Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Budget 2021 should have been the budget that gave workers and families a break. I welcome the positive measures in it but it does not go far enough. It does not give security to those who are worried about their future, given the uncertain times that lie ahead. The failure to reinstate the pandemic unemployment payment is baffling. It should not have been cut in the first place. Not only that, but the Government intends to cut this payment further in the new year. This will simply make the situation worse for many families. The price of fuel has shot up, as has motor tax, and that will have a real impact on the pockets of low earners. It has been framed as a green measure.

The reality is the first green measure implemented by this Government undermines the idea of a just transition. Years of underinvestment in public transport means that people with older cars will be penalised for not being able to afford to change them. Electric cars are expensive and the vast majority of people simply cannot afford them.

Fuel poverty is a major issue and people will be worried about switching on their heating or lighting their fires because of these increased costs. The carbon tax is an attack on those who have very little and it targets some of the most vulnerable in our communities. It is unacceptable. I cannot believe that parties claiming to be left and progressive have supported this tax.

There is nothing in this budget for renters, who are being fleeced as rents continue to spiral out of control. Renters will continue to pay massive amounts of money while the Government could have given them a break like the proposal in our alternative budget. The plans of the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government for social and affordable housing are poor and he is continuing the failed policies of the previous Minister.

Childcare was not addressed in yesterday's budget and providers, parents and staff have been let down yet again in this area. People continue to pay fees that are the equivalent of a second mortgage. In Sinn Féin's alternative budget, we outlined what could be done to address the crisis in childcare. We set out our plans to tackle the issue of affordability for parents but the Government completely ignored it. The budget will be remembered for all the wrong reasons by the staff and parents in this sector.

This budget has left many people behind and it attacks the pockets of those who have the least. There is no fairness in it. It is another budget of the "haves" and the "have nots". Those who were vulnerable last week are still vulnerable this week.

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