Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)

The month of October is associated with Halloween and children play trick or treat at Halloween. However, the Government's budget is all trick and no treats. That is what we get from the Government. There was an election in the previous year and Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael literally went out and bought votes. There was money for everything, there were one-offs and there was helicopter money nearly falling out of the sky. There were grants for everything, grants for millionaires and grants for people who did not need them. I never argued against grants for those who need them but a lot of the money was not targeted and went all over the place. It did not have the effect it should have but it bought votes. That is what it was about.

This year, there is no general election and there is nothing for workers. There is nothing for low- and middle-income earners. There is nothing for renters. There is nothing to alleviate the cost of living. There is not a thing in this budget for that. On housing, there is no increase in the delivery of affordable or cost-rental housing. The Minister of State knows, and everybody in this Chamber knows, that the people who are just above the limit for social housing but not able to get on the ladder to get a mortgage or a loan to buy a house are the people who are caught here. Some of them are now passing middle age and some of them are nearly at retirement age. They have no option but to remain in private rented accommodation, many of whom are at the mercy of rack-renting landlords. All the Government has done for renters is throw away whatever controls were there. From March onwards, it is a free for all. They are already starting to evict people so they can get ready to put the rent increases in place.

Landlords and developers were looked after in this budget. Of course, they were well looked after. There were enhanced corporation tax deals. There were tax cuts, tax reductions and VAT reductions for those developing apartments, as if that would somehow turn on supply. McDonalds, Costa and Starbucks got VAT reductions. I put this to the Minister of State: if the Government wanted to assist small cafés and restaurants, why did it not reduce VAT on the first three or four million euro of turnover? That could have been done. The Minister of State's colleagues told me in this Chamber a few years ago that food could not be separated from accommodation. We were told it could not be done. Now it can be done. Of course, it can have been done. Why did the Government not reduce the VAT on the first €2 million to €4 million to help those small business that are under pressure to survive?

There are no rent caps for renters and no extra tax relief. There is nothing there. I will give the case of Laois. Recently the Residential Tenancy Board showed there was a 10% increase in rent there which was double the national average over the preceding year. That follows eight successive quarters of high rents. There are no extra tax credits and no caps. There is nothing but increases in rents.

Workers got no tax relief, particularly those who earn between €24,000 and €70,000. There was nothing for them. What they did get was more local property tax, more carbon tax, no increase to child benefit and an increase for third level fees. No matter which way the Government dresses it up, it is an increase in third level fees from €2,000 to €2,500 this year and it should not try to spin it any other way.

There is also the health situation and the dental crisis. I read what was done for health. There is no specific extra funding for dental services. There is no public dental system worth talking about in Laois. I have read the figures out here before on the school dental scheme, the dental treatment service scheme, DTSS, for medical card holders and the PRSI-based scheme. It is absolutely hopeless and is almost non-existent. There is nothing there for them. We are supposed to be almost on the threshold of achieving Sláintecare after ten years. There is no increase in the income threshold for medical cards. In the name of God, does the Government realise there are people who should have medical cards who cannot go to a doctor?

The Government has missed low income workers again. It has not bothered with them. It is nearly 20 years since that threshold was increased. It is two decades. I have highlighted in this Chamber for 14 or 15 years and the Government did not do anything for them. For low- and middle-income earners, there are no medical cards, no tax relief and no income increases. Instead, there is more tax, more local property tax, more carbon tax and higher electricity and gas prices.

On the farming sector, I looked at what is there for tillage support. I do not see anything there for the tillage sector, which is under the most pressure, unless the Minister of State can show me where it is buried somewhere in the document. It is operating on thin margins and if there is any tweak, or if there is bad weather, it will be in the red. There is no increase in supports for suckler farmers.

There was €10.4 billion headroom here. People will ask how did the Government get it so wrong but I think it got it so right. The Government has put money into the pockets of developers, landlords and large hoteliers. That is what the Government has done.

That seems to be what this budget is all about. The budget looks after the wealthy. The Government is taking ordinary people for mugs. With the general election taking place last year, there was money for everything. We were told the country was awash with money. There were several one-off payments. This year, there is nothing only hardship for people who are on middle and low incomes. That is the reality.

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