Dáil debates

Wednesday, 7 December 2011

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

 

5:00 pm

Photo of Thomas PringleThomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)

This budget is testament to putting things on the long finger and is simply pushing everything down the line. It lacks leadership, insight and foresight. The good-cop/bad-cop routine played out over two days in soap-opera style - so bad, they had to play it twice - did nothing except to pick on the same old reliables: low income earners and vulnerable families. It demonstrated the inability to think, decide and govern in an appropriate manner befitting this country. It also lacks fairness. The budget will be economically unproductive, just as the tax Estimates for November were undershot by €500 million.

There is no emphasis on job creation, but the budget is full of tokenism. Between consumer stealth taxes and VAT increases, everyday household bills - such as telephone bills, home heating oil and petrol - an average household could face increased outgoings from €900 to €1,000 next year. This comes with an increase on school travel and the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan's, €100 household charge. It is all disgraceful.

Cuts to the fuel allowance and reducing the winter-time period are an absolute disgrace. The Government is saying that people may freeze, rather than burn the bondholders. Yesterday, a book of grievance was delivered to Leinster House from the Kilbarrack community development project, an after-school children's project. It is part of the community and voluntary sector's nationwide campaign. Seven children came up to the Dáil gates, representing 63 families. These are two comments from the book: "Not a lot of people have money, and they have no jobs", said Jodie, aged eight. "We cannot afford to write Santa a letter; my Mam lost her job as an SNA", said Lauren Carroll, also aged eight. These are the people whom this budget is directly affecting.

With no increase of tax on high earners, the Government's own €100,000-plus advisers will not take any pro rata burden sharing. The proposed cut to disability payments was a slur and an insult to human rights. I recognise that the Minister is now indicating that this measure will be withdrawn but it beggars belief that it would even get in there in the first place. This was a headline cut.

Parents with adult children in third-level education will be brought to the edge with fee increases and a reduction in the maintenance grant of 3%. Abolishing foreign language teaching in schools when we need it most, is especially ill thought out and regressive. Now, more than ever, we need people to be able to talk to Sarkozy and Merkel in their languages. How do we expect to produce graduates by attacking students and cutting guidance counsellors in schools? This beggars belief.

This budget will create unemployment. Between 15,000 and 20,000 jobs will be taken out of the economy due to the end of capital investment projects. Some 6,000 public sector jobs will also be gone. That is an estimated 20,000 plus extra people on social welfare, at least.

The rebuttal of duty in opting out of rent reviews has been cowardly. This is a huge issue but the Government opted out and put it into NAMA, which is the new bogeyman in Ireland. In conversation, did the Ministers, Deputies Noonan and Shatter, consider how to get rid of the local butcher, baker and candlestick maker who cannot afford the rents anymore? Did they stick them into NAMA so that nobody would know what to do? Businesses and livelihood are going bust every day because of these rent reviews, to the shame of the Government.

The motor tax increase is a knife in the back to all, especially those in rural constituencies like Donegal South-West where people will be broken by fuel costs and a lack of public transport. The Government does not have to look too far for an example of how much travel is required in Donegal, as a Minister of State, Deputy Dinny McGinley, has repeatedly been in the top ten claimants of mileage expenses; the people of Donegal and the rest of the country cannot claim their mileage.

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