Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Tá mé ag roinnt mo chuid ama leis an Teachta Ferris. Ba mhaith liom labhairt ar an cheist rí-thábhachtach seo agus leanúint le téama an Aire Turasóireachta, Cultúir agus Spóirt, an Teachta Hanafin. She said it does not serve the debate well to take certain courses of action and to encourage people onto the streets. She said the Government is willing to listen. The Government is not willing to listen and has dismissed and continues to dismiss out of hand the alternatives presented by quite a number of people. The only talks that took place on this matter had preconditions. This is not evidence of being willing to listen and to take on board the alternatives.

There is an alternative. It is correct and proper that the public take to the streets if it is angry and does not accept the way in which the Government is proposing to go. The Government does not have a mandate and has not had one for the past two years to do what it is doing. It stood for election promising the sun, moon and stars but has not delivered on any of its promises. In fact, it has delivered the exact opposite. I refer to the promises of Fianna Fáil in particular but also to those of certain Opposition parties. There is no electoral mandate. If the Government believes fully in the programme it is pursuing, the only correct course of action is to put that programme to the people. I guarantee the Government it will get the result it deserves from the people. In the meantime, it is correct and proper that the people take to the streets and that those who are offering a realistic alternative advocate it and support the people to ensure they know about it.

Sinn Féin will be presenting this year's pre-budget submission on Monday. Last year it presented a realistic alternative to that of the Government and did so every year since I was elected as a Member. My party has costed its proposals and will make them available on Monday.

The Government is devoid of any understanding of the consequences of the cuts it proposes to make in the forthcoming budget. Most Members on the Government benches have never been unemployed or poor and have no understanding of what this entails or what is involved in trying to figure out from where their next meal will come or how to pay for heating during the winter. If one does not have this understanding, it is time to acquire it. This involves getting out of Government, going back to the people and being unemployed. Perhaps they might then have some understanding. The majority of Members in the Government benches were born with a silver spoon in their mouths. I know where some of my constituents would love to stick that silver spoon.

Yesterday I listened to Deputy Gilmore's presentation. I have a major problem with one of his proposals. It was bizarre coming from a party that is supposedly of the left. I have rethought my views in this regard of late. The Labour Party's proposal is to abolish tax relief on trade union subscriptions. This is absolute madness. Trade union membership in this era should be encouraged rather than made more expensive for the normal worker. The number of workers is becoming increasingly small and they are watching their pennies, yet the Labour Party is stating union membership should be more expensive, thereby discouraging it.

Last weekend, a member on the Government benches, Deputy Chris Andrews, suggested Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael should merge. Given the Labour Party's policy, perhaps it should merge with them. Perhaps all three right-wing parties in the Chamber should merge. Then we might have a left-right divide in this country at long last.

It is not so long ago since the Lisbon treaty was being promoted as the be-all and end-all. It was stated it would lead to hundreds of thousands of jobs for Ireland. The treaty was regarded as the panacea that would allow Ireland to escape the crisis created by bad government and management over many years. I remind members of Article 9 of the treaty, which states, "In defining and implementing its policies and activities, the Union shall take into account requirements linked to the promotion of a high level of employment, the guarantee of adequate social protection, the fight against social exclusion, and a high level of education, training and protection of human health." Every action of the Government and Union in recent times is directly contrary to the achievement of these goals. Every action taken by the Union within member states should, according to the article, take into account the ramifications of job creation and social protection. However, the Government's record is such that there are 450,000 people unemployed, banks are refusing to lend despite the Government having large shares therein, and emigration is spiralling again.

The prerequisite set by the European Commission, namely, that member states should return to a deficit of 3% of GDP by 2014, is totally contrary to Article 9 of the Lisbon treaty. That the Commission is saying the target should be met through brutal austerity budgets seems to undermine the treaty. How can we create employment, ensure sufficient social protection and ensure people are provided with education and health care of a high level if the Government is decimating services under the very auspices of the European Commission?

Many constituents have contacted me of late urging me to make a commitment to protect the poorest of the poor during this time of crisis. My party and I have made a commitment to the Poor Can't Pay campaign. I urge the Government to do the same. To date, a number of Fianna Fáil Deputies have signed up, which I welcome. They include Deputies John Browne, Michael Kitt, Michael Moynihan, Eamon Scanlon and Beverley Flynn. The public will be watching their votes on budget day. How can one introduce further cuts that will affect the poor if one has signed such a petition?

Many macro-economic decisions have far-reaching consequences that extend to the micro level, including the levels of the individual, family and community. The Government has not taken cognisance of that. Successive budgets since 2008 have targeted disproportionately disadvantaged communities. I include children, lone parents, people with a disability and the elderly. Cuts made in the community and voluntary sector have been totally disproportionate, resulting in more than 5,000 job losses in community services alone. This has consequences in terms of service reduction.

Barnardos estimates that one in every nine children is living in consistent poverty. People with disability have been hit by the mainstream social welfare cuts of the past few budgets and by the recruitment embargo, which has greatly undermined service delivery. The elderly have been hit by the loss of the Christmas payment. There have been increases in dental charges and prescription charges and recently the carbon tax was introduced. Now there is real fear that the State pension, on which the majority of older people depend exclusively, will be cut further. Older people and those with disabilities have been affected particularly badly by fuel and energy poverty, which have been on the increase as a direct consequence of the actions of the Government, particularly the Green Party's policy. There is a wide range of areas in respect of which protection is required.

Many groups have proposals that would save the Government money. However, the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, Deputy Hanafin, and the rest of the Members of the Cabinet are not listening. The Jack and Jill foundation put forward a proposal to save the HSE money but the response was to cut the payment to the foundation. The Carers Association is in the same position. It put forward proposals on how to save money for the Exchequer but nobody is listening. The same can be said for many other groups. In the arts sector, considerable investment would result in considerable returns. The Government is cutting the ground from under those who are poor and most dependent on society's ability to fund and protect them. Shame on the Government. The honourable course of action for it to take at this stage is to give up and go before the electorate. I demand a general election now.

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