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

The Government is giving with one hand and taking with the other. Pensioners have been hit to the tune of over €1,200 annually as a result of direct cuts to payments and tax increases, including the local property tax and water charges. Ability to pay was not taken into account by the Government.

  The Government has imposed a litany of harsh cuts. The number of home helps has been slashed and housing aids grants, the number of medical cards and income levels have been reduced. Costs have been hiked in every manner in respect of older people. A further blow was the abolition of the bereavement grant two years ago. Against a record of penalising the generation that built the country, the €3 increase says it all about the Government's priorities. People will not forget the hardship endured as a result of the callous, cynical nature of the cuts it imposed.

Finally, I wish to refer to a couple of other items in the Budget Statement. I have already mentioned the child care announcement. The Minister says he will provide an extra €18 million for family income supplement, a payment to people who are at work and on low incomes. He says that the increase in the family income supplement income threshold by €5 for families with one child and €10 for families with two or more children will benefit 59,000 families or 131,000 children. What about the people on low incomes who get the increase in the minimum wage of 50 cent per hour? Their income will increase by €20 per week, but the Minister is only increasing the FIS threshold by €5 per week. That means many people who receive the minimum wage will fall out of FIS. What type of policy is that? The Minister claimed the benefit of FIS with regard to his taxation policies, but based on what he has stated about the FIS thresholds that does not appear to hold water.

The Minister referred to the increase in the social welfare payment for the elderly. That is no comfort for widows on the contributory or non-contributory pension who will get no increase. People on invalidity pension, carer's benefit, carer's allowance, maternity benefit and occupational injuries benefit get no increase. What does the Minister have against the widows, people with disabilities and the carers in Ireland that he will not give them any increase at this stage?

As I said at the outset, I do not believe this budget. It is a dishonest, inaccurate budget. The chart on page 143 shows that last year the Government increased expenditure based on the 2015 forecast outcome by €1.6 billion in this calendar year. That is the supplementary slush fund it has up its sleeve to buy the election in the next two months. However, its planned expenditure increase for next year is only a quarter of that, €383 million. I do not believe the €383 million figure is inaccurate, but it is what the Government based its budget on. It has never brought an honest budget before the House in the four or five years it has been in office and it certainly did not do so today.

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