The Cabinet reshuffle will not bring the change the country needs, Sinn Féin TD Lousie O'Reilly has said.
Micheál Martin stood down as Taoiseach today, marking the beginning of the long-anticipated government reshuffle.
Within the next few hours, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar will be appointed Taoiseach after which he will announce his new Cabinet.
Deputy O’Reilly and Jennifer Carroll-MacNeill, Fine Gael TD for Dún Laoghaire, joined The Anton Savage Show to reflect on the last two years of politics.
Deputy Carroll-MacNeill lauded the former Taoiseach's tenure, saying he dealt well with the "difficult two years".
His most impressive achievements, she believes, include low unemployment, economic recovery and supporting people through the cost of living crisis.
"I think the government has really worked well together and I expect it to continue to work well together", she said.
Deputy Carroll-MacNeill was reluctant to point to "mistakes" that Mr Martin made, saying that managing the pandemic was a difficult task due to the "imperfect information" the government had.
"Particularly with COVID, that was such an evolving experience scientifically, medically, in terms of the advice on public health, how that was evolving with European partners and what they were doing."
Change needed
Deputy O'Reilly, Sinn Féin spokesperson for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, said the switch "won't represent any change in policy".
The coalition's policies so far have led to a cost of living crisis, longer waiting lists for healthcare and over 11,000 people homeless, "3,800 of whom are children", she said.
"It's not so much that they didn't deal with [these issues], it's the fact that they got progressively worse on their watch."
According to Deputy O'Reilly, it's a change in government that's needed now.
"I don't think people want more of the same", she said.
"Shifting around the chairs, changing personalities, that is not going to deliver for people."
Political stability
In Fine Gael's twelve years in government, rents have risen by 82%, and many healthcare staff are thinking about leaving their jobs due to the crisis.
Deputy Carroll-MacNeill said that while there are undeniably ongoing challenges in relation to health and housing, but "people voted for this combination of parties".
She said that the historic transition today being "stable and predictable" is an achievement in and of itself in an increasingly divisive time.
"If the government really placed a value on stability, they would step up to the plate."
"Political stability is a big thing for foreign direct investment. It's a big thing especially for a small economy like ours", she said.
Deputy O'Reilly said that it is "a bit rich" for a government TD "to eulogise the need for stability".
People worst affected by the government's don't experience stability.
"If the government really really really placed a value on stability, well then they would step up to the plate and they would actually address the crises", she said.
Listen back to the full conversation here.
Main image shows Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Sinn Féin TD Louise O'Reilly.
