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

Budgets have always been about priorities and choices. This budget is no different. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil made their choices. It is clear they do not favour working people or families who are overwhelmed by the cost of living crisis. This is the sixth budget under Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, another in a long line of budgets that have not delivered for ordinary people. Instead, the coalition has spread itself thinly and tried to be all things to all people.

Those in need of Government support got crumbs from the table. The Government could have given relief to renters in this budget, but it provided them with nothing. Once again, they have been left behind. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy O'Brien, was scrambling on Tuesday last trying to right the wrongs. People in Dublin Bay North are paying crazy rents. Following on from this budget, they will still be paying crazy rents. The additional couple of euro they will gain from the tax changes will not cover the cost of half a day's rent on their homes. Sinn Féin would introduce a ban on rent increases and we would put money back into the pockets of renters. The choice of this Government was to give tax relief to landlords. It is clear where Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil priorities lie.

The Government could have helped people struggling with the ever-increasing fuel costs they will face this winter. The carbon tax increase will result in more people struggling to heat their homes. The Government could have supported families who are paying through the nose for childcare, but it did not do that. This is another blow to families already smothered by high fees.

This budget is more of the same from the usual suspects. Big business, developers and high earners had smiles on their faces on Tuesday. Sinn Féin's alternative budget would deliver for people. We would deliver for renters, parents, workers and those on hospital waiting lists for years. Sinn Féin would deliver for those struggling to buy a home and for those living on the breadline who do not know where they will get the money from to pay their next bill. A cost of living crisis has been staring Ministers in the face but they decided to turn a blind eye.

The Government may try to ignore the realities of the lives of the people living in my constituency, but I will remind it at every opportunity that it is not a Government that is putting the interests of workers and their families first.

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