Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)

This week the Tánaiste's Government and party delivered a devastating budget which has hit the poorest hardest. Once again, we are seeing a Government that is protecting the high earners. We have seen how the Government looks after its own, with party hacks being appointed as special advisers in high positions. Pay caps are being breached because the Tánaiste tells us that these people are worth it, yet nothing is being done for those on the dole. We have seen the treatment the Government has dished out to those on disability allowance, lone parents and people in community nursing homes.

Today, the European Central Bank's governing council meets and it is widely expected that it will cut interest rates once again. This will be welcome news at least for the 100,000 people with distressed mortgages who, along with many more, have been abandoned by this Government.

Last month, we had the pathetic display of the Government jumping up and down about the refusal of the Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank to pass on the ECB interest rate cut to hard-pressed mortgage holders. Ultimately, however, after some bluster, the Government simply did nothing. It is completely and utterly unacceptable that banks which have received billions of euro from taxpayers should refuse to pass on ECB interest rate cuts, as we saw in recent months. These banks have been bailed out by the taxpayer and there are public interest directors on their boards, so what concrete steps will the Government take to ensure the expected ECB cut is passed on to every single mortgage holder?

See this speech in context