Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As Sinn Féin spokesperson for older people, I can only say that this budget does little or nothing for the elderly, including pensioners, struggling with huge increases in the cost of living and the costs of energy and food. Figures from the Parliamentary Budget Office show that, under the Government's budget, pensioners will be 5% worse off than in 2021. Does the Government realise that, according to Age Action, one in three are now living in poverty? That means that, for all 52 weeks of the year, their income is not enough to meet their basic needs. The Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, does not have to believe me alone. Age Action has written that Ireland should aim to ensure everyone has an adequate income in older age so they have independence, choice and control over their lives and so that they can meet their basic needs without insecurity or the fear of unexpected expenses or healthcare costs at the end of their lives. It states that while Ireland's ageing demographic has been identified as an important concern by policymakers, the State still needs to improve its strategic approach to meeting the present and future needs of our older people. It hopes its report will help to focus minds on the financial realities facing older people today. It did not focus the Minister of State's mind.

It gets worse. Despite the massive crisis in healthcare waiting lists, no funding was provided for the promised 1,500 beds and additional capacity in acute hospitals, and there was no expansion of the medical card scheme. This will mean more older people waiting on chairs and trolleys again, which is totally inadequate and unacceptable. Sinn Féin proposed an additional €1.3 billion to expand capacity in acute and general hospitals, which would have given older people greater confidence in our health system and ensured they could access services when required. Ms Phil Ní Sheadhgha, whom we in this Chamber all know, has mentioned several times that the longer people are on trolleys, the less their chance of recovery. This is disgraceful.

People have huge energy bills. They do not just arrive three times a year but every week and month. Food bills come every week. While the lump sum payments and energy credits are welcome, they do not change the fact that older people, including pensioners, are struggling to survive. Let us be blunt: the budget has abjectly failed to help older people and to put real money back into their pockets. Years of underexpenditure by the Government are being laid bare by increases, which are decreases in real terms considering what older and vulnerable people actually get into their pockets. This budget was the Government's opportunity to make a real difference for older people, change the landscape for the one in three older people already living in poverty, and stop the slide into poverty among those still at risk. Despite this, what did the Government do? It missed that opportunity. That is a disgrace.

As Sinn Féin spokesperson for older people, I say Sinn Féin's alternative budget would have made real differences so older people would have seen a real change in their living standards and be better off. They would have seen real benefits, real changes and real action, not smoke and mirrors. It is time for change.

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