Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am not straying. The Government was straying when it was brought down. The conglomerates always had Fianna Fáil in hock but it is now Fine Gael. It is a case of Tweedledum and Tweedledee and of saying, "To hell with the ordinary people."

I accept that after the budget last year, the Minister introduced some additional measures in this area that were that were not announced on budget day. We live in hope for these. In this context, I wish to note, in particular, the legislative provisions that deal with bringing the young trained farmer stamp duty relief and the stamp duty farm consolidation relief into compliance with the EU state regulations that apply to them. We are aware that income averaging allows eligible farmers to calculate their taxable income as the average of their income in the current year and the previous four years, on a rolling basis, thus smoothening their tax liability over a five-year cycle. We understand the effect of the weather in this regard. I live in Tipperary in the Golden Vale, where we grow a lot of good spuds, thank God. We are able to dig them at present but we saw the floods in the midlands and elsewhere where we would not expect them. Income averaging is required because of incidents such as storms.

We know the damage that was done by previous hurricanes to our horticulture industry, which is huge in south Tipperary. We must allow the issue to balance out.

It used to be the case that certain farmers were not entitled to avail of the income averaging regime because they, their spouses or their civil partners earned other incomes off farm. The amendment announced by the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, last year extended the scheme to such farmers, with averaging only applying in respect of farm profits. I welcomed this. The measure increased the number of farmers who were eligible to avail of the scheme. We need to see far more of these kinds of support, especially in the post-Brexit scenario. I have already tabled amendments on some related matters and I hope to return to them in more detail.

I made a budget submission. The Government can crow and say I did not bother or offered no alternative, but I made some simple suggestions. For example, I called for the introduction of a tax on land of over 750 acres. Who in God's name needs 750 acres of fertile land to make a living? Two hundred acres should be good enough for anyone, but I set the level that high to see if I could put some manners on the conglomerates that are gobbling up our land and destroying our economy and, worst of all, rural villages and our way of life.

Some of the measures that I asked for in my pre-budget submission included supports for business and the self-employed, for example, reverting the hospitality VAT rate to 9.5%. Changing it last year was a retrograde step. Another measure would be the introduction of a corking or capping tax on the sale of alcohol in supermarkets and multiples. I made this suggestion in 2013 to the then Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, and over several years to the former Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan, God rest him. I pleaded and begged. We know the damage that the proliferation of cheap alcohol is doing to young people and the other problems it is causing. This has nothing to do with pubs. Through the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, the Government has tried to close all of the pubs and has nearly succeeded. It is choking them even though they are VAT payers, rate payers, employers and so on. The Government has quenched them because it was afraid that the Minister would pull out of Government and the rest of its members would lose their good jobs. The introduction of a capping tax on the sale of alcohol in supermarkets is a no-brainer. It was not done in the 2013 budget even though Deputy Burton assured me that it would be. She was not the Minister for Finance, but I asked her the next day what had happened. She told me that, unfortunately, the supermarket lobby was more powerful than the vintners' lobby. It is not about lobbies, nor should it be, but it is with this Government. It should instead be about people's lives and the damage that too great an availability of alcohol is causing.

In my submission, I suggested the retention of the current excise duties on diesel and petrol and the application of the lower VAT rate of 13.5% to the tyre industry. The then Government was warned about this issue when Deputy Kelly was Minister, but he would not listen.

I have suggested the expansion of social protection payments and benefits for the self-employed - we welcomed the start of this last year, and tús maith, leath na hoibre - to ensure that they are sufficiently supported during times of illness or low income. They are the people who put their money where their mouths are. They have sleepless nights trying to get paid for jobs, including design jobs. They are employers who have good staff they want to keep on. They need to be supported when they are sick. When the crash came, everyone got supports except them. The Government had no sympathy for them at all. I have suggested the introduction of a working family payment to ensure that social welfare schemes supporting low-income families do not discriminate against the self-employed and farming families. This is a basic human right.

I had called for an increase of 25% in local roads funding in 2019 and the extension of the local improvement scheme, which we fought for in the programme for Government. Roads in Tipperary and all over the country are gone to pot.

I have called for the introduction of VRT relief on vehicles purchased by community and voluntary groups, which are numerous and do great work in the form of meals on wheels, collecting people to bring them to hospital appointments and so on. In connection with this, there would be an examination of the VAT rates applied to vital lifesaving equipment. The current situation is a farce. Communities collect money for lifesaving equipment, and most villages have two or three units, but they must pay 23% on them. That is a disgrace. People are giving money voluntarily, money on which they have already paid tax. They are working people - farmers, business people, etc. They are being charged VAT again. It is scandalous.

I have called for measures to fast-track the construction of new social and private housing, but that will not happen because Fine Gael fundamentally does not want to build houses for the people. "Let them eat cake." That is what Fine Gael says. Let them go to hell. It has been proven. Fine Gael has made announcement after announcement. I sit on the housing committee and am sorry I ever went near it. If we could build houses with papers and reports, we would have mansions for everyone. Fine Gael does not want to build houses. There is something in Fine Gael's psyche that says, "Let them go to hell". At least Fianna Fáil when in power always built houses for ordinary people, but Fine Gael will not do it.

I have called for the development of a new co-ordinating unit within the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation to work with communities on developing co-operatives in order to keep vital local services in place and retain and develop vibrant local enterprises.

The living city scheme has been hijacked. The Government encouraged owners of shops and places that had closed down to renovate and let people live in them. This was meant to do two things - reduce the housing list and create living town centres - but the Government has abandoned the initiative. The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Ring, is announcing money for everywhere from Bohola to Knock. Once a scheme is in Mayo, he will give it money, but there is not a pingin amháin for places in Tiobráid Árann like Cluain Meala, Carrick-on-Suir and Durlas Éile.

Fine Gael has been found out, though. The game is up. The people are waiting for it inside the voting booths with the pinn luaidhe. There will be no double voting, calling for six votes and nod-and-a-wink voting for others. One by one, they will cast a cold eye over Fine Gael through the privacy of the ballot box. The Minister of State can nod all he likes, but he will be nodding like Deputy Danny Healy-Rae-----

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