Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett for bringing this motion to the Dáil. I will speak to the Government's amendment to the motion. The first two points are incredible. The claim that austerity has affected all groups and has had the greatest effect on the disposable income of the top 10% of earners can no doubt be backed up by statistics. The effect of the universal social charge on the take-home pay of somebody earning €200,000 per year is far greater than it is for somebody on the minimum wage. That is only a very small part of the story.

If we take the 1% of people who earn 10% of all income, or the top 10% of people who earn 24% of all income, we know they do not rely on public health services.

They send their children to private schools. A cut in child benefit is irrelevant to them. They would not even know what a lone parent family payment is; the effects of austerity are minimal for them. Two thirds of the €30 billion in austerity cuts have been in the form of spending cuts. These cuts have crucified the bottom 10% who earn a measly 3% of all income. Austerity has hit the poorest and the most vulnerable hardest, and no amount of spin can hide that.

The claim that a strong economic recovery is under way is questionable, if not spurious. The figures for gross domestic product, GDP, and gross national product, GNP, for the economy are simply unreliable. This is due to the distorting role played by the multinational sector. There are very serious questions regarding the real levels of exports from the economy. The distortions in export figures are due to contract manufacturing and profit shifting. It is estimated that up to 50% of service exports are tax related and effectively fake. The Central Bank has stated that the activity in the Irish Financial Services Centre is for the most part unrelated to the domestic economy in terms of personal consumption, investment or export activity. Multinationals' exports in computer services per employee are 12 times higher than they are per employee in indigenous companies. That does not add up. That figure is just not possible. What the Government is putting forward is spurious.

Economic activity is better measured by domestic demand, that is, consumer and Government spending and investment. Domestic demand fell by 20% in the crisis and has been more or less stagnant since 2010. In 2011, it was €34.5 billion and in 2014 it was €35 billion and 15% below the level of 2008. There is some growth in the economy and in jobs, but nothing like the levels claimed by the Government.

I will conclude with a point about lone parents. I have heard much talk about how social welfare has protected the most vulnerable in our society, but I challenge the Government and the Minister in that regard. According to the EU survey on income and living conditions, SILC, report in 2013, lone parents have the highest rates of deprivation at 63.3% and consistent poverty rates of 23%. The deprivation rate among lone parents is 230% more than in the general population and 33% more than among the unemployed, yet this Government is implementing the legislation it passed in 2012. The Minister for Social Protection said in 2012: "I am undertaking tonight that I will only proceed with the measures to reduce the upper age limit to seven years in the event I get a credible and bankable commitment on the delivery of such a system of child care by the time of this year's budget. If it is not forthcoming, the measure will not proceed." The Government is proceeding with the measure to cut lone parents' payments when the child reaches seven years of age, but there is no affordable child care in place. It says it wants people to get back into employment but those who are most affected by these cuts are lone parents in work. Their wages will be cut by at least 20%.

The Government need not give the message that it is protecting the most vulnerable. It is actually pursuing the most vulnerable, and I hope the people resist it.

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