find a way of holding on to power”.

Responsibility

Mr Martin said Mr Kenny had to bear responsibility for the growing crisis in Government and the ensuing collapse of public trust.

And he accused Mr Kenny of busying himself with photo opportunities and brief comments but of being “the least accessible Taoiseach of modern times when it comes to detailed interviews or debates”.

Mr Kenny “simply will not participate in them,” Mr Martin said, but “retreats behind overwritten political attacks and empty claims instead of directly engaging with opponents or the people he is here to serve”.

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said the Government was "so frightened at the mere prospect of debating an Opposition motion" that it was "not fit to lead this State through the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead".

Sinn Féin had tabled its motion of no confidence in the Taoiseach, which is due to conclude in tandem with today’s right-to-water demonstration. “However, the Government was determined at all costs to stop that.”

Lost its way

Mr Adams said the Government did what it was told when the troika was in Ireland and “things were okay”. But, when the Government had to deal with issues as they arose, “it completely lost its way”.

Mr Adams called on the Taoiseach to “take courage in his own hands. If he is really serious, he should resign, call a general election, have a real democratic revolution and let the citizens decide.”

Independent TD John Halligan said people in his Waterford constituency had no confidence in the health service or the Government. He highlighted the case of Paula Bergin, who died at Waterford Regional Hospital a short time ago.

“She had private health insurance but shared a ward with four men,” Mr Halligan said. “And while she was dying, there was a soccer match on television, so the men were shouting and jumping up and down.

“What a way to die and what an undignified death. Her husband and child could not hear her last words,” he said.