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

I will try to be brief. I will only speak for two to three minutes to give everybody else a chance. It is unfortunate that there is a guillotine here and we will not get an opportunity to speak on so many issues relating to the budget that are of great importance to the people of our country. It is a terrible situation that we have been forced into. There has been quite a lot of discussion about the USC, which is a very unfair tax on the people out there. The Minister will say tax is needed but there are so many taxes out there today. It is hitting the ordinary, low-paid workers who see that charge being taken out of their pay packet every week, a charge that the Government and others promised to abolish but the Government has just added to people's misery by leaving it there. Low-income workers feel the pinch and the Minister had an opportunity in this budget to turn that around by exempting many of them from the charge but unfortunately, he did not see fit to do so.

A lot of business people are caught up in drastic situations. The VAT9 campaign is of serious interest to many. The Minister was in Kinsale recently and I was surprised that he did not go and meet a lot of those business people in west Cork who have been hit very badly when he had the opportunity. He should not shy away from the real people who are in dire situations. They are paying for energy, rates, staff, water and food. Cafés are closing down one after another and the Minister has stood idly by and allowed it to happen. It is happening all over Ireland but in particular, in my own constituency in west Cork. Numerous cafés and businesses have closed. The VAT9 group put forward some very good, strong recommendations but the Minister failed to take them on board. He has left small businesses, including cafés, restaurants, hairdressers, pubs and others in a dire situation.

Accountability is important. It is okay to say that the universal social charge is there and that we need that money to pay for lots of things but there is no accountability regarding where the money is going in this country. People are crying out for accountability. They see €9 million for phone pouches, a children's hospital where millions and millions of euro have been spent and the budget has been overrun, the bike shed here and different things that are a cause of great concern. They want to know where their money is going. This country has money and there is no point in saying otherwise but where it is spent is the issue. There are issues like wastewater. Uisce Éireann has got an extra €1 billion but where is that money going to go? I got a report from the Minister recently, which told me that wastewater projects in Shannonvale in Clonakilty, Rosscarbery, Dunmanway, Ballydehob or Goleen will have to wait. They do not even know if they will be in the 2025 to 2029 plan. That means there is no plan because if there was one, they would know about it straight away. Every time we meet Uisce Éireann we are told it does not know if these projects will be in the plan. Imagine swimming around in wastewater. It is inhumane. There is money available. The country is awash with money but there is absolutely no accountability.

Quite a lot of Members spoke about means-testing for the carer's allowance. Lots of people are being hit very hard that do not deserve to be hit. These are people who are working hard and who are looking after loved ones, neighbours or friends but for one reason or another - maybe some small bit of an extra payment at home if their partner is working - they are blocked from getting the allowance. That is a very unfair situation that the Minister should have considered especially when the country, as so many have said, has lots of money. Why has the money not gone to people like that who are hurting hard? The Government has taxes like the USC but also the carbon tax and motor tax, which hit those in rural communities, including farmers, very badly. There are difficulties being heaped onto fishermen. When there was a fuel rebate available for fishermen, the Government would not even apply for it and bring it into them to give them an opportunity. All in all, the Minister has a lot of money but an awful lot of money is being wasted in this country, as far as I am concerned. One thing that we will be going after very strongly is accountability for where the money is being spent. People should at least know where their hard-earned taxes are going. This country is taxing people into the ground.

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