Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

-----will give them their answer.

The economy requires a stimulus package. The retail, hospitality and catering sectors are all haemorrhaging jobs. Rather than putting a stimulus package in place, the Minister has, in the form of this Bill, offered us an austerity package of €850 million in cuts. Not only will he cause extreme hardship for those who are dependent on social welfare payments, the cuts he is introducing will also cause further difficulties in the sectors to which I refer. Businesses in Corr na Móna, Whitehall, Ballymun and Castlebar will be directly affected by this austerity package, which will remove money from local economies. The money people receive via welfare payments is not saved, it is spent in local shops, in hairdressing salons and in the purchase of services. The removal of €850 million from local economies throughout Ireland will have massive knock-on effects. The Labour Party is utterly opposed to these cuts, particularly because they will cause real and substantial hardship for the many thousands of people who depend on social welfare payments.

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