Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

As Deputy Whitmore said, there is some merit in the proposals in the Bill before us. The €1.7 billion investment will do some good but that needs to be put in the context of the level of suffering and need in the country. The failure to target this will mean that people in this country will continue to have to choose between heating and eating. That is something that cannot and will not go unchallenged by the Social Democrats. Today, Focus Ireland said more people will become homeless if the Government does not act now. Last week SPARK, the one-parent family organisation said that this budget was the most regressive for one-parent families which are traditionally the most vulnerable group in this country. It is in that context we are speaking up. Deputy Whitmore highlighted what I call the holiday home dividend. We see where the Government's priorities are. We all know that inflation will wipe out the effects of these energy credits within several weeks at most, never mind six months, pushing thousands of families closer to the edge of poverty and, indeed, to survival. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul called its report published last March, "The Cost of Surviving". The money many families would have saved from these measures will already be gone by the time they come into effect.

The Government had a choice last month. It could have done more to prevent gas and electricity bills from crippling families or it could continue to ignore the needs of those on the margins. If it targeted energy credits properly, low- and middle-income households could have benefited from a more suitable amount of savings but as it stands, the relief the credits will provide will be gone as soon as they arrive, while 62,000 households will get a holiday home dividend of over €600.

The Government faced criticism in February for not targeting energy credits. It has not learned from what my script here calls a mistake but is it a mistake or was it done on purpose? It is often said that when you show your budget, you show your priorities. We cannot side step the fact that one in five people is suffering from poverty but 62,000 holiday homeowners will get €600 extra.

The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan admitted in March that owners of holiday homes were given the same energy credits as those struggling to keep the lights and the heat on because the measure was rushed as an emergency. The crisis and the emergency continued. There was time to give consideration to concentrating on those on the margins but the Government chose not to. Over seven months later, millionaires who own several properties get tax breaks while a record number of people are without homes. Rates of homelessness and poverty continue to rise. The Government had a year to adjust and fix this measure and failed to do so. It is the worst off who will face the consequences of what I wrote in my script were mistakes but again, I ask whether it was a mistake or a choice.

What has the Government been doing all this time? Did it choose to ignore the scheme’s flaws out of laziness or did it intend to make the rich richer while more and more people languish in poverty? Poverty is a word often used. Sometimes we use euphemisms in this country. We call it the cost-of-living crisis but poverty is very real. It attacks the senses of everyone who experiences it. It is corrosive to the human condition. One in five people in this country are experiencing that. It is hunger and inadequate access to basic provisions, such as a second jacket, and struggling to keep the lights on this winter. The Government chose that the budget would blindly give the same amount of help to those who do not need it and to those who need much more to keep their head above water. By doing so, it put money into the pockets of the well-off while the most vulnerable in our society face unimaginable struggle.

The Government has shown a lack of nuance, competence and compassion when drawing up its plans for what may prove to be one the most difficult winters in decades.

We should have seen a pandemic-scale response in this budget, but we did not. As I stated earlier, I have received messages from several people in my constituency today, yesterday and last week, and I guarantee I will get them next week, who are going homeless, facing the ever-increasing cost of survival in this country. How on earth can the Government throw millions of euro at millionaires who have holiday homes while more and more children are without a home? It is unfathomable. Once again, those on high incomes will be most rewarded by the Government, with tax cuts and an array of universal lump-sum payments that disproportionately benefit the better-off. Temporary supports and lump sums will not help people in the medium to long term, not the people who need help the most and who are crying out most for assistance. They will not provide sustainable relief to those who can no longer afford the soaring prices of basic necessities like food, a warm coat, fuel and rent.

Those struggling are being left to suffer on all fronts. For example, in the midst of the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation, the Government only increased core social welfare rates by €12. The across-the-board failure of budget 2023 will have devastating consequences across the country, and the blame lies with the Government and its incompetence. Yet, it will be cheered on by 62,000 people who have holiday homes who will receive an extra €600.

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