Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. Believe it or not, there are one or two good aspects in it and I will try to capture them in the points I make and I want to ask some questions. We cannot consider a Finance Bill on its own, as it is part of a package along with the Social Welfare Bill, the property tax and, later this year, the water tax. It also comes on top of a previous Finance Act. I am greatly concerned about the cumulative effect of all those measures. Child poverty is increasing and since the Government came to power, long-term unemployment, including youth unemployment, has increased. Emigration is increasing and poverty levels are increasing. The Finance Bill will not address that and, in this case, will add to the distress of many sections of Irish society.

It is disappointing that the Bill does not provide for a wealth tax. Deputy Pearse Doherty has explained the benefit of introducing a wealth tax on the model that exists in France. It does not include provision for a third rate of income tax on moneys earned in excess of €100,000. It does not include a tax on online gambling and a range of other proposals made not just by Sinn Féin but also by the trade union movement and economists who have said there is an alternative to continuing policies of austerity that the Government and its predecessor have imposed on the public.

The Bill provides for changes to the carbon tax. When that is added to the changes to VAT the Government introduced, it adds to the problem of fuel poverty over time because those who are most dependent and have less disposable income are the poorest in our society. Many of them depend on social welfare but it is not exclusively those dependent on social welfare. In this society many people, who in the past would have been regarded as middle class, are now feeling the brunt of Government policies and the effects of poverty. Every Deputy in this House will understand that from having dealt with the public. The problem is that the Government does not seem to be listening to the plight of those people and when the Bill goes to Committee Stage, I urge the Ministers to listen to proposals made to reduce the effects of the Bill. We also need to take stock and change direction as proposed by others whereby the burden of ensuring that Ireland continues to work to get through the problems created by the previous Government and by this Government does not fall on those who can least afford it.

Last week Ms Nessa Childers, MEP, of the Labour Party launched a report that starkly highlights the effects of austerity, the Caritas Europa report. It was a study of the impact of the crisis and austerity on people, with special focus on Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The report's findings demonstrate beyond doubt that the austerity measures are impacting very negatively on the lives of people in poverty and are driving more people into poverty. It shows the increased unemployment levels in those countries, especially youth unemployment and long-term unemployment. It shows the increase in financial distress of those who are dependent on social welfare in those countries as well as those who are on low pay or reduced employment. It shows that income poverty, child poverty and fuel poverty have increased in all those countries. That report and others show a lack of poverty proofing of budgets here. That is not just the fault of the present Government but also its predecessor. The simple steps to ensure that budgetary measures do not drive people into poverty are not being taken. Nor is there equality proofing, something that the Labour Party had sought in the past. I again urge the Government to consider that because the people most affected are often parents in the home trying to ensure there is food on the table, that the home is heated, and that children can go to school healthy with food in their stomachs and wearing proper clothes. Irish society has seen a reversal in that regard and we are going backwards instead of forwards.

In January the Irish League of Credit Unions "What's Left" tracker report highlighted starkly the position we are in. The Bill will compound the problems of the 61% of respondents who said they had €100 or less left at the end of the month once their essential bills were paid. Some 1.59 million people are left with €50 or less at the end of the month once their essential bills were paid. That is before the Government imposes the property tax and water charge on them. Price increases in respect of the ESB, Bus Éireann, etc. come separately from this legislation and are allowed by Government. Yesterday, we heard that AIB is considering increasing its mortgage interest rate, which will impact on many people with €100 or less on which to survive.

There is a cumulative effect and a whole package of documentation on that. This week we had the leak of Ms Ita Mangan's report into child benefit, which is also causing major concern and distress. If the Government starts moving in that direction, as the Minister is suggesting - in fact, she has already moved in that direction because the previous two budgets cut child benefit despite a Labour Party promise - that will be another wad of money coming from that €100 or €50. In some ways that says it all. If the Irish League of Credit Unions carries out the same report at the end of this year, I believe we will find that the numbers have increased. We will also find that the numbers who have absolutely nothing or are in the red at the end of the month will have increased.

The Bill contains the miserly change to target women through the taxing of maternity benefit and the health and safety benefit, the weekly payment for employed women who are breastfeeding. How miserly is it to tax that?

That the Minister and Government propose to target childbirth by way of tax on maternity, adoption and health and safety benefits is an indication of their grubbiness.

I regret I will not have time to speak on the benefits of the Bill, including the film relief and proposed changes in tax on off-licence sales, on which I would encourage the Government to do more. I would ask that the Minister consider a change in the VAT regime on exercise and sports goods. Were these items to be zero rated for VAT purposes, it would help Ireland and Europe - this is also a European issue - in tackling obesity and its associated illnesses, the cost of which to the Irish and European hospital systems is enormous.

I could say a great deal more. It is hoped I will have an opportunity on Committee Stage to put forward other proposals.

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