Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome some parts of the budget but I do not welcome a lot of it because it will not help the area I represent.

In the Budget Statement today, the Minister for Finance said, "On the taxation side [that is, VAT and excise extensions] I am extending the current excise reduction of 21 cent per litre in respect of petrol, 16 cent per litre in respect of diesel". The Minister is trying to fool people that the price at the pump is going to come down by 21 cent on petrol and 16 cent on diesel this evening. What he is doing is extending what he has already taken off. There will be no reduction at the pumps. I will give the people of Ireland a breakdown of what the Minister was trying to mislead them on. Petrol at the current rate costs €1.869 at most filling stations today. The suppliers, even though they inflated costs, are getting 82.9 cent and the petrol station that fills the car is still only getting 4 cent. Per litre, the Government is getting €1. Per gallon, which costs €8.4852, the Government is getting €4.5268. The Government is taking €53.35 out of every €100 for petrol. For diesel, today's cost is €1.898. The supplier takes 95 cent, the filling station takes 4 cent and the Government takes 90 cent. For every €100 the Government is taking €47.10 in tax.

Then we come to gas and electricity. Before the budget was announced, Flogas announced further price hikes next month. From 26 October, Flogas customers will see their electricity bills go up by 17% while their gas bills will rise by 23%. The Government is going to take the 9% VAT that is in the Government coffers already this year, even though it reduced it from 13% to 9%. It is up €4.62 billion and it is going to have more VAT on these costs because they are rising by 23%. That €4.62 billion is now going to jump to €6 billion. Who is going to pay this? It is every hardworking person, the working middle class and the working squeezed. If there are two people in a household working and they are paying a mortgage and they have children and pay their transport costs, they are the squeezed middle. They are the people who are travelling around this country on the front line services. Both of those people want to work but they are worse off than if one person in the house was working. They would not be as badly off then because they would be able to get some entitlements. People are being penalised by this Government if they work. They are being penalised if they are on the front line. That is the failure of the Government by not recognising the people who are doing all the work.

The Minister was on about the hospitality sector, which makes up 10% of the workforce in Ireland. Up until last week, the Minister for Finance was meeting with the Irish Hotels Federation and told the hotels he was not changing the 13% VAT rate. He said that was going to happen. The Rural Independent Group and others kept pressure on him and now says we will wait until February. He will not be in his position in February but Deputy Michael McGrath will be under savage pressure to make sure that 9% rate stays in place. These are front-line people. They come out and feed us and help us on all sides of hospitality. No matter what sector you work in, these are the people who are out working day and night. These are the people who are doing stuff for the economy and the Minister is making threats against them.

I will turn to the farming industry. I cannot say it but the Government is full of something. I will leave it at that. I will not be rude but everyone in this country knows what it is full of. It is giving out grants for spreading it.

Let us look at the construction industry, mica and pyrite. What is this Government is asking of every person who is in a position to build a house or anybody who wants to renovate a house? It is going to put a levy on all concrete products because it is too cowardly to take on the people who caused this. If it had done what I asked it to do and core-tested all the houses before retrofitting them, there would be a full example of which quarries these blocks came from. The Government would have a full data sheet on the culprits who caused this pyrite problem but it is penalising the quarries that had nothing to do with it and every person who wants to get on in life. Whether it is blocks, concrete, windowsills, lintels, patio slabs, or whatever they want to do, there will be a levy of 10% on all concrete products - even a concrete flowerpot. The Government wants the taxpayers of Ireland to pay for it. On top of all these 10% levies is 23% VAT. Not only is the Government putting a 10% levy on these things, it is 10% plus 23% VAT. That is if it is supplied only. If it is supplied and fitted, it is 10% plus 13.5% VAT. The Government has screwed this country long enough. I am asking every person, businessperson, working person and everyone else in this country to please see the light before it is put out. The Government needs to see the light and get out of government now before there is no future for anyone in this country.

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