Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Fáiltím roimh an díospóireacht seo inniu sa Teach. Beidh díospóireacht chuimsitheach againn nuair a théann seo go dtí Céim an Choiste ina mbeimid ag plé seo thar trí lá agus muid ag mionscrúdú ná hábhair atá sa Bhille seo.

It has been two weeks since we heard the Government announce its budget, which was framed in the context of Brexit. As I said then, and reiterate now, Brexit was always going to have an impact on the budget but it should not have defined it. As I said then, Brexit did not set the parameters for the budget; those parameters were set by the Government.

As we discuss the Bill in great detail in the Chamber and in the coming weeks on Committee Stage, we will have a greater opportunity to debate those choices the Government took. The budget was an opportunity to give workers and families a break as they faced out-of-control rents, rip-off insurance premiums and unaffordable childcare costs but it did nothing to deal with any of those issues. Instead, it hit households with the hike in carbon tax, a policy that will not change behaviours but will just make those families and households poor. I will go through certain aspects of the Bill before offering greater scrutiny on Committee Stage. There are some parts I would like to touch on but will not have an opportunity until Committee Stage, and the Minister knows I will go through each one of them thoroughly.

Budget 2020 was a bad day for workers and families but a great day for multinational executives because the Government chose in the Bill to extend SARP, a wee scheme that very few of the public know about but with which many of wealthy executives are all too familiar. The scheme allows them to write off one third of their salary against income tax. It means a multinational executive who moves to Dublin on a salary of €1 million is able to dodge more than €123,000 in tax, which anybody else would have to pay. As people out there were wondering what they gained from the budget, and "Prime Time" put up slides showing that people gained little if anything and that they lost as a result of the carbon tax, up to 1,000 people were rubbing their hands with glee, popping the champagne corks and toasting the Minister because they will be €123,000 better off next year as a result of a measure in the legislation that every member of Fianna Fáil will endorse and support.

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