Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

Some of those opposite should re-read their manifestos for 2007. The Government has increased mortgage interest relief. Somebody under no financial pressure and with plenty of money to buy a house in the defined period will get extra relief. I hope a good proportion of that money will help people who have mortgage difficulties but as I said, it is a scatter-gun approach. We should be honest about it in that many of the people in trouble with mortgages are not paying any tax currently. What did the Government do to fund this? It took €22 million from the mortgage interest supplement and €55 million from rent supplement. Those who have lost their jobs are getting walloped to pay for this mortgage interest relief. If the Government had given the mortgage interest relief and had not taken it from anywhere else, it might have been sustainable. The people in receipt of mortgage interest supplement were able to afford houses but have now hit hard times due to unemployment.

The same little trick was used with the universal social charge. When the Minister was speaking he made great play about the exemption for anybody earning less than €10,000. He said it would cost the Exchequer €34 million per year. However, when one looks at the small print, one finds he made another change, that is, the way the universal social charge is deducted to make it cumulative. It will bring in €45 million per year. The two changes to the universal social charge take €11 million from low paid workers.

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