Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The squeezed middle are still left with a tax on their family homes. It has been acknowledged in the course of this debate that property prices are rising, and in all likelihood that will continue. That is a big deal for the squeezed middle and the families who are faced with a charge which will only escalate.

There is nothing for the squeezed middle in respect of student registration fees or apprenticeship fees. The Fianna Fáil benches correctly criticised the last Government for its U-turn on and betrayal of third level students and their families. It seems to have conveniently forgotten all of that. Student registration fees of €3,000 are a big deal for the squeezed middle and struggling middle classes. That seems to have passed the Government by.

There is not an additional cent in the budget for school capitation. What does that mean for struggling families? It means that schools are under pressure which, in turn, places parents under pressure because lights have to be turned on and heating bills paid. Had the Taoiseach read our alternative budget he would have seen our costed proposal for an increase in school capitation grants. Perhaps having read it, its sheer common sense might have occurred to the Government and it might have included it in the budget. It might have done that if it really cared about the middle classes, struggling families and the squeezed middle.

Where we get to the point of almost comedy is when Deputy Martin tried to portray himself as the champion of workers. Goodness, gracious me. That is good one. This is almost at the pitch of high farce, coming as it does from Fianna Fáil. After all, it cut the minimum wage. That was its bright idea to vindicate workers' rights. Not alone that, between the collective efforts of the parties in Government, they have created a scenario whereby we now live in a low-wage economy.

When we brought forward a proposal to deal with one of the core issues in respect of the low-wage economy, namely banded hour and low hour contracts, what did Fianna Fáil, the champion of the workers, do? It said it could not possibly do that and needed to push the proposal down the line to some indeterminate place in the future. Every time something solid or concrete comes to this new political Chamber that will advantage workers, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael connive to shoot it down or push it down the line. That is the real level of their commitment to workers' rights.

There was a lot for landlords in the budget. The Taoiseach said that was to incentivise them to stay in the business of renting properties. I put it to him that is in stark contrast to the absence of anything real or substantive for renters. I again remind him that Sinn Féin, the party of Opposition, brought forward a proposal for rent certainty. That did not go very far. We can only surmise, given that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil voted against rent certainty and rent certainty measures in this budget, that they are not bothered about or interested in rent certainty.

In terms of health, very big figures have been put out into the public domain. However, when one strips everything back and takes account of demographic factors, the Lansdowne Road agreement and pay commitments, one finds that only €147 million is available. We cannot have a supplementary health budget this year. A figure of €147 million means that we have a major problem in terms of service delivery.

Deputy Martin beats his chest and points to a 56% increase in waiting lists of over two years. He is correct. What is the solution? It is a miserly, miserable and pathetic €15 million. The Government is not seriously suggesting that is the answer to a crisis of that magnitude.

Perhaps if the Deputy had read Sinn Féin's alternative costed budget-----

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