Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

With respect, much of what the Minister of State has said is a load of nonsense, to tell the God's honest truth. We have heard it all before from the Minister, Deputy Noonan. The Minister has no analysis paralysis when it comes to analysing. The Minister of State said we are the best and we have done so much analysis and impact assessment, but the first measure on which the Government carried out an impact assessment was legacy property tax reliefs. It carried out an impact assessment because a previous finance Bill contained provisions to get rid of them based on a ministerial order. We could not do this to the property developers, so the impact needed to be examined. They are not like single fathers; they really deserve our attention because the Galway tent might be gone and a new Government might be in place, but the same people fund the parties at the end of the day. They are their friends with whom they congregate, and they know them because they were not unique to one individual party. They may have dominated and corrupted that party, but they are not unique to it. The Government carried out an impact assessment for these individuals and concluded that property tax relief should not be ended for all of these individuals because some of the smaller investors would be hit disproportionately. No such impact assessment whatsoever was done for single fathers who will be affected by the budget. The Government has gladly voted to charge them €2,500 extra in tax. No impact assessment was done for any child who has suffered as a result of the budget, or for any elderly person who has lost support in the form of the telephone allowance. No impact assessment was done for patients who will suffer as a result of the €666 million in cuts that the Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly, will inflict. No impact assessment whatsoever was done for the young people who have had to take a further cut in their social welfare entitlement as a result of the Government's Pathways to Work strategy, which is nothing more than an incentive for young people to leave our shores. This is the priority the Government gives in terms of analysis paralysis. It will carry out economic impact assessments for those who need them least.

This has happened in other jurisdictions and it can happen here. It is the right thing to do. The Government should be bold enough to stand up and state that this is what it stands for, this is the Finance Bill it will introduce, that it stands by these measures and that this is the impact the Bill will have on various sectors of society. The Government is afraid of and running from the truth because the truth, if it is unveiled, will show very clearly that the Government is pro-austerity but has forced austerity down the throats of the weakest members in society. This is the problem with equality budgeting for the Government.

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