John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)

It was regrettable the budget did not contain a stimulus to get people off welfare. The figure of €90 million is referred to. The Government should encourage enterprise and bring those who can work back into employment. The financial institutions and the banks have closed down viable businesses and the retention of jobs is under threat in these circumstances. The most vulnerable in society such as carers, the disabled, the blind and widows, are trying to live on a fixed income and they do not have any allowance for discretionary spending. With approximately half a million people unemployed, it would be a good idea to bring 30,000 back to work. For instance, I suggest that job-sharing projects could be encouraged. Unemployed people could work in a business which in turn would top up their allowance to the level of the minimum wage. This concept would help to reduce the numbers on the live register.

This budget is all about cuts and it has not provided any stimulus to encourage job creation. The generation of wealth depends on small companies. The 80,000 small companies in the country employing 800,000 people have not received any incentive. If each of those companies were to employ one person, then 80,000 people would be employed. The budget has failed dismally. The Minister did not think outside the box. It is about cuts and more cuts. One job creation incentive would be a reduction in employers' PRSI if they took on additional staff. If 80,000 people were taken off the live register then there would not be a need to hit the most vulnerable in society. We missed the opportunity of offering a stimulus or encouragement or any degree of hope for job retention and job creation. Instead, the most vulnerable people in society, those on a fixed income, the disabled, the blind and widows must bear the cuts. It is a case of back to the future. A cut of €8 per week, over €800 a year over the past two years, is too much of a hit to take.

I am a great believer in the enterprise economy. We have an extraordinary country. In the Coleman centre in Gurteen last week, people recognised the work of community development. I fully recognise the critical role played by the Minister in this regard. I know this budget is not his style of politics because I know he is wants to support job creation.

This used to be a two-tier economy but it is now a multi-tier economy. People on lower incomes never benefited from the boom but they really paid the price of the recession. Those on disabled, blind and widow's pensions cannot work and are on a fixed income. I refer to the money saved to the State by carers who look after parents, neighbours and friends in their own homes. Their work saves the State €2.5 billion. Carers look after people in their own homes up to their dying day. It is invaluable work, giving people a sense of security and independence. It is a very difficult job for very small money and they are being penalised. The budget was an opportunity to recognise these people but they were cast another blow. They never got their due credit even in the good times, the boom times and it is shocking to think they are being penalised in recessionary times.

I suggest the Minister could have picked up this €90 million in several other ways. The taxpayers bailed out the banks. One would then imagine the banks would in turn feel obliged to support small companies and, in turn, companies would retain staff. The State bailed out the banks and they have failed to honour their commitment and have failed to deliver, which has put pressure on employers to hold on to staff. There is an extraordinary contrast when we did the bank guarantee. All of this stems from the bank guarantee; for every action there is a reaction. Following the action of the Government in bailing out the banks to the tune of billions of euro, the reaction now is that the most vulnerable in society are paying the price. Despite what the banks claim, viable companies are being closed with jobs that could be maintained being lost owing to the banks' inability to give working capital to small companies. Jobs are being lost resulting in people signing on for welfare that otherwise would not be necessary. If the banks had given the money initially, these reductions in social welfare benefits would not be necessary. The bank bailout has been the cause of this and the banks have failed to deliver.

Following the Government's action, the reaction now is that the most vulnerable in society are paying the price of bailing out the bankers. It was further compounded today with the announcement of bonus payments to bankers, which is an insult to every hard-working person in the State. The bankers should be giving back their salaries, never mind being given a bonus. If they had any conscience they would say they did not justify getting a bonus. It is an insult to the carers, the disabled, the blind and the widows to hear that bankers are getting a bonus. Those vulnerable people are now paying the price of the banks' greed. For the past two years all we have heard is talk about the bailout of bankers and bondholders, but there is nothing about the bailout of those who need it most. Of all the aspects of the budget, this is the most outrageous. Green Party Members who were talking about parables earlier have an opportunity to put a clear marker down. We want the Minister to reverse these cuts even at this late stage and find another way to raise €90 million by putting a tax on bankers or refusing to give them the bonus proposed today.

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