Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Coicís ó shin, bhí mé ag caint mar gheall ar rudaí a bhí in easnamh sa bhuiséad. Leis an méid sin airgid a bhí ag an Rialtas, cheap mé nach mbeadh seans ann go dteipfeadh air ach níl an iomarca sa Bhille Airgeadais chun daoine laga agus oibrithe a chothú. Mar shampla, cuirfidh an méid cánach ar dhíosal na hiascairí cladaigh faoi bhrú. Following the recent High Court ruling, the collapse in lobster and crab prices and the increase in the price of diesel, smaller fishing boat owners will have to borrow for next year.

There is nothing else in the budget for them.

Carers have had an incredibly difficult time during this pandemic. There is an absence of day care services, respite nearly ground to a halt, and they had additional spending for personal protective equipment, PPE, heating, groceries and sanitiser. Many carers in Kerry spoke to me, saying that when they apply for the carer's allowance, it seems there is an automatic policy of refusal on first application. I am not sure if they are right or wrong. Carers and the people for whom they care are vulnerable and many may be older and have underlying conditions. We must do everything we can to support them.

Much has been said already about the pandemic unemployment payment and making it taxable income. Dozens of my constituents are distressed because their application for the Covid-19 payment has been declined on the basis of the Department not having any recent record of PRSI contributions made by them in specific classes. Operational guidelines must be published so that people can understand this.

In the previous lockdown the staff in my office in Tralee dealt with three people in the Limerick social welfare office. They were Anne, Gráinne and Jim, and I know them well. They were able to deal with things on the spot. A new email system has been set up, often taking two full weeks for us to get a reply for people who have had to go on supplementary welfare to get the Covid payment. PRSI contributions were previously not a problem and this stinks of an attempt to reduce by any means necessary the numbers of people taking the payment. We cannot get through this pandemic on the cheap but the Finance Bill seems to be trying to do this.

The Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS, seems to have been written for one industry at the expense of another. Food suppliers in Killarney, who supply hotels and catering facilities, have contacted me as they seem to have been deliberately and precisely excluded. These are family businesses with good employees over the years and they are wondering what they ever did to upset the Department.

Bizarrely, in the budget there seemed to be scope for VAT to be reduced across a broad range of goods and services delivered to NATO members and European states engaged in the EU Common Security and Defence Policy. This effectively amounts to a State subsidy for these activities, and this must be subject to proper scrutiny. It is an irony not lost on me that the effect of this Finance Bill will be to increase fuel costs for small fishermen while decreasing them for the US military.

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