Dáil debates

Wednesday, 14 October 2020

Financial Resolutions 2020 - Financial Resolution No. 7: General (Resumed)

 

7:00 pm

Photo of Pat BuckleyPat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is great to have the opportunity to speak on this budget. I have listened to the debates and the media commentary outside, and there are two contrasting views. One view is that this is the biggest budget in history. The other view, according to the people I have been speaking to in recent days, is that this budget is a big to-do about nothing. What did people get in this budget? They got practically nothing. There was no relief for people who had their PUP cut. There was no relief for renters. What is amazing is that the issue of not having a right to a pension at the age of 65 years has not come up. I refer to the failure to guarantee a pension at the age of 65 years in the middle of one of the greatest pandemics we have ever faced, where older people are probably our most vulnerable. Our youth unemployment has gone so high that mental health problems have gone off the Richter scale and we are not putting the money in the right resources.

Nothing was delivered for families, who are paying for what is probably the costliest childcare in Europe. It is possible to get the picture as I continue. I do welcome the increase in the funding for disability services, but I welcome it with caution. I state that because I listened to the CEO of the Disability Federation of Ireland and he said that the €100 million being provided will, possibly, just fill the gap left in the disability services over the last ten years and address the damage that has resulted from the Covid-19 restrictions. This funding will only fill the existing gap, so let us not give ourselves a pat on the back on that aspect.

What else has been done in this budget? We set no targets for affordable homes for 2021. I heard the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, speaking a short while ago about what is going to be done and what the plan is for our big housing build. Amazingly, with the roughly €208 million going into the housing assistance payment scheme, the local infrastructure housing activation fund and a couple of other schemes, we still have county councils having a great plan to build more than 2,000 houses on a flood plain. We will see how progressive that will be in a few years.

Returning to the subject of disability, I will recount a story I heard from a lady, and that will show how good this budget is and how these big figures sound fabulous. This lady is grateful to receive the fuel allowance, but she gives it to her disabled daughter so she can heat her home. That is a parents' thing, they will do without so that others can have what they need. I ask that that story be taken in by the Government. People have been giving each other pats on the back and stating that this has probably been the best budget ever. This is taxpayers' money that will have to be paid back.

I welcome the inclusion of the Christmas bonus, and many people in the country will also welcome it, because Christmas will probably be the only holiday we will have this year, as Hallowe'en is probably cancelled for many people. There is much stress on families now regarding Christmas, because it is the only celebration we will probably have this year. We might have it as a good remembrance. The reduction in the VAT rate is certainly fabulous, but I heard of nothing being provided for any businesses, such as publicans and other small businesses, that have gone out of business and which will no longer be trading. I heard nothing in the budget to address how we will support those businesses. The banks have not been very co-operative, nor have insurance companies. I met many publicans in recent weeks and they are experiencing immense stress.

I heard some of the Ministers state that they have extra money. Where is it? We need it now, and not next year. The best way to sum up this situation is by reference to a film trilogy that many of us in this House are old enough to remember: "Back to the Future". If the characters from those films were around today, I certainly could see Doc Brown advising Marty McFly that, whatever he did, he should not go back to 2020.

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