Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for letting me speak. The Taoiseach itemised, among other elements, that the Cabinet sub-committee on social policy had a responsibility for poverty reduction and social inclusion. Then he gave us a long litany of measures, some of them perhaps very commendable, but he was not able to tell us whether the sub-committee had dealt with the need for a poverty impact report on the budget. Sinn Féin has long argued for equality-proofing. That happens in the North and it is quite effective. There is a need to assess the social impact of different measures brought in by the Government. The European Commission has criticised the Government for not doing this, so this is not just a Sinn Féin criticism. It acknowledges that this is done in a limited way after a budget but it argues for such assessment to be broadened and done before a budget.

The Commission also criticised the fact that budgetary measures on health or education, and the impact of indirect taxes, are not assessed. That is a fundamental element that is missing from the report the Taoiseach has given us today. Will the Cabinet sub-committee commission a piece of work on the implications of last month's budget? What would the Government's attitude be to that? If such a report called for these measures to be reversed or changed because of the social impact, in keeping with the committee's remit of poverty reduction and social inclusion, one would think there would be an onus on the Government to follow it through.

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