Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)

Before I begin, I want to acknowledge that five Irish citizens have been kidnapped and detained by Israel today. If the Taoiseach and Tánaiste were here, I would appeal to them to do everything possible to secure their safe release and ensure Israel faced consequences for its actions. Instead, I appeal to the two Ministers of State present to relay that to the Taoiseach and Tánaiste.

The real surprise from yesterday's budget was not what was in it but what was missing. Yet again, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael walked into this Chamber and showed the country where their real priorities lay. It is not with tackling climate change. It is not with workers. It is not with disabled people. It is not with parents struggling to pay childcare costs or families who cannot pay an electricity bill. It is not with the more than 200,000 children living in poverty and not with the hundreds of thousands who are locked out of home ownership. Instead, the priority in this budget was where it has been for a long time, namely, with the Government, developers and big business. They emerged as the big winners from yesterday's budget.

The VAT cut for developers that was voted in last night, a measure the Government said was to boost supply, now applies to apartments that are already built and being sold. There is no requirement that prices come down or rents be made more affordable. There is nothing for renters or those desperate to own their own homes. There are no strings attached to this dig-out for developers. It is a straight-up transfer of wealth from the public purse to developer's pockets at a cost of €390 million annually. When other tax cuts for developers are taken into account, this budget is worth more than €500 million to them. It is incredible. Of course, it is more than enough to pay for a permanent cost of disability payment. However, this Government somehow could not find the cash in a €9.5 billion budget. It really is inexcusable.

I have to ask if the Government even reads its own expert reports because it has had a report sitting on its desk for years that details the huge cost of having a disability. In 2021, the Government commissioned a report that put the figure at up to €12,000. Since then, we all know that costs have spiralled even further. Instead of increasing supports in this budget, they were slashed. The one-off measures people received in previous years were axed and replaced with nothing - literally nothing - except a vague commitment to look into designing a cost of disability payment. This budget is a shocking example of how empty the Government's words are on disability. It promised time and again to prioritise it and now, according to the Irish Wheelchair Association, people are facing a cut of €1,600 a year. All the Taoiseach had to say to them earlier was that, apparently, people were wrong. According to him, he actually is prioritising disabled people. On top of everything, there was a bit of gaslighting too.

Child poverty is a national scandal. In the previous year alone, the number of children living in consistent poverty doubled. At a time when we have record budget surpluses, the Government consistently makes a commitment to tackling child poverty. In this budget, it had a chance to act. Instead, the Minister, Deputy Chambers, stood up in this Chamber yesterday and said the goal was to reduce the number of children in consistent poverty to no more than 3% by 2030. Does he even realise these are not just figures? Does he realise that 3% represents more than 36,000 children? Does he recognise what poverty looks like for those 36,000 children and their parents and what kind of impact that has on every single one of those kids? Let us be honest; that is not ambition. That is giving up.

The Government could have done something radical. It could have introduced a second tier of child benefit and targeted the most vulnerable families. We now have mountains of evidence telling us this the best way to lift tens of thousands of children out of poverty. Expert report after expert report has recommended it but instead of lifting more than 40,000 children out of poverty, the Government decided to spend the money elsewhere. It gave a blanket VAT cut to the hospitality sector that will disproportionately be eaten up by hugely profitable fast food chains. McDonald's made a profit of €42 million last year. Business is so good that it paid out a massive dividend of €51 million in 2023. That is not a business that is struggling or needs support. Slashing its VAT bill by 4% will boost its profits by millions of euro. Other large chains will enjoy similar windfalls.

An entire generation is looking at this budget and wondering if there is a future here for it. What do those people see? They see a €500 increase in college fees, their rent only going one way - up - and the cost of living going in the same direction. Is it any wonder that so many young people do not see a future for themselves in Ireland when they see extortionate housing costs while their lives are on hold, stuck in their childhood bedrooms? How can they be expected to put down roots in this country to plan to raise a family? Both parties spent the entire election saying if they were elected and returned to government, fees would be capped at €200 per month for childcare. This would be life-changing for so many families who are spending €1,000 or more every month on childcare fees. As we speak, there are women who are asking themselves whether they can afford to go back to work and couples wondering if they can afford to have another child because families simply cannot come up with an additional €1,000 every month.

How does the Minister of State think people feel comparing those election promises to this budget when they are making those decisions? My colleague, Deputy Aidan Farrelly, has been trying all year to get the Government to agree to set up a special Oireachtas committee on childcare so that everyone across the House could agree on a plan to reduce costs and finally roll out a public model.

I ask that the Government please reconsider and commit to introducing a public model of childcare.

Burying our heads in sand will not stop the climate crisis. This budget has shown the truth of the matter. The Government has given up on climate action and the environment. Two billion euro per year will be put into a climate and nature, but that money is not ring-fenced for nature or climate action. We are nowhere near meeting out emission reduction targets and could face fines of up to €26 billion. At that point, we will be wishing we had spent those billions on climate action.

This Government repeatedly tells us that inflation has come down and that is why the cost-of-living supports have been withdrawn. Whatever you say. What the Government never says is that inflation may have come down but prices have not. Energy costs are extortionate, and are still increasing. In previous budgets, this was dealt with by splashing cash around at everyone, including, famously, the more than €100 million that was given to holiday home owners in energy credits. That kind of waste was never acceptable or sustainable. More targeted measures were needed. In our alternative budget, we in the Social Democrats have outlined how a €400 energy credit could be targeted at 800,000 households. This would be a lifeline for so many people who are barely keeping their heads above water.

We rarely debate domestic and gender-based violence in this House - unless something horrific happens - but it should feature in every budget speech from every party. Despite the Government's so-called zero-tolerance approach, little ever seems to be done. Only €11.5 million has been allocated for domestic and gender-based violence initiatives in budget. This is less than the funding for greyhound racing, and it is an appalling contrast that is repeated year after year.

We know that the world is increasingly volatile and that the increase in protectionist policies like Trump's tariffs could have a hugely damaging impact on a small, open economy like ours. I have heard the Government say the same, but those words ring hollow when it erodes the tax base by €1.3 billion and makes the national finances even more dependent on corporation taxes that could disappear at any moment. Unlike the Government and other Opposition parties, we in the Social Democrats do not believe that it is possible to slash taxes and boost spending on public services. That does not add up and is not credible. It is for this reason that in our alternative budget we have proposed broadening the tax base. This would make it possible to introduce a weekly cost-of-disability payment, bring forward a second tier of child benefit that would help lift thousands of children out of poverty, target a €400 energy credit at 800,000 families who need it, cut childcare fees by €200 and roll out a public model of childcare to turbocharge the delivery of affordable homes and, finally, abolish the means test for carers. That the Government is not doing any of those things in the budget is a choice. It has chosen to prioritise fast-food chains and developers at the expense of people who are struggling. This budget will go down in history as a collection of bad choices and missed opportunities that were designed knowingly by a Government that bowed to corporate and vested interests.

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