The Labour leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte, accused the Government of failing to possess a shred of moral authority. Michael O'Regan reports.
In a strongly-worded attack, he criticised "this miserable Government, a Government elected on the basis of lies and deceit, interested only in power for power's sake." Mr Rabbitte was opening a debate on a Labour Private Member's motion deploring "the failure of the leader of Fianna Fáil and the leader of the Progressive Democrats to honour the main commitments made by their parties in their manifestos and election campaigns."
It also condemned the series of cutbacks over the past 12 months in many vital public services. The motion will be voted on tonight after a resumed debate.
Mr Rabbitte said that this week the Irish people were involved in a magnificent adventure. Ireland was playing host to people with disabilities from around the world.
"Surely against that background one of the most shameful things about this Government has been the mean-spirited way in which it has dealt with the issue of disability," he added.
It was not possible, said Mr Rabbitte, to exaggerate the significance for so many people of commitments like the elimination of hospital queues by 2004; the extension of medical card eligibility to another 200,000 people; the recruitment of 2,000 additional gardaí; the funding of 40,000 additional childcare places.
"These were the kind of commitments pressed on the people by Fianna Fáil and the PDs," said Mr Rabbitte. "We have never had an instance where the same parties once elected did a comprehensive cynical turnabout and consigned undertakings solemnly given to the political dustbin."
The Government, in its first year, had shown itself to be undoubtedly one of the worst Ireland ever had.
"In that first year, this Government has broken dozens of promises made to the electorate, attempted to distort its record in office, launched a series of savage attacks on essential elements of public spending, introduced a raft of increased and new charges and expected the most vulnerable people in our society to bear the cost of their incompetent economic management," he added.
He said that many Government backbenchers, even office holders, had to all intents "signed up" for the thrust of Labour's motion.
"Yet they, too, will in the end shame themselves by also voting for the Government amendment," he added.
Mr Rabbitte went on to itemise what he claimed was a series of broken promises on the refurbishment of schools, adding that since the Government had assumed power in 1997 the rate of increase in the average price of a new house had been five times the rate of inflation, over four times the increase in average earnings and over three times the increase in the cost of building.
"Fianna Fáil and the PDs have presided over six years of profiteering in the housing market and especially in the price of building land, all of which has been paid for by house-buyers," he added.
The health system, said Mr Rabbitte, was in a shambles. "Irish people have paid for a world-class health service and system," he added. "This Government has not delivered what citizens have paid for. It has delivered chaos, queues and closures."
The party's spokeswoman on finance, Ms Joan Burton, said the air of injured innocence, adopted by the Taoiseach, that all politicians made promises and, "sure weren't we only doing our best" does not deceive the public.