Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment of the motion because it catalogues the consequences of austerity with frightening figures, documenting the rise in the number of people in the State experiencing consistent poverty and enforced deprivation. Children, older people and people with disabilities go without heating in their homes, a warm coat or enough food. It also highlights the growth in low pay, a measure on which we are beaten only by the United States of America out of all the countries in the developed world. The fact that half a million people have zero money left at the end of the month once they pay essential bills shows how bad austerity has been. This stark reality for the many can be contrasted with the cushioned and cosy existence of the few who own almost 30% of the country’s wealth while making up just 5% of our population.

What has brought us to this horrific indefensible situation? I can think of a few things. When in government, Fianna Fáil cut the weekly working age social welfare payment rates twice. It slashed young people’s jobseeker's allowance and the Labour Party and Fine Gael Government finished the job, cutting it further. Fianna Fáil cut rent supplement, abolished the Christmas bonus and cut child benefit across the board. Then Fine Gael and the Labour Party, who promised to do things differently, did the exact same as their predecessors. Fine Gael and the Labour Party cut farm assist, the fuel allowance, the household benefits package and the back to school allowance. They cut child benefit twice. They targeted working mothers, first taxing maternity benefit and then cutting it. They cut jobseeker's benefit and the invalidity pension, and closed the diet supplement scheme. They took €325 from family carers in need of respite. They more than halved exceptional needs spending at a time of exceptionally high and rising needs.

The motion tabled by some of the Independent Deputies rightly condemns and rejects austerity. It rightly calls for the reversal of cuts. The public needs a Government with the moral compass and the capacity to develop and implement credible solutions. In our fully-costed alternative budget published last October, and in those we published in other years since this Government and its predecessor have implemented austerity, we outlined options for the Government to begin to reverse austerity. We proposed a range of social welfare increases, targeting those experiencing some of the worst deprivation. We proposed increasing family income supplement by 10% to families working on low incomes. We proposed raising the lone parent income disregard so that work pays in a positive way. We proposed restoring equality to young jobseekers. We also proposed increasing the fuel allowance by three weeks to help with home heating bills. We have been lucky that this winter has not been as cold as in previous years.

We also proposed introducing a landline allowance, so that vulnerable people living alone could have a panic alarm. We also proposed restoring farm assist and re-opening the diet supplement scheme, which assists sufferers of coeliac disease, motor neuron disease and others with the high cost of their nutrition. We proposed increasing the back to school allowance by €50 to help our poorest children with the costs of education. We also proposed reversing in full the cut to the respite care grant, one of the cruellest cuts of all.

The Government has never had a mandate to heap misery on so many, or to heap misery upon the misery the previous Government inflicted. It is long past time for an election so the people can give a fresh mandate to Deputies who will stand up to austerity and implement radical solutions to the problems of the State.

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