Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

My party and I agree with some parts of this Bill. We also feel that some aspects do not go far enough to support the hard-working low and middle income workers and families across the State. While I strongly agree with any reduction in the higher rate of VAT, I question the omission of a reduction in the lower rate of VAT focused on the tourism and hospitality sector. My home county of Clare is all too aware of how this pandemic has affected the tourism industry. We have seen the almost total collapse of Shannon Airport, the closure of Shannon Heritage sites, with some of them yet to reopen, and a decline across the hospitality sector in the county. The best option to support these struggling businesses would be to lower the VAT rate for the sector to make services more cost friendly at the point of use. For that reason we will table an amendment to the Bill to provide for the reduction of the lower rate, which will provide immediate liquidity supports to an industry that is on its knees. I strongly urge all parties and groups to support it.

On reading the July stimulus, I was baffled by the omission of 700,000 citizens from the scheme, especially considering that Sinn Féin proposed a voucher scheme a number of weeks ago that would have put money directly into the pocket of every citizen, which could then be injected back into the local economy. These vouchers would have given every person a helping hand, regardless of income and circumstances. The Government has taken the Sinn Féin proposal and made it as regressive as possible. Its proposal will require struggling families, who have had to defer mortgage repayments and other debts this year, to pay upfront for services and they may be able reclaim it in January. Can anybody see how this will benefit ordinary working families or how it would even be possible? How will families who are struggling be able to afford to avail of this scheme? Quite simply, they cannot. They will not be able to front-load the cost and that means businesses will not benefit from it. Have these points been thought through?

I am also at a loss for words when it comes to the proposal to extend the help-to-buy scheme. This scheme has never helped low and middle income earners to get on the property ladder. I constantly hear from frustrated people in Clare who are in steady employment, for example, in the pharma-tech industry, and who are unable to get a decent mortgage to buy a second-hand property. On the other hand, I also hear about people earning in excess of €100,000 being able to avail of a cash rebate of up to €20,000 on a new build. Where is the fairness in this model?

This Bill falls short due to its lack of supports for low and middle income workers, such as musicians, bus and coach operators, taxi drivers and students who are reliant on work in the tourism sector. This is a missed opportunity to put in place a package of supports for the most vulnerable in society who need a helping hand.

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