Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Only last week, the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, launched the expert advisory group report on the early years strategy, where she said she was personally in favour of it and would fight for it. I commend her for that. Unfortunately, the fight did not go too far. That report recommended extending maternity benefit from six months to 12 months. What happened in this budget? There was a reduction of €30 million in support for working women. What happened to the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald? She said that whole-of-government support for children and families is also evident in the free GP care for children aged five and under. Where was the whole-of-government support for families and working mothers? The Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, talks about early intervention. The most formative years of a child's life are their early years yet the Government's policy is advocating that women go back to work as soon as possible.

We saw older people tackled in this year's budget, including through the complete abolition of the telephone allowance. When this is taken in conjunction with the 2013 budget, it is a reduction of €6 per week. People will no longer be able to afford their landline and they will run the risk of losing the panic alarm which hangs around their neck, which is a lifeline for so many elderly and disabled people who live alone and have nobody with them on a daily basis.

The reduction in the medical card threshold is another cynical attack on the elderly in society. I heard so many Ministers quoting the ESRI earlier but it is the ESRI which states that medical care is a progressive anti-poverty measure.

It is a pity the Ministers did not look at that report from the ESRI.

Mental health is an issue we discuss frequently in the House. It is an issue all sides of the House wish to see addressed. There has been an alarming rise in the rate of suicide in the last number of years, yet the Government has still failed to honour the commitment in the programme for Government to ensure that €35 million will be spent on community health every year, including in 2014. That has been reduced to €20 million. With regard to the 2013 element, it was promised that 477 staff would be appointed in 2013, but at the end of last September only 4% of this was complete. One would have to question where the priority for mental health lies with this Government.

Working parents who have separated have been unfairly targeted in this budget. Working parents who share the caring and financial responsibility for their children are being penalised. From January next year, only the primary caregiver will be able to avail of the tax credit. This discourages parents who separate from working together to ensure the well-being of their children.

What happened to the principle that those who can afford to pay more should pay more? Will the three Ministers of State who are present explain what measure in this budget will knock one red cent from the net take-home pay of senior executives in the financial institutions and across the board? What single effect will this budget have on high-earning people in this country? There is none. Look then at what effect it will have on those who have the least to pay. Once again, I predict the ESRI will confirm that this is another regressive budget that fails to protect the less well-off and most vulnerable in our society.

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