Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We are in the middle of a worldwide pandemic and also facing the prospect of a hard border within two months. Overall, I believe this budget is the right budget for this time and will give us an opportunity to get the economy back on track, once we get over the Covid crisis. Brexit, on the other hand, will be a more difficult challenge and will, I fear, have longer-term consequences for the country, particularly for Border counties like my own constituency of Louth. The budget has not delivered answers or solutions in this regard.

The devastating effects of Covid on our livelihoods and day-to-day lives are unprecedented. The last time we were faced with a similar level of economic collapse was during the banking crisis. At that time, the decision was taken to introduce austerity. In hindsight, this was clearly wrong and it put too much of a burden on the ordinary people of this country. I am pleased that the Government has not taken that approach in this crisis. What the economy needs now is access to money. Businesses that have been forced to shut their doors during the lockdown must be supported. In fairness, a number of support measures are in place. Many of the businesses most impacted are small businesses, often family-owned for two or three generations. I know from speaking to business owners in Dundalk, Drogheda, Ardee and Carlingford that they are extremely worried about their futures. They are fully supportive of any measures that will protect the public and they have shown their willingness to put their shoulders to the wheel to support the public health measures. In return for their support, we must ensure they are given every opportunity to reopen their businesses once it is safe to do so.

The universal social charge, USC, was introduced as a temporary austerity measure during the last economic crisis. It is time now to put in place a plan for the winding down of this tax. It has done what it was supposed to do and we need to see it removed from the tax code.

Section 3 of the Finance Bill seeks to amend the tax treatment of the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, which will now be treated as income for tax purposes. This change is wrong.  People who lost their jobs through no fault of their own will now face the prospect of having to pay additional tax on their PUP at some stage over the coming year. That will only cause additional stress and worry for the thousands of people currently receiving the payment.  The Government must clarify the tax treatment of this payment in order that the many thousands who are receiving it a have certainty as to their tax liabilities.

Section 11 makes provision, by way of the insertion of a new section 485 in the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, for the introduction of the Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS.  This scheme is targeted at businesses that have been significantly impacted by the lockdown restrictions and it has been welcomed by many businesses.  However, it is targeted only at businesses operating out of a fixed premises and which have had to close that premises to the public.  I have spoken to many tradespeople in the construction industry who are unable to avail of the scheme.  They generally work alone or perhaps in two-person teams, going into people's homes. The Minister needs to look at their situation and offer them some type of solution.

Section 25 of the Bill confirms a price increase on tobacco products. I have been a constant critic of the tobacco industry and am of the view that it should contribute more to the health costs arising out of the use of its products.  It costs billions each year to treat people who have illnesses associated with tobacco.  It is time to charge additional taxes on those companies as a contribution to the yearly costs of treating patients affected by their products.

Section 26 makes provision to increase the rate of carbon tax.  For the record, I am totally in favour of carbon neutral activities and fully support any moves to make homes more energy efficient.  However, I am totally against taxing each and every person in such an aggressive manner.  This tax will affect those most in need.  It will impact on the people who do not have the resources to make their homes more energy efficient or to upgrade their cars, if they have one, to a more energy-efficient model.

The carbon tax will affect these people most and this is unfair. With regard to electric vehicles, I fully support their use and I hope they become more affordable. The provision of charging points needs to be improved. We need to incentivise people to install charging points at their

homes. We are way behind in this area in comparison with our European neighbours.

I welcome the reduction in the VAT rate to 9% until December 2021 for the hospitality industry. This has been called for constantly. Let us be clear, however. This reduction will be of no value if businesses are forced to close due to the lockdown. We have to look at this issue and put in place measures to further support the sector. As I have said, the reduction in VAT is of no benefit if the business is forced to close.

The recently announced tax credit for staycations, while welcome, is not fit for purpose. It is too cumbersome to use. There is too much red tape involved and it is of no benefit to many of the businesses it was intended to help. As I have said before, we need to get money into people's hands to spend on staycations. A simple solution would be to give people a voucher to spend in the hospitality sector. People would then have money in their hands and the hospitality sector could gain directly.

We should be thankful that the Government did not introduce austerity and decided that supporting businesses to stay open is the correct policy to pursue. Let us be clear, whatever needs to be done now to keep our economy open, must be done. If we need to borrow money, that is what we need to do. If a business is forced to close permanently as a result of lockdown, there is no comeback for that business. It must be remembered that behind every business are people.

I offer my full support to the many great businesses in Louth that have made great sacrifices in the name of public health and closed during the lockdown. They have made very difficult decisions that were not based on income but on human needs. For this, we must support them in reopening.

See this speech in context