Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

It is very difficult to know where to start with such a widespread budget. It can be summed up, however, as a transfer, again, of wealth to the rich and to the highest paid in society with little or nothing given to those most savagely hit by austerity over the past six years. There are many examples of this in the budget. In the Government’s information booklet on the budget’s measures, it has an example of John, a worker on the minimum wage, who is set to receive €173 a year with changes to the universal social charge. Unfortunately, John will have that benefit wiped out by a €178 water charge. In fact, John will be €5 less well off after this budget.

The gap between the rich and the poor has increased by €500 a year following this budget, a point Social Justice Ireland well publicised this afternoon. The Government has given to those at the top. Anyone earning over €70,000 will gain about €736 a year while the low paid, women and parents - three groups savagely hit since the crisis began in 2008 - have been given little or nothing. The most significant social crisis in our society, housing provision, will be aided in little or no way by this budget. Another group completely neglected is those in the rented sector which makes up 30.3% of all people.

The Government seems to believe that the low pay commission, announced when the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, took over as Tánaiste and repeated yesterday, is necessary. Who needs such a commission? Workers need a pay increase. Does the Government believe the idea of setting up such a commission will assuage the majority in our society, the 65% of people who earn less than €32,000 a year? Far from being a squeezed middle, it is actually a hard-pressed majority, thanks to the tax increases and pay cuts of the past six years. We do not need a low pay commission.

Another group which has taken a hammering under austerity, as pointed out by the National Women’s Council of Ireland, is women. Women tend to be in part-time jobs, in the low-paid sector and half as likely as men to earn €50,000. Yesterday, the Government handed back to women €5 a month in child benefit. While this amounts to €70 million, over €400 million has been taken in child benefit from people over the past six years.

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