Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In 2012, after the establishment of the new Department, we had the biggest overrun in Government expenditure since the foundation of the State. That was exceeded last week when Supplementary Estimates of €1.184 billion had to be introduced to make up for the flawed budget of 13 months ago. We told the Minister the day that budget was introduced that the budget and Estimates process was flawed. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has failed and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs has done nothing for children yet. I know new agencies have been set up, but that does not help the children who are sleeping in bed and breakfasts tonight.

Irish Water, which is a Fine Gael brainchild, was established during the course of this year. The Government promised to abolish quangos, but it did the exact opposite. We now have the biggest quango to be set up in living memory. It must be remembered that people are already paying for water services. The extra €140 million that will come in from this, after the payments from the Department of Social Protection are taken into consideration, is no longer fundamental to the national finances. That €140 million is not necessary. It is not worth the €700 million that the Government is sinking into the ground on meters or the amount of money it is paying to consultants. Why do we have this? The Government has started to use a new phrase. It says it is going to repair the water leaks off balance sheet and fix our water supply off balance sheet.

The Government promised in its Budget Statement two months ago that it would provide €2.6 billion for social housing over the next three years. Much of that is to be off balance sheet. We will no longer build social houses from our own resources as we have done since foundation of the State. It now seems that a social house can be built only if it is off balance sheet. The Government had announced that €3.8 billion would be provided for these purposes over an extended period. Two weeks ago, the Minister, Deputy Kelly, said that much of this will be off balance sheet. The Government's answer to everything is off balance sheet. The second half of its equation is tax cuts for the wealthy. This Government is the only one that is off balance sheet. People's water bills are not off their balance sheets. They will come out of their bank accounts. The homeless people and the difficulties on the street are not off balance sheet. The Government tries to outsource the solutions to such problems because it does not want to handle them directly.

Over the past two months, the Government has followed its mantra of tax cuts for the wealthy and off balance sheet solutions. The people of Ireland will not buy that. The Government made too many promises. The Taoiseach is looking after his own. Fine Gael people will probably thank him for that. In the budget, the Government announced a 1% cut in the top rate of tax paid by the highest earners in the country. It has promised a further 1% cut ten months out from the next budget. I never before heard of a tax announcement being made ten months before a budget. The Government's economic emphasis is on further tax cuts for the people at the highest income levels. More off balance sheet solutions will probably be proposed to deal with problems like homelessness, housing and water services.

This is a divisive and regressive Government. Every budget it has introduced has been socially and economically regressive. The burden of the adjustment in each of its budgets has been more heavily weighted in favour of expenditure cuts than taxation measures. Each of the Government's budgets has been unfair. They have lacked fairness. I actually think that is what Fine Gael wants. Fine Gael is happy with this divisive measure. It has made a divided society. I believe it suits some of the Members opposite to have a divided society. We saw that in the political pong-pong here this afternoon. They want a chasm in society. They do not want a homogenous middle ground. Most Irish people like to be in the centre. The Government wants a battle of the right and left. I believe it wants a divided society. It has divided society. However, the people of Ireland are very united in their determination to vote no confidence in Fine Gael and the Labour Party at the ballot box the next time they get an opportunity to do so.

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