Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I noted the Cathaoirleach's remarks about Mary O'Rourke. I did not get to meet her but I wish to extend my sympathies to her family and friends.

I finally get to respond to this year's budget announcement. I have a whole two minutes to encapsulate what my constituents in Clare have said to me, namely, that this Government has failed by its own measure of success in how it treats the Clare people. There was a lot missing from this budget. I do not have time to be more balanced. If I did have more time, I possible could be, but it is all unfortunately one-sided. There is no mention of the Government's astronomical waste of money, which looks set to continue with the €9 million provided for mobile phone pouches. I presume they are coming from the same place that resulted in the Gucci bike shelter, as it is being called, the most expensive hospital in the world and the €1.4 million security hut. It could only happen in Ireland. Then we have the €2.5 billion in indemnity cases, which are set to increase to unsustainable levels.

I have said many times in this House that to ensure social cohesion, public trust and confidence, there must be delivery. Instead, the Government comes back with delay tactics in the name of reviews. It failed to prioritise those who need it most. Instead, it spread support so thin it will not keep families warm this winter. It chose once-off payments which no longer hold the meaning of "once-off".

If I hear the term "progressive" one more time in respect of tax changes, I fear I may lose my mind. The changes have been described not just by me but by the likes of Social Justice Ireland as regressive.

The public are not stupid and know wholeheartedly that this budget was significant not because an election was coming but because the Government had massive surpluses that could and should have done much more. There should have been more targeting of those who are vulnerable in the form of a cost-of-disability payment and efforts to seriously reduce child poverty, which has actually increased. That could have been done by increasing core social welfare payments but the Government did not do that. There was no mention of establishing a model 3 hospital with an emergency department for the mid-west, no mention of the abolition of the means test for carers and no pension resolution for foster carers. We need the Leap card 90-minute fare to be extended to County Clare. Those in Kilmihil are paying a whopping €81 to get to their further and higher education courses in Ennis.

The hospitality and food sector has been decimated, which has had a huge knock-on effect for our youth in terms of employment opportunities. They have been screaming from the rooftops about their struggles and the need for more support but the Government ignored them. It could have reduced the VAT rate back to 9%, which I have been seeking for the past two years, but it did not.

The Government has replaced the recruitment embargo in health with a ceiling, which is just a play on words. We now know the pay and numbers strategy is putting patient safety second. There are insufficient nurses and the Government has tied the HSE's hands in trying to fill those vacancies as we hear that the bureaucratic process takes six months and that posts cannot be advertised until they become vacant.

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