Dáil debates

Wednesday, 7 December 2011

Financial Resolutions 2012: Financial Resolution No. 13: General (Resumed)

 

1:00 pm

Photo of Gerry AdamsGerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)

Maybe that is too much to ask. At a time when Sinn Féin in the North is attempting, with the active assistance of the DUP, to wrest such powers from London, Labour and the Fine Gael are preparing to give away fiscal powers to the EU. The Taoiseach knows that the cuts in the North come from the Tory budget and it demeans anyone here to use a British Tory Government's cuts inflicted upon citizens in the Six Counties to distract attention from what we are trying to say and what the Government is doing. The Ministers in the North set themselves the task of protecting the most vulnerable and creating jobs. That is the task the Labour Party should have set itself if there is any rationale for Labour being in government. That is one of the many key differences between the Labour Party in this Government and Sinn Féin in the Executive. Among other positive measures by the Executive, Sinn Féin has blocked the introduction of water charges, invested more in infrastructure and education than previously in the history of the State and introduced free prescriptions. This Government has cut fuel allowance, cut child benefit, cut payments for lone parents, cut jobseeker's allowance for part-time workers, cut €475 million out of local economies, cut the disability allowance and cut funding for North-South co-operation in the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. I could go on but I think the Government is aware of the hypocrisy and posturing on these matters. It is little wonder there is disappointment in people who tuned in hoping to hear solutions. We produced a pre-budget submission and I made sure it was sent to the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance. We were open to discussing it at any time. The Government did take in some of the small measures we advocated.

Does the Taoiseach remember the five-point plan? Our five-point plan is like a five pointed star, it gives light, clarity and direction. The Taoiseach has lost even that. This is a bad budget but it is his budget. It is the budget of Labour and Fine Gael, not the budget of Fianna Fáil and the Green Party is not here. This Government consciously made a choice to introduce the measures applied this week. This budget represents the worst of bad choices. If the Taoiseach makes the same bad political choices at the EU Summit, the consequences will be every bit as severe as the decisions made by the Taoiseach's predecessors 90 years ago in other negotiations.

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