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

I will start with the increase in the minimum wage. Before I do, I point out that I am an employer so I understand where this comes from, I understand what it means for employees to get more money and I have no problem with this. However, employees need to know about the increase they are getting. Based on a 40-hour week, a person on €11.30 would gross €452 and would have a net wage of €405.92, and the employee pays €46.08 in tax and the employer pays €49.95. That is a total of €96.03 in taxes between the employee and the employer. The new payment will mean the gross payment rises to €508, which gives a net wage of €452.29, which means the employee pays €55.71 in tax and the employer pays €56.14, at a total cost of €564.14. However, the employee and the employer between them will now pay €111.85 so the Government is taking more tax again on the increase in the wage. When we work it out over a 40-hour week, due to the increase in the wage, the Government is taking eight hours back in tax before they start. Do the employees know that? The only people who are being rewarded tonight are the taxman and the Government.

There is a knock-on effect from this. Who is going to pay for the increase? It is the consumer. When people go into a local shop, a hospitality business or any business, the prices are increasing because of this. That means people are going to pay more for produce than they do at the moment, which means this is causing inflation. What could the Government have done differently to put money into people's pockets? It could have reduced taxes. What has it done? It has taken more tax and put more pressure on small businesses to increase their prices to pay the employees more, and they need this extra pay because of the inflation which the Government has now driven on again. That is what it has done.

Let us consider fuel tax, where the Government currently takes 50 cent in every €1 in tax. If the Government had taken less tax, it is not only that the price of fuel would come down for a person driving a vehicle, but transport costs would come down for those delivering food to their doors or the local shops, and transport costs would come down for those taking milk from the farmers to the co-ops. It would have put money straight back into people's pockets and the Government would not have got any extra tax. However, at the moment, the Government is taking 50 cent in every €1 in tax. It was within its gift to bring tax down and put money into people's pockets but, no, it decided to go this route, which is going to put small businesses under pressure to increase their costs. What does the Government get out of it? It gets extra tax.

I met with the local hospitality sector and I asked about the VAT increase from 9% to 13.5%. Let us take a basic bacon and cabbage dinner as an example. The Government has added 70 cent to each plate in the hospitality sector, that is, 70 cent has been added back in tax for the same people to whom the Government is giving an increase. That is what it has done. Let us take another example from the hospitality sector, where, say, somebody wants to get married or have a partnership, or have an engagement, christening or confirmation event. As a result of the VAT increase in the hospitality sector, per 100 people, the Government has added €400 to the bill. Not only has it added to the minimum wage and increased costs to cover that, it has now taken another €400 from the same people whose wages have been increased by adding it on in taxes on the hospitality sector, where these people might go out.

We then go to electricity. It costs €50 per kWh to produce electricity. We were being charged €150 per kWh last year and then the Government came in and said it was going to cap it, but it was going to cap it at €120 per kWh, so it allowed the electricity companies in this country to have a 140% profit on electricity - that is what it has allowed ESB Networks. Again, who is paying for it? It is the same people who are going to get an increase tomorrow in the minimum wage, but the Government is now taking it back in another tax through the lights in their houses. Therefore, the Government has now taken it from the food on their table; if they go out, it has taken the increase from them; and it has taken extra tax from them because of the increase in their wages. The Government has actually given them nothing and all it has done is driven inflation, and the Government is the only one that is going to get extra tax.

We then come to the Garda. The Government talks about 1,000 extra gardaí. Gardaí are leaving in their droves because the Government appointed somebody who has destroyed morale in the Garda service.

We turn to farming. I have just met Macra na Feirme at the Oireachtas agriculture committee. The budget is way down from last year’s for the agricultural sector and, yet again, the Government is driving inflation with everything that it does.

The only thing the Government is doing is creating more tax for the coffers. It is not fooling people in this country. It has created more inflation when it could have reduced taxes and put more money into the pockets of people who are struggling. If it reduced taxes on a very simple thing like fuel, it would have a knock-on effect through every producer and business in this country, through transport networks and across the board. The Government could have put an extra €50 or €60 in everyone's pocket but, no, it decided to drive inflation up, get more tax and let people think they were winning. Well done to the Government. It is easy to know you do not have one businessperson between you.

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