Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Many families in the State will not be able to pay this tax. I am putting the Taoiseach on notice that from today, Sinn Féin will be actively campaigning to resist the introduction of this unfair tax on the family home. It is not yet law and it can be stopped. Sinn Féin has an alternative that is fair, namely, a wealth tax that is levied on the property of the wealthy. The so-called mansions tax is little more than a gimmick and a poor one at that. The Government had the option of a real wealth tax and chose not to take it. Instead, it chose to impose a punitive tax on the family home.

Sinn Féin is calling on every citizen to make a stand and resist the imposition of this unfair home tax. There is time for the Government to reverse this decision. This home tax is the brainchild of Fianna Fáil. If the Government is allowed to legislate for it, it will be the tipping point for many families across the State. The limits imposed for those allowed a deferral are pitiful. A deferral of tax is not an exemption and the fact the Government plans to charge 4% interest on deferrals will only add insult to injury for hard-pressed home owners. While I welcome the three-year property tax exemption for first-time buyers, the fact is the thousands of people in severe mortgage distress will have to pay this family home tax, if the Government is allowed to bring in the relevant legislation.

The Government is continuing to place the burden on low and middle income families, on the coping classes and the working poor. Despite the Government's promises not to increase income taxes, the amount of PRSI that citizens must pay has been increased, including for the lowest earners.

The decision to abolish the weekly PRSI threshold of €127 will mean an increase of €264 a year for those earning over the minimum wage. On top of the family home tax, this will cause great distress. The Government also increased PRSI for the self-employed but they will get nothing for it. Sinn Féin would have introduced a third rate of tax for people earning over €100,000, which would have raised €365 million. Instead the Government has targeted the low paid and levied additional taxes on those earning €18,000 and over. These are people on the minimum wage. Was the Taoiseach ever on the minimum wage? One must spend every cent in the local economy. Taxing them has the dual effect of hurting them, their families and the local economy. More small shops and businesses close and more jobs are lost.

The high earners on over €100,000 will not feel the impact of the extra €264 a year but those on the minimum wage will definitely feel the loss of €264 out of their pockets. No matter how the Government spins it, the budget means a family of two parents and two children with an income of €55,000 will lose, on average, over €500 a year. A lone parent earning €35,000 with two children will also lose just over €500 a year. That is not fair.

For many, particularly in rural Ireland, a car is a necessity. While there is no increase in excise duty on petrol or diesel, the price will increase as a result of the increase in carbon tax. The vehicle registration tax rate and motor tax rates will also increase from 1 January through flat rate increases. The fuel hikes, the motor tax hikes and the VRT change will make it more costly for many families. Between the universal social charge, the septic tank charges, the household charge and cuts to the agriculture budget, the Government has abandoned rural Ireland and its people and the people of rural Ireland know it.

The Government could have implemented Sinn Féin’s proposals. We called on the Government to standardise pension and other tax reliefs. It has been revealed time and time again that the top 20% of income earners avail of 80% of the tax reliefs paid. These are the people the Government is protecting, not the poor but the wealthy. No other issue reveals the depths to which the Government has sunk than its decision to cut child benefit. Shame on the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Fine Gael Party and the Labour Party. I now have the attention of the Taoiseach because the word shame gets him to focus.

During the last election campaign, the Labour Party called on the public to protect child benefit by voting Labour. The Labour Party leader told the electorate it was a red line issue. Adverts defending child benefit and warning of Fine Gael’s intentions were placed in newspapers. Labour put up posters across the State. Yesterday, and not for the first time, the Labour Party leadership, at least, abandoned its core values.

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