Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)

There are cuts of €1.9 billion across these three areas and these were the front-line services the Government was supposed to protect.

Tá gach páirtí istigh anseo ag rá go bhfuil siad i bhfabhar na Gaeltachta agus na Gaeilge. Ní leor briathra breátha agus caint gan ghníomh. Tá sé rísholéir anois nach bhfuil ar siúl ag an Rialtas ach cur i gcéill agus bréaga. Tá gearradh siar de 10% déanta ar bhuiséad na Gaeltachta. Tá an Ghaeltacht faoi ionsaí, tá Oifig an Choimisinéara Teanga le dúnadh ag an Rialtas, níl sé chun cead a thabhairt toghchán a reáchtáil fá choinne bhord Údarás na Gaeltachta úr a thoghadh agus tá ísliú céime tugtha don údarás. Níl go leor maoiniú á chur ar fáil chun poist a chruthú agus a chaomhnú sa Ghaeltacht agus tá an straitéis 20 bliain caite ar leataobh ag an Rialtas. Beidh na impleachtaí marfacha seo uilig ag titim ar mhuintir na Gaeltachta agus todhchaí na Gaeilge sa tír seo go hiomlán. Ní leor sin ar chor ar bith.

The biggest cut yesterday was in people's expectations because there is no hope offered in this budget to the growing numbers of working poor, to the struggling middle income families or to the most vulnerable in society. There is no vision for business, no economic thinking that adds up. This is not what people signed up for; it is not what they wanted when they voted for change. Today, people who are already struggling are being told they will have to pay more stealth taxes, a household charge and higher VAT, motor taxes, fuel and excise costs. Rural dwellers are being discriminated against. They are being told that they will have to pay septic tank charges and we know that water charges and property taxes are on the way for all.

The Minister, Deputy Noonan, announced €1 billion in new taxes today and there was some applause for going after wealth. I am glad about some of the measures that were introduced and I will deal with them in more specific detail later. However, let us deal with the four main stealth charges. They are motor tax, the full year effect of which will yield €46 million, the household charge which will yield €160 million, the increase in VAT which will yield €670 million and the carbon tax which will yield €109 million, which together add up to €985 million. Those are the measures from which the Government will get €1 billion in new taxes - stealth taxes that affect the most vulnerable in the most indiscriminate way. However, people are also being told that none of these taxes will go towards public services. Health, education and welfare will all suffer under this Government. The Taoiseach is increasing taxes to continue the failed banking policy of Fianna Fáil.

Yesterday we heard the Government cut €2.2 billion from public spending. Next year our debt servicing costs will increase by €2.6 billion. The Taoiseach should be honest with the people and tell them where their money is going. He should also be honest and explain that all the Government's cuts and taxes will not work. The Exchequer deficit remains large because instead of directing our resources into creating jobs and growing the economy, the Government has nearly spent it all on bailing out the banks and it is continuing along that failed path. Let us be clear about the position because the Government cannot blame it all on Fianna Fáil. Since Fine Gael and the Labour Party took office in March of this year, the Government has pumped a staggering €20.7 billion of our money into the banks, including €3.1 billion into Anglo Irish Bank, and it will make a further such payment on 31 March next year, the year after and each year after that up until 2025.

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