Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not agree. I take the opposite view. I have already articulated to the House what the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council stated about the budget. If we apply the ESRI's simulating welfare, income tax, childcare and health, SWITCH, model, the budget gives most to those who need it most. Those in the lowest income cohort are getting the most from the cost-of-living package and the core budget measures for 2023. That is in net disposable income. The lowest income groups will get the most from this budget.

In terms of the structural issues, Deputy Bacik is aware that this is a package of €11 billion. It is not spread thinly. There are some fundamental changes happening in education, and not just in terms of school transport, which is free from this September, albeit there were issues with the greater numbers that applied - up to 21,000 extra. That is €650 saved for many families. We can now add the fact that from September 2023 we are looking at free primary schoolbooks for all children. That is a structural watershed change in terms of how we provide books and education materials to primary schoolchildren.

The primary school pupil-teacher ratio has now been reduced to an historic level of 23:1. This is the third year in a row that the Government has reduced the pupil-teacher ratio, which is a very positive structural change in terms of equality and fairness. The school meals programme is being extended. Close to €100 million is being allocated to schools before the end of this year to deal with the energy costs that they have undoubtedly incurred because of the current crisis.

At third level, students will see a once-off reduction of €1,000 in their college fees this year and €500 next year. All SUSI maintenance grants have been increased by 10% and 14%, with a once-off double monthly payment before Christmas.

The reason for those cost-of-living measures before Christmas, many of which are once-off payments, is to deal with the crisis that has been brought about by the war in Ukraine. The latter is a very serious issue internationally, and we have got to reduce the pressure on people that it has brought about. Those measures will be impactful. We cannot take them all in isolation. One has to combine a lot of the social protection measures. I refer, for example, to the very significant lump-sum payments that will be paid to a whole variety of social welfare recipients and low-paid workers as well. As the programme for Government states, we need to do something in terms of middle-income earners and those on more than the €40,000 threshold because people were going onto the higher rate too early. If one looks at the energy credit, one can combine all of that-----

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