Mary Lou McDonald heckled with Hutch comment during Dáil speech
Country Not To Health Now Féin Taoiseach Sinn Needs The Leader A Crisis Housing Said And The General Tackle A The And New Election
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has been heckled by government TDs as she demanded a general election during a Dáil speech on the nomination for Taoiseach.
Ms McDonald said the country now needs a general election and not a new Taoiseach to tackle the housing and health crisis.
Speaking in the Dáil as nominations for the next Taoiseach were being made, Ms McDonald said: "You can stand in the way of change, you can refuse to budge, you can slow it down, you can make the people wait a little longer, but you cannot and you will not slow down change.
"The touch paper has lit," she said before she was heckled from the Government benches by Fine Gael TD Michael Creed, who shouted "you mean the Hutch paper", a comment subsequently repeated by other TDs. Ms McDonald did not respond to the comments and continued with her speech.
The Sinn Féin leader has in recent weeks denied she has ever met with Gerry Hutch, following evidence given at his trial at the Special Criminal Court for the murder of David Byrne.
Ms McDonald told the this week that she is certain no member of the Hutch family has given money to Sinn Féin. She also said she did not know Gerry ‘the Monk’ Hutch was present at a fundraising event she attended in 2014.
At another point in her speech, Ms McDonald said: "It is no coincidence that the Minister for Finance, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, is now ready to oversee the return of bumper pay to the top brass in the banks, backing the haves over the have-nots, showing up always for the insider class, looking after their friends in high places."
This drew an interjection from Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris, who quipped: "What about friends in low places?"
Nominating Leo Varadkar for the position of Taoiseach, Richard Burton said "his strong character has been formed by being the proud son of an Indian father and an Irish mother, by being part of a family devoted to care as doctors and nurses and by his experience in five Departments, namely, health, social protection, enterprise, transport, tourism and sport, and defence; before becoming the youngest Taoiseach ever at the age of 38".
His nomination was seconded by Emer Higgins.