LIMERICK Sinn Féin TD Maurice Quinlivan has called for Roderic O’Gorman, Green Party Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth, to resign over his handling of the government’s referendum campaign.
Speaking in Limerick today as indications were that the country had rejected the government and Yes/Yes side, Deputy Quinlivan said: “This has been a catastrophic failure by government who, in their arrogance, listened to nobody.”
“There was no prelegislative scrutiny, even though Sinn Féin and others requested this and the Children’s Committee was willing to sit for as long as it took.
“The government arrogantly pressed on without clarifying issues that they knew would cause problems.
Deputy Quinlivan hit out that “specific interventions by An Taoiseach around Care with his Thatcherite-type comments, Micheál Martin’s arrogant mansplaining on TV isolated a load of people, the use of the word ‘strive’ sent a shudder through most carers, and many people with disabilities felt left behind”.
“We also learned the Attorney General’s advice explicitly said there would be problems with the wording that the government tried to downplay.
“What we should’ve been voting on yesterday is the right to housing. When you take the people for granted and don’t bother to explain things in a clear, concise way, fail to campaign, this is what you get.
“The catastrophic failure of this campaign is a government problem and I am calling for Roderic O’Gorman to resign immediately.”
In response to the Sinn Féin TD’s call, Limerick Fine Gael Minister of State Kieran O’Donnell said that he did not believe that Minister O’Gorman should step down.
“Roderic O’Gorman has very much led this referenda and we (the government) put forward the merits of the argument, and I think in many cases people would have agreed with the sentiments but when it came to voting, I think many voted No because of confusion.”
