Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge a small number of measures in this budget. The retention of the 9% VAT for the hospitality sector for one year is to be welcomed. The levy on the banking sector is something we could all support. There are two real questions for us - is this budget fair and will it kick start the social and economic recovery so badly needed in this country?

In his budget document Deputy Howlin provided a lovely graph from the ESRI which shows that according to the income deciles the budget changes mean the more one has the more is being taken from one, unless one is in the bottom decile, in which case a huge amount is taken from one. It turns out that this information includes 2008 to 2013. In the same paper the ESRI has another graph which does the same analysis, used on budget day by Deputy Howlin just for the Fine Gael and Labour budgets. That graph does not appear in Deputy Howlin's document, but if it did it would show that the last two budgets directly have taken more from those who have less per income decile.

It is incredible. The less one has the more one is asked to give. Is that the case in this budget? We do not know because, despite repeated requests for a quality analysis in order that we can answer that question, we have not received that analysis. However, when it is issued, we will see yet again that this budget takes from those who have least to give and benefits those who are well off.

Why do I believe this? Let us look, for example, at what young people in their late teens or early twenties see when they look at this budget. They see a further cut in State funding for the universities and colleges which between 2008 and 2015 will see a 50% cut in State funding per student. They see a reduction in the level of social protection. I do not know why this applies to young people under 25 years or why the same logic does not apply in education and training when one reaches 26.

Let us look at what parents of young children see when they look at this budget. They see the second cut in one year in maternity benefit and see no support to meet the cost of the most expensive child care on the planet.

If those in the negative equity generation look at this budget, they see an end to mortgage interest relief, an end to rent supplement and see a full year of property tax coming their way, regardless of whether they own the house. If they are in negative equity to the tune of €100,000, they will still be charged property tax on the market value of the house.

What else do people see when they look at this budget? They see an increase in pension charges and if they have been fortunate enough to save some money, they see additional charges. There is no additional support for mortgage holders who are struggling to restructure their mortgages with the banks. A pensioner looking at this budget sees a cut in the number of medical cards, a cut in household benefits and a cut in invalidity pension.

A local employer looking at this budget sees the cost of employment rising through having to pay more in sick pay. We see total tax relief for entrepreneurial activity at €7 million, but we see nothing at all about lowering the cost of employment and, for example, about making local authority rates more affordable.

What do people aged between 50 and 65 years who have €100,000 or a few hundred thousand in the bank see if they look at this budget? They see a range of tax reliefs for their investments. They see a tax rebate for getting work done on their houses. This budget introduces a tax relief for having a nice extension built onto one's house, but it reduces tax relief for those who cannot afford to pay their mortgage.

This budget could and should have been a catalyst to kick-start social and economic recovery. It could have exceeded the deficit and reinvested in families, education, entrepreneurship and job creation, but it has failed sadly in this regard. It continues to grind down our youth, the negative equity generation, families and, for some reason, women who have just had children. The story of this budget is not what it is, but what it could have been.

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