Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Unfairness was at the heart of this budget. Once-off gesture measures cannot mask that fact. The choice was made by the Government parties and is not the choice that we in Sinn Féin would have made. The Government opted, in this and previous budgets, to give significantly more benefit to higher earners than to those workers and families who have been most impacted by the ongoing cost-of-living crisis faced by so many of our people.

Significant tax relief has been provided to high earners including further tax relief for landlords. One only needs to look at the Government's income tax package to see this political choice. Those earning €180,000 would benefit three times as much as a worker earning €35,000. Fairness is not at the heart of the budget. We outlined in our alternative budget how a fair tax package could be delivered. Our proposal was to abolish the USC on the first €45,000 earned, starting with the first €30,000 this year. While the cut that the budget made to the USC is welcome, there could have been more balance towards lower-paid workers. Under the Government's cut to the USC, an income of €30,000 benefits by €59, an income of €40,000 benefits by €159 and an income of €75,000 by €459. In contrast, the impact of Sinn Féin's USC proposals would result in each of these groups of workers benefiting by €505.

In regard to housing, this budget also offered next to nothing for renters. The increase in rental tax credit from €750 to €1,000 for single renters and from €1,500 to €2,000 for jointly-assessed renters is welcome, but with no cap on rents it will simply be eaten up by rent increases. In my constituency office in Limerick, and no doubt this is replicated throughout the State, the number one issue I deal with is housing need. Many of the fine people I deal with each week are renting but simply cannot afford to do so now. While this rental tax credit is welcome, it simply is not enough to cover the rent increases. In Limerick, rent has increased by 21% year on year. That amount simply eats up any credit given to them.

In Limerick, we also face the ongoing crisis at University Hospital Limerick, UHL, where the challenges of capacity and staff continue unabated. Some 21,409 people lingered on trolleys in 2023. It will be worse in 2024. Today there are 85 people on trolleys, that is, people deemed to be in need of a hospital bed and yet no bed is available for them. Already this month we have seen 1,066 people treated in this manner, bringing the number for the year so far to 18,474. The reporting into the tragic passing of Aoife Johnston demonstrated how dangerous and tragic overcrowding in the hospital setting can be, especially in UHL. Only a few weeks ago we brought forward a Private Members' Bill that was unopposed and unamended by the Government. It called for establishment of a second tier, three-level hospital accident and emergency. I do not see it there. Therefore I was surprised when listening to the speech of the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, on budget day. He spoke about four pillars of investment, namely, water, electricity, transport and housing. The glaring omission was surely health.

I wonder how serious Government parties are about rectifying the mid-west hospital crisis when our health service is not one of the key pillars. An example of waste and a hands-off approach by the Government is the Coonagh to Knockalisheen road scheme, a critical piece of Limerick's regeneration programme which involves the construction of a distributor road across the north side of Limerick. Construction of the project was stopped in 2022 when the contractor, Roadbridge, collapsed. Two years later, the project has not recommenced.

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