“Tánaiste’s pearl clutching tantrum a pathetic display of weak leadership.” Ken O’Flynn TD
“No one buys the tough guy routine, Simon.
Independent Ireland TD for Cork North-Central Ken O’Flynn has launched a scathing attack on Tánaiste Simon Harris after he sought answers to questions around the use of public funding for Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection and international protection applicants.
Deputy O’Flynn was speaking in the Dáil earlier today, after he had requested the Tánaiste to investigate claims that emerged online yesterday, when a Waterford based business owner took to social media to highlight how the Department of Social Protection were picking up the tab for car and engine repairs for some Ukrainians resident in Ireland.The Tánaiste responded by repeatedly accusing Deputy O’Flynn of ‘dog-whistling"
"God help the poor Tánaiste. I am sure he thought he was being fierce tough in his reply, but to be honest, his preening moral posturing reminded me not of a mauling from a lion but rather a swipe from a gummy kitten,” said Deputy O’Flynn.
“This is typical of what we have come to expect from the Tánaiste and Government. In fact, I have rarely seen a politician who so delights in jumping up on his high horse at every available opportunity.”“Well, here is one Cork horse who will kick back, because I am not going to sit there and take lectures from this hapless, so-called leader for simply for doing my job and seeking accountability for the use of public funds.”
“I want clarity on this matter. I want an evidenced based debate on the use of social protection funding. I want to know if Petro and Marina from Kyiv are having their cars repairs put on the Irish bill while Paddy and Mary are having their Additional Needs Payments and Humanitarian Assistance Payments refused.”
“I want at the very least to ensure that there is parity of treatment, and that we are not being taken for absolute mugs by a Department that has been generous to a fault with taxpayers’ money, as the farcical spend of €1,000,000 per month on accommodation for pets of Ukrainian Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection in 2022 clearly demonstrated.”
“The Tánaiste can accuse me all he likes of dog-whistling. No one is falling for that nonsense anymore. It means nothing to me, and it will certainly not deter me from asking questions on behalf of the Irish taxpayer,” concluded Deputy O’Flynn.
