Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

My plans were not rejected at all; I actually got elected. Irrespective of that, there is a consensus among the electorate and political commentators that the last Government stayed too long in power, lost touch with people, ignored the escalating financial crisis and, believing its own propaganda, assumed was good for at least another term in office. People voted for a fairer and better way, a change and an alternative. Unfortunately, they have not seen that change or alternative. The Government got elected on the back of promises it made to an electorate that expected and demanded a new approach.

During the general election campaign, in 2011, the current Government parties promised to protect working families and vulnerable citizens from unfair policies and measures that would drastically affect their living standard. However, the ink was hardly dry on the programme for Government when the current Government began its assault on working families and those on low and middle incomes. The Government promised to oppose any attempt to introduce cuts to child benefit, yet, in the next couple of days, it proposes to cut child benefit and penalise families who are hanging on the edge of a financial cliff. We heard the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources say at the weekend that one tends to do this during an election campaign. When the governing parties entered office, they parked their election promises and somehow buried the legitimate aspirations of the electorate.

Cuts to child benefit, no matter how they are wrapped up and presented, are plainly and simply wrong. The cuts are anti-child and anti-woman and penalise large families. They will push even more families, including children, into poverty.

I find it repugnant and difficult to listen to well-meaning Government Members who defend in this Chamber policies that they were elected to overturn and reject. They are actually implementing the policies of the preceding Government. At the weekend, a Minister seemed to have no problem with all these social welfare cuts. He stated: "When the facts change, I change my mind." I question what that means.

The reason circumstances have not changed is that the Government has failed to negotiate a deal to remove the burden of private banking debt from the shoulders of taxpayers. During the election campaign, Deputy Eamon Gilmore, now Tánaiste, proclaimed voters had a choice between Labour's way and Frankfurt's way. Is this budget Labour's way? That is the question people are asking. Where is Labour's stamp on the budget? In government, it has refused to impose losses on unsecured, unguaranteed senior bondholders at Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide Building Society. The State will pay €3.1 billion to Anglo Irish Bank on 31 March 2013 and €4 billion to Bank of Ireland in May 2013. The Government cut child benefit, introduced a family home tax and reduced respite grants to carers while giving the unsecured bondholders a free pass to as much of the Irish people's money as they wanted. This is the crazy point and what is annoying the people. The Government parties said one thing and did the opposite. That is what is killing people who are suffering in their homes.

One has only to walk outside Leinster House to see the change that has happened under the current Government. One can see in the doorways the number of people sleeping rough on the streets. The Minister of State, Deputy McGinley, will note the increasing number. This is the responsibility of the people in this House. We have failed the homeless. Christmas is approaching and they have no roof over their heads.

The cruellest cut of all is the cut to the respite care benefit. It represents the difference between sanity and insanity for some families, as we all know. We all rightly praise the carers but ultimately the Government is cutting the respite care benefit.

I described the position of students during the week. We are starving them out of education through the budgetary cuts and the delays associated with the SUSI programme. We need to reconsider the budget as there is no fair provision. The Government says it is a fairer budget but there is nothing fair about it. The Government needs to think again about it.

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