Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)

The content of the budget delivered here on Wednesday has sent shock waves through those in the lower economic dependent sector of the State. The people affected drastically are those most in need. When one looks to a Government, no matter who is in Government, one looks for fairness, honesty and a sense of belonging. Significant trust is placed in those in positions of responsibility and we trust they will deliver fairness and equality for their people.

At some stage in our lives, all of us were inspired by the Proclamation of 1916, which expressly declared that the State would cherish all the children of the nation equally. I do not direct my comment personally at the Minister, but at the Government. It has totally betrayed the content of the 1916 Proclamation. The men and women who fought for equality and freedom for our country paid a huge price. They gave their lives and gave up everything they had and trusted us to live up to the Proclamation of the Irish Republic to cherish all the children of the nation equally. The Government, however, has discriminated against those most in need. It has discriminated against people dependent on invalidity pensions, illness benefit, blind person's pension, payments to one-parent families, carer's allowance, guardian payments and on non-contributory widow's and widower's pensions. It has discriminated against the most vulnerable in our communities. It has exacerbated an already drastic situation for people in need.

All of us work in our communities, as elected representatives should. Most of my work and that of my colleagues is in areas of most need, areas that are socially deprived and that have been abandoned by the systems of the State. These people have been discriminated against from a young age because of being part of a poor family. They are condemned to poverty by the type of system that ensures they will never have a proper, full education and will never let them realise the potential every child is gifted with at birth. The Government is now making matters worse for those who live on low incomes who depend on unemployment benefit and on the State. A Government should be judged on how it treats its citizens, in particular those who are most vulnerable. If that is the criteria, the Minister and the Government have failed miserably.

I wonder whether anybody in Government comprehends what it means to be dependent on farm assist. Farmers have struggled continuously, particularly small farmers who have been the soul and backbone of the country for generations. Irrespective of what part of the country Deputies come from, their roots go back to rural Ireland and to the small farmer communities. The small farmer community has survived without hand-outs. A few weeks ago I met a person from my parish who has seven cattle and who gets REPs payments of approximately €2,500 to €3,000 per year. At best, his income is less than €5,000 a year. When this was brought to my attention, I went to meet him. He shops less and has cut back on living expenses. He does not socialise and cannot go out and has lived that way for years now. The only communication he has on a regular basis is with his dog. That is what is happening in the rural community. We are struggling to get farm assist for this man. I am sure we will get it for him, but there is a significant backlog because so many people are so deprived economically.

On Wednesday, we saw, probably, the most disgraceful budget ever seen. We have all lived through the Celtic tiger, but that tiger did not help the small farmer, fishermen or people dependent on unemployment benefit. They are not unemployed by choice, but because unemployment was forced on them. More and more people are becoming dependent on the State to survive. What are we doing about that? My colleague read out earlier the incomes of CEOs. We saw sleight of hand in the budget with regard to the incomes of Ministers and junior Ministers. We were informed they took a 15% cut when, in reality, all they suffered was a 5% cut. The Government could not even be honest about this. At the same time it is taking over 4% from the unemployed. This is a significant amount to take from those with very little. Even if it was a 15% cut for Ministers, which it was not, that would be as nothing for those earning between €100,000 and €200,000 a year.

The system in this State operates to discriminate against the poor, those in need and those dependent on assistance. Neither the State nor the Government have any concept of what it is to be part of the marginalised poor, who are now becoming a bigger constituency here. The poor do not matter to the Government as most of them do not vote. This is how it appears the Government is operating currently. Its concerns are for the wealthy and those with money, people who exploited others to get that money with which they can control the political system. How much influence has the tent at the Galway races had on consecutive Governments, and, in particular, on the main party in the current Government?

I would like to quote from the principles of ethical conduct, as outlined by the Standards in Public Office Commission:

A successful ethics regime is one which provides mechanisms whereby the sensitivities of political/public life can be handled, where competing interests can be reconciled and where individual legislators/executives can be guided in their difficult decisions by reference to the general principle that the public interest should always take precedence over the interests of the individual and, perhaps more important, over the interests of a political party whether in power or in opposition.

These are the guiding principles of every person in the Government. Does that principle state that we can give huge salaries to CEOs such as Professor Brendan Drumm, while we take €8 per week off somebody who is living on €208? Are these the principles that guide the ethics of this Government? Reading the budget that has been presented to us, there is no doubt that such is the case.

The Government has betrayed the principle of ethical conduct. More important, it has betrayed the poor and the marginalised people in our society and in our communities. It has propped up and supported the big fat business class, the developers and the bankers. It has condemned future generations to pay off these huge debts in order to facilitate those who control the political system in this State, be it Mr. Tony O'Reilly's media empire, bankers or developers. This State has descended into providing power where the wealth lies. This power is provided at the expense of those at the lower rungs of the ladder, who act as cannon fodder to provide what is necessary in order to keep those fat cats in the style to which they are accustomed.

The Government has no mandate whatsoever to do what it did last Wednesday. It was not elected to penalise the poor. It was not elected to discriminate against those most in need. It was elected to be fair, honest and true to our people and their equal rights. Unfortunately, it has betrayed everything it was supposed to stand for. There is only one resolution to what is happening. The honourable thing to do would be to step down and let the people decide who they want to lead them through these most difficult times, which were created by the political establishment of this State.

Many of us are lucky enough to have children and grandchildren. The Government and the establishment have condemned them to decades of hardship to pay for what has been inflicted on them. The debts inflicted on them have been inflicted by the failed policies of this Government and the failed policies of rampant capitalism. The Government has looked after the wealthy and let the poor go to hell.

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