Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I intend to repeat some of what I said last evening during the debate on the motion of no confidence in the Government tabled by Sinn Féin. It is incredible that, in the light of what has been said since the budget was introduced, Ministers and Government Deputies do not appear to understand why there is so much palpable anger among the people. The reason for this anger is that neither the budget nor the Social Welfare Bill bears any relation to what those now in government said in the period between the introduction by the previous Administration of its final budget in December 2010 and the general election in February 2011. There is no point in Members trying to put a spin on matters and stating that in some way the budget protects the vulnerable. Any critical analysis of the budget and the Social Welfare Bill will clearly show the opposite is the case.

The Government passed a regressive budget last year and this fact has been acknowledged by many independent organisations in the interim. In other words, last year's budget saw to it that those who had paid least gained the most and vice versa. Unfortunately, the budget introduced last week magnifies the position in this regard. We can argue about the make-up of the Government and whether Fine Gael is dictating matters from a policy perspective or whether the Labour Party is surrendering its policy positions.

The four horsemen of austerity discussed the budget around the Cabinet table - or the half-Cabinet table - week in, week out. The Social Welfare Bill is a result of those discussions among the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach. They presented a figure to the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton. What never ceases to amaze me is that the Minister, Deputy Burton, has been acting as the Florence Nightingale of the Social Welfare Bill, as if she is not responsible for the cuts to respite care grants, to child benefit, to the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance, to farm assist, to jobseeker's benefit, to the redundancy payments scheme, to the supplementary welfare allowance, to the back-to-education allowance, to the respite care grant, and to household benefit, telephone benefit and other packages for existing recipients. The Minister is as culpable as the four horsemen of austerity.

The Bill is a direct attack on the vulnerable and the poorest in society. The spin from the Government will not inspire hope because people are living from day to day. Government spokespersons, Deputies and Ministers say their hands are tied by the agreement with the troika. However, they take credit for any change in the deal. I accept the fact that the troika is in town, but the troika did not ask the Government to include in the Social Welfare Bill a cut in the respite care grant or in the back-to-school allowance. There is no way the troika demanded that the Government should tax the poor and let the rich off. The troika is only interested in the bottom line. It is clear that Fine Gael has dictated the policy; the horsemen handed it to Deputy Burton and she capitulated. She has included in the Bill proposals that will penalise the most vulnerable and those who are helping the most vulnerable. At the same time, some Deputies opposite are crying crocodile tears and saying it is a very difficult budget. Of course it is a difficult budget. It is difficult because of the outlandish promises made by the two parties opposite who form this great national Government. They promised they would not cut social welfare rates nor increase taxes. Fine Gael has got its way. There is no increase in taxes for high earners but the poor will pay. Any posturing from Deputies opposite that this is a caring approach to the vulnerable and that it is a progressive budget does not add up. This Government has betrayed its mandate.

It is evident that a chasm is appearing between Deputies on this side and those on the other side. The betrayal is on that side of the House. The Government has been dishonest and disingenuous with regard to its mandate. A perusal of the programme for Government or other Government literature will show that the Government has not adhered to those commitments.

The Social Welfare Bill is inherently unfair and it attacks the most vulnerable. The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Rabbitte, made some glib comments - which is not unusual for Deputy Rabbitte - saying that the cut in the respite care grant was small. I can tell the Minister that €6.50 a week to a family who are already struggling is quite a substantial amount. We all know this is the case because we hear it from people in our constituency clinics or around our constituencies.

The Bill is a complete betrayal of anything the Labour Party has ever stood for or claimed to stand for. It does not protect the vulnerable or those who need the support of the State. The cut in the respite care grant is the outstanding issue. However, I could spend the night listing the other issues as outlined on page 15 of the Budget Statement. The list contains all the cuts outlined by the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, but the four horsemen of austerity are blamed for them. This Bill attacks those who need the support of the State.

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