Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak in opposition to this section. It is at the heart of this budget. It is a shameless budget that directly attacks the weakest and most vulnerable in our society. The Green Party is beyond redemption in this matter. It does not seem to appreciate what is being done in its name.

This will ring the death knell for Fianna Fáil, which at least traded in the past on being supportive of the less well off, the vulnerable, the poor and the sick. Now, it seems it has sold out everything to its high-flying financier, speculator, developer friends. It is people with disabilities, one-parent families, widows, carers, blind people and guardians who are affected by this section - the most vulnerable, the weakest, the poorest in our society. They have all been targeted with at least a €8.30 cut.

For young people aged 18 to 21, the jobseeker's allowance has been halved and it has been reduced substantially for those aged 22 to 25. The intention is that these young people are unwanted. These are the future of Irish society. Does anyone think this Government wants to cherish them, to keep them here? No, it wants to get rid of them as quickly as possible. It wants them out of the country, it wants them to emigrate. That is exactly what is in this budget - target the weakest and get rid of those who might be some sort of a burden at present because there is no employment, and make sure they are got rid of as quickly as possible. When one combines this with the cut to the Christmas bonus, it will be a very bleak Christmas for those people who were hoping to have that little extra cheer that made Christmas decent for the many who spend the rest of the year in very difficult circumstances trying to make ends meet.

It is still not too late to reconsider this. There are alternatives, such as in regard to the excise duty that has been reduced for alcohol, and in regard to the well off, who have not been targeted at all, and those identified by IBEC and The Sunday Business Post who had no reduction in their income in 2007 and 2008. All of the semi-State commercial sector, most of which has received increases, has not been targeted. Whole sectors of Irish society have not been targeted by this budget in any way. The most vulnerable sector and the public sector have been exclusively targeted. Fianna Fáil has sold its soul to those developers who were part and parcel of the Celtic tiger, and who Fianna Fáil cozied up to in the Galway tent and elsewhere. Now, we see it. When times get rough, they choose the simplest and easiest target that is available, and it is from this they are extracting all of the money to make the budget balance.

There are Members on both sides of the House, including on the Government backbenches and among the Greens and Independents, who are not happy with this budget, which they find hard to stomach. Deputy Paul Gogarty at least has the decency to listen to the debate, although others do not. However, they are not happy with this budget. The point is that there is an alternative. These people did not realise, not being part and parcel of the dealings that went on, how the trade union movement was drawn down the garden path by Fianna Fáil and how the rug was then pulled from under it at the last moment, or how this budget is being rushed through before Christmas. All of this has put a lot of pressure on them and they did not realise and tease out the implications of it. It is being teased out in the best way possible at present.

It is clear that this Bill attacks the most vulnerable sectors in society. From that point of view, it is impossible for any democrat to stand over and the fact there are alternatives makes it doubly impossible. If we do not hit these sectors at the bottom of the pile, there are other sectors at the top that can equally pay the amount of money and we can balance the budget in that fashion. I appeal to these Members to realise that it is not too late. Deputy Gogarty and Deputy McDaid did not vote on the first vote, but a second vote is coming up in a short while. I would hope they will either abstain or vote against this. Others are questioning their consciences at this point. They should continue to do so until such time as the vote, and they should listen to the arguments that have been put across the floor of this House.

They must see how threadbare is the Government's argument on this issue. This section is at the heart of what the Government is doing, namely, pulling the rug from the poorest in our society and making life miserable for them. The Christmas bonus is gone and a reduction of approximately 6% will bring people on the poverty line below it, when we should be doing our best to ensure they are pulled up above the poverty line and assisted in whatever way possible.

I make one final appeal. I do not believe there is any hope of getting the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Social and Family Affairs to redress his position. We heard him here this morning and he does not seem to care one way or the other. Certainly, there are good people on the backbenches, Independents and those who are semi-detached - the strays, as the leader of the Labour Party described them this morning - and some among the Green Party who are deeply worried about this measure. This is the opportunity for them to take a stand on this section, whatever about the other sections. I appeal to them to do so when the vote arises.

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