Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In recent days, I see Bertie Ahern had a secret meeting with Simon Harris. It is little wonder that he taught him about leaks and spins. Leaks usually come out of Fianna Fáil but they are now starting to come out of Fine Gael, with the leaks we had in recent weeks relating to the budget. It is like a bucket with no ass in it. At one time, when the budget took place nobody knew until budget day exactly what was going to happen. Everybody knew what was going to happen prior to this one. There was one thing we did not know, however, and the hospitality is absolutely furious about it. People in the sector from throughout the country are sending me messages about how they have been let down by this Government. It is an appalling travesty that the VAT rate the Government raised from 9% to 13.5% has not been decreased despite promises. Members of the VAT 9 Now group were up in Leinster House last week. I presume they were brought up here on a lick and promise. They thought the reduction was going to happen. Now, of course, Fine Gael is saying it wanted it to happen and Fianna Fáil and the Greens did not want it. That, of course, is finger-pointing, which is what happens when you are coming close to election.

What matters here is that 270,000 jobs have been put in jeopardy. Over 600 cafés and restaurants are after closing in the past few months. The sector is in a desperate situation. The lower wage being increased is always to be welcomed but that is another increase for those businesses. They have to make payouts and they cannot afford them. Fáilte Ireland will spend millions promoting this beautiful country over the next few months but what tourists will see when they come here is empty commercial buildings for sale or lease because people are closing their doors. They cannot afford to stay in business. I obviously have limited time. I would like to spend my seven and a half minutes speaking on behalf of those people. I have met them. As Deputy McGrath just mentioned, we all met them. I met Peter and Elaine from The Fish Basket in Rosscarbery, Jim Edwards from Kinsale and people from The Townhouse O D's in Schull. All these businesses are in a desperate position. They pleaded with the Government to understand that but it did not understand it. It turned its back at a time when it says the country is awash with money. It has let these businesses down shockingly. No one running these businesses or any of their employees should answer the door when these people come knocking on it for votes. This will not be forgotten.

This budget robbed Peter and paid Paul. It provides for fuel increases. It gives extra pension to the elderly, which I fully support. It reduces the USC charge but we should remember that Fine Gael promised to drop the USC altogether. It has only been decreased, so that was a false promise because it was not delivered. The charge should never have even been introduced in the first place. Then the Government turns around and gives a fuel increase. It is robbing Peter and paying Paul. The fuel increase will hurt everybody who pulls up at a filling station. It will add to 2.5 cent to the price of a litre of diesel and 2.1 cent to the price of a litre of petrol. Families cannot afford that. This budget is going to hit the working man and woman hard as usual. They are going to be penalised. These are people who have to go to work in the morning, take the kids to school and use a vehicle to get from A to B. The Government knows that is an easy catch. The cost of home heating oil and a bag of coal is going up. There is no sympathy whatsoever for those people who are going to be caught in that trap. They have little or no other choice. The Government is saying some of the carbon tax, which is only a farce to keep the Green Party happy, will help with the warmer homes scheme. Apart from those in denial, every politician knows it takes two years. It took two years before the Green Party came into government for people to get their house into the warmer home scheme. It still takes two years. It makes no odds. It is not any faster or any different.

On agriculture, what I could gather is there is a lot of talk about schemes but that is a continuation of what was already there. In one, the Government said it will look into schemes for next year's budget. What is wrong with this year's budget in relation to agriculture? Why could this year's budget not be looked into?

Fianna Fáil, the Green Party and Fine Gael decided to pursue the residential zoned land tax. It is here to stay, despite pressure from farmers heaped on TDs and Senators from the coalition parties. The surprise today from the Minister for Finance, Deputy Chambers, is that the residential zoned land tax is here to stay and the only compromise is that farmers will be given an exemption in 2025 if they seek to rezone their land. In effect, this means downsizing from a valuable residential zoning into agricultural zoning. Fianna Fáil has caved in yet again and tax-hungry Greens have put another nail in the farming coffin, but they do not care.

To be honest, I do not think I heard any Minister speak about fisheries today. It is astonishing that although we are surrounded by water, neither of the two Ministers spoke about fisheries or what aids are available for pelagic and inshore fishermen, who are experiencing serious difficulties at this time. The Ministers have turned their backs on them. I have continuously said there ought to be a stand-alone Minister for the marine, fisheries and the islands. They are forgotten; they are the forgotten people.

The Ministers said they have put extra money into the carers’ pockets and I respect that if they have done so. However, we are adamant that there should be no means test for carers. If somebody looks after a person in their home or looks after a neighbour, why are they means-tested? We are in a position where no hospital beds are available for elderly people if they need to stay long-term in hospitals. What do we do? We make sure to penalise those who try to care for others instead of supporting them. We are told we cannot have home helps for all sorts of strange reasons, and even though we are told there are plenty of hours available and plenty of funding, it is not happening on the ground. That is why the carers are another issue.

While talking about health, will there be extra funding for beds for the elderly? It is a crisis in west Cork, where people are in medical wards and cannot find a long-term nursing home or community hospital bed. West Cork has fewer beds, not more. There is also the issue of reimbursement for cataract surgery. The Minister of State, Deputy Burke, was critical of me in an article in one of the newspapers a couple of years ago for taking people to the North. Has the Government increased the reimbursement today for the people it took money from recently? I hope the Minister of State has delivered for the people of his constituency in Cork, who are in a crisis and cannot get a cataract operation in Cork, or has he turned his back on them once again?

Reference was made to funding for Uisce Éireann. Is it going to deliver? Is the money going to go to those at the top notch and none to the ground level? Is Shannonvale going to get its scheme this coming year? Is Dunmanway going to get its scheme this coming year? In Warren Beach in Rosscarbery, people are drinking raw sewage. Is it going to get its scheme? Goleen has been 25 years waiting and Shannonvale has been 29 years waiting. Are they going to get schemes or are they going to be kicked down the road, like everything else?

With regard to pensions, the Green Party claims it looks after everybody. Does it look after everybody? Where are the women's pensions in this country? Every Minister and TD in government should be called out. How many women come into my constituency office every week to say their pension has been taken from them or they never got a pension because their husband got a pension? That is an outrageous attack on the ordinary, good, hard-working women of this country. Whether they worked at home or worked outside, most of them have no pension. It is a disgrace that their pensions have been taken. The Ministers should hang their heads in shame on that issue. The women of Ireland asked me to say that.

See this speech in context