Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Is deas é an Teachta a fheiceáil anseo mar chathaoirleach. Is deas é an tAire a fheiceáil chomh maith.

In last week's budget the Minister introduced a range of austerity cuts and tax measures that are a direct attack on low and middle income households and which will hurt the elderly, the sick and the very young. She is attacking citizens from the cradle to the grave as she demolishes the most basic social protections, and this Social Welfare and Pensions Bill is the cutting edge of that assault.

The previous Teachta Dála who spoke said he needed a little clarity. I will give him some clarity. This legislation extends waiting time for illness benefit from three to six days, makes swingeing cuts to maternity benefit, cuts adoption benefit, scraps the bereavement grant, slashes young people's jobseeker's allowance, cuts young people's supplementary welfare allowance, phases out mortgage interest supplement, gives broad discretionary powers to pension trustees, and cuts the invalidity payment level for 65 year olds. I do not know what further clarity the Deputy is seeking, and we have been given only nine hours to debate this Bill.

When the Labour Party went into Government with Fine Gael, it said it was doing so to blunt the worst excesses of that party. Not only has the Labour Party failed miserably to do that in respect of this Bill, it has not even secured a reasonable amount of time for a Dáil debate on the issue. That will probably not surprise the Deputy. Labour Deputies are not exactly queuing up to actively support his leadership's austerity policies.

This budget is also a repeat of the previous two, and we are going down deeper as people's social protections are actively demolished and vandalised. Last year's Social Welfare and Pensions Bill saw a cut to child benefit which the Minister in opposition so eloquently defended two years earlier when Fianna Fáil was prepared to cut it. In the December 2009 budget she described child benefit as keeping bread on the table and keeping many families afloat. Clearly, she did not believe that or did not mean it. We have also had Labour's commitment to oppose water charges and its promise to burden share with bondholders - the famous "It's Labour's way or Frankfurt's way".

On the property tax, in opposition Deputy Eamon Gilmore stated: "We have to remember that many people have already paid a family home tax on their residential home in the form of stamp duty". We got one version in opposition and a very different version in government. This year, households will bear the brunt of a full property tax bill.

As for the Taoiseach, he says he is for political reform and greater transparency and accountability.

Only last week he promised a pre-legislative stage and less use of the guillotine but this Bill will be rammed through. The Deputies from the Government benches, including those who want greater clarity, will be like voting fodder rolled out to vote on the Government's position. It is an insult to the intelligence of those citizens who will be affected by this Bill. It shows that this Government has no respect whatsoever for the Dáil or the citizens.

Millions of euro will be cut in income supports for young unemployed people. The Aire Stáit, Deputy McGinley, coming from Donegal, must know the number of people who are out of this State - people who have left this island because they cannot live here. He must understand how parents see the future. They will not see their grandchildren, other than on Skype. Their sons and daughters are playing Gaelic games in Brisbane, Birmingham or Boston. The cuts to the jobseeker's allowance for young people and to the supplementary welfare allowance are clearly intended as an incentive to emigrate. In the past four years, first under Fianna Fáil and now under Fine Gael and the Labour Party, 300,000, mainly young people, have emigrated. I still cannot get my head around that figure. Some 1,700 are leaving every week. Everywhere I travel, especially in rural Ireland, I hear distressing stories about families which have been sundered by the blight and scale of emigration, which is unparalleled in modern times and which is doing huge damage to society, communities, in particular rural communities, although not exclusively, and to families. It is a shameful indictment of this Government and of successive governments that citizens have no expectation that they can be born, grow up, live, work, prosper and grow old in the land of their birth. That is a scandal.

There is complete indifference to the devastation this Bill and other taxation measures and cuts contained in the budget will have on the elderly, the young, the sick and the unemployed. The changes to the provision of medical cards are a disgrace. These are vindictive measures which will affect, in particular, older citizens who have contributed so much to the State during their working lives and who are worried. I attended the demonstration the other day. People are outraged at the reduction in the over 70s medical card and at the ending of the bereavement grant. The Minister of State is bound to have constituents who want the security of knowing somebody will not be burdened when they die but the Government has taken that from them. The axing of the telephone allowance will result in increased social isolation. The buttons used for security will not work unless there is a landline.

There has also been an increase in prescription charges. The Minister, Deputy Reilly, when in opposition, told us he would not increase prescription charges but would get rid of them. However, he has increased them twice. There is devastation and continuing low morale and the game of politics - the profession of politics - is continuously being brought into disrepute.

What do the Labour Party Ministers say to this? They say lots of things during an election campaign. What can I say about the Taoiseach? When Fianna Fáil introduced these measures, the Taoiseach attacked them. Five years ago in this Dáil and sitting on this side of the Chamber, the Taoiseach said: "To take away your rights to have a medical card beyond the age of 70 years - I reject it! The cheek of them. Shame on them". What has changed? If it is shameful for Fianna Fáil to attempt to do this, is it not shameful for this Government to do so? What is the difference?Cad é an difear idir Fianna Fáil agus Fine Gael? Cad é an difear idir Páirtí an Lucht Oibre, Fine Gael agus Fianna Fáil. Níl difear ar bith eatarthu. Níl dabht ar bith nach bhfuil difear ar bith eatarthu.

The programme for Government states that the Government is committed to completing and implementing the national positive ageing strategy so that older people are recognised, supported and enabled to live independent full lives. The programme for Government also states, "We will support older people in living in their own homes and communities for as long as they wish and will facilitate this by ensuring that the eligibility criteria for the home helps and the Home Care Package Scheme are applied consistently". How do these commitments stand up now that the Government has cut home help hours and services, cut nursing home provision, scrapped the telephone allowance and cut medical cards and invalidity payments? All of this very actively undermines the ability of older citizens to live independent lives.

Fine Gael has a narrow ideological economic view which is to the right of the Tea Party in the USA but what is worse is that this is being done under a Labour Party Minister. James Connolly would turn in his grave. My colleague, Deputy Ó Snodaigh, and others will bring forward amendments. I have little hope that the Government will listen to, or take on board, the constructive suggestions we make. I appeal to Government Deputies to be men and women, to stand up for what they were elected to do, to recognise the great harm this Bill will do and to vote against it at every opportunity today and tomorrow.

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