Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)

There is less than a week to go before the budget is announced and it is apparently "elbows out" at the Cabinet table, or at least that is what the newspapers are reporting. We are told there are battles going on behind the scenes as Ministers try to secure money for their Departments. You would swear this was a Government that made every single penny count. Of course, then we read the latest damning Comptroller and Auditor General report about enormous levels of waste across government and public bodies. A total of €20 million was wasted on renting unoccupied offices and €248,000 on unused hotel rooms for gardaí for one event. Tens of millions of euro of public money have been flushed down the drain because of the same old story of no controls, no oversight and no accountability. Never before has a Government had so much money to spend and achieved so little. The opportunity those record budget surpluses represented were wasted by the previous Government on one-off measures. What do we have to show for it? We have an ever-widening gap between rich and poor, a worsening housing disaster, threadbare disability services and crumbling infrastructure.

What is most alarming is that it seems no lessons have been learned. We do not hear anything from the Government that indicates it wants to change course. This is why the kite flying about this year's budget is so concerning. If leaks are anything to go by, this will be an uninspiring budget which just tinkers around the edges. What strikes me is the lack of ambition and the absence of any imagination. The disconnect is staggering. Where is the understanding of how much some people are struggling? Where is the ambition to do better? Where are the big ideas? Where are the radical measures that can make a real difference in making this country more affordable and more equal?

This afternoon the Social Democrats will announce our alternative budget to show people that there is another way and that it is possible to drive down costs for families and target money wisely. Our plan includes a second tier of child benefit that would lift 40,000 children out of poverty; a weekly cost-of-disability payment; abolishing the means test for carers; a reduction in childcare fees of €200 per month as well as finally rolling out a public model; plans for the State to acquire a modular housing factory to turbo charge the delivery of affordable homes; and a €400 energy credit for households in the bottom 40% of income. Does the Minister support any of these ideas and, if so, why the Government is not adopting any of them?

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