Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I agree with everything an Teachta Boyd Barrett said. It is a matter of deep concern that when people raise these issues, the Government seems to be oblivious to what is happening in communities, households and families. I do not understand why the Government kowtows to the bankers. I do not know why it cannot introduce an independent adjudication arrangement or service. That deals very much with the previous question.

The budget is being put together by this EMC, which, as I understand it, is a group of four male Ministers. The way the Government goes about its business contradicts all the high rhetoric we hear about transparency, openness and political reform. The budgets have been mean spirited. I have no sense of the Taoiseach being a mean-spirited person, but these are the types of budgets that have been introduced. Four men decide to cut child benefit and the entire Cabinet signs off on taking allowances away from people with severe disabilities. It has cut respite care and imposed a family home tax on tens of thousands who are in mortgage distress. Labour in government has no notion of equality-proofing a budget and has no notion of looking at the social consequences of the types of measures being introduced.

I cannot find a way of articulating the reality of 300,000 mostly young people leaving the State with consequent communal and societal damage. In the 1980s it was only about half that number. Every week 1,200 to 1,700 young people are leaving and more than 400,000 people are unemployed. This small group of middle-aged men have no notion of introducing a stimulus and believe that austerity rules. Austerity is not working - it might work for the elites but it does not work for working folks. The biggest unemployment burden is carried by young people. Youth unemployment is huge and there is no real policy response.

Is it not time to review the Government's budgetary decision-making process and put in place protections? As we face into this budget no one has legislative protection - the Government can decide to do whatever it wants in terms of cuts and all the rest of it. I ask the Taoiseach to review those processes.

I again commend to the Taoiseach Sinn Féin's budget proposals. This is not mathematical, but ideological. The Government can adjust the deficit in a fair and equitable way or it can do it in the way it is doing it.

The reason I raise all of these points is to suggest that there is a better way of going forward, positioned, founded, based and embedded upon equality and fairness as opposed to what we have at this time. Let us remember that this is the seventh austerity budget and another one is promised for next year. I commend that approach to the Taoiseach and call on him to review the processes which he currently has in place.

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