Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will give the Minister four facts in response to what she has just said. First, many tens of thousands of people on the lowest incomes received nothing whatsoever in the budget. The very many people on the minimum wage benefited to the tune of €176 per year. If they are hit with water charges or decide to pay them, the vast bulk of it will be wiped out, leaving them with only €16 in the end.

Unlike people on the minimum wage or the lowest incomes, those earning in excess of €100,000 a year - the wealthiest - are being given a gift of €750 a year as a result of the budget. The approximate cost of that measure is €75 million. If the Minister thinks that is fair and should be a priority in terms of Government expenditure, I am not sure in what parallel universe she is living.

Sometime at the end of next year, the Department of Social Protection will issue cheques of €100 to every household under the so-called water conservation grant scheme. This is another prime example of measures implemented by the Government that take no heed whatsoever of people’s ability to pay and which are utterly regressive, in so far as this is a measure that will cost everyone the same, irrespective of income. That is an appalling vista. The Department will send €100 to every household in the country, irrespective of their circumstances. If the Minister believes that it is a priority for the Government to gift €75 million to those who are best-off in the country, she is utterly out of touch.

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