Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As I only have a few minutes, I will start with tourism. I was happy to see that some investment is being made in tourism business supports and assistance in terms of cash flow for the industry. However, these measures do not reflect the catastrophic situation that tourism and hospitality is in and there is no point in helping businesses without supporting workers too. A 9% VAT rate for the sector would have been welcome back in the summer when representatives from the sector and my party advocated for it. Similarly, the stay and spend scheme is a shambles. It came in just as the country went into level 3 lockdown so it is absolutely useless to the sector at the moment. The VAT rate lasts until the end of next year but the real worry is whether businesses will survive until then.

The budget did not address the ongoing issues with the pandemic unemployment payment. Not reinstating the original payment levels was a terrible move given the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions. The wage subsidy scheme is also not fit for purpose because it excludes 150,000 low-income workers and supports for employers have almost halved. The highest subsidy is now €203. It must be reinstated to its original form for tourism and hospitality, the arts and other sectors that remain closed down. Sinn Féin's proposal would have guaranteed 85% of take-home pay for workers on the minimum wage with wage subsidies of up to €410 per week for highly impacted sectors and €300 per week for sectors moderately impacted by the pandemic.

I also want to touch on the 29% increase in carbon tax, against which I and my party voted last night. This increase is regressive, lazy and very unfair and it affects poorer households and rural areas the hardest. We already know this tax does not change behaviour. It has not changed behaviour so far and it will not change behaviour if there are no viable alternatives available to people. In its current form it will only make people poorer. This increase is cruel. People want to make changes for the good of our environment and planet, but this Government does not acknowledge that it has a major part to play in that. Slapping higher taxes on fuel is not going to help a struggling family in any shape or form if they have no alternatives for travel or, from next May, for heating their homes. Hiking motor tax on older diesel and petrol cars compounds this issue. Transitioning to electric cars is an essential step, but the changes in this budget will only benefit wealthier motorists while punishing those who cannot afford to buy electric vehicles. That has been the theme of this budget, the same as every other budget I have witnessed in my time as a Deputy. Those who are struggling are yet again hit hardest by the Government and those who are wealthy are left as they were. Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party look after a certain type of people and the rest are left abandoned.

See this speech in context