Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)

The fingerprints of Fine Gael are all over this budget. From here, it looks like Fianna Fáil has given Fine Gael free rein. Yesterday I looked back over the Fianna Fáil election manifesto, entitled, "Moving Forward. Together.". It contains promise after promise to the electorate. There are promises about addressing the cost-of-living crisis, a promise to reduce energy prices, a promise of progressive tax changes to put money back in workers' pockets. The Government promised to make services, including healthcare, childcare, and education affordable and to reduce the cost of the weekly shop. It seems that promises made by the Government in elections are soon forgotten after the votes are counted. What has the Government delivered? It has delivered a budget that abandoned workers and families. It delivered a budget that prompted the Parliamentary Budget Office to note that on average, low-, middle- and high-income households will face average income losses from this budget.

Where is the help for workers who struggle with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis in this budget? They got nothing or rather they got another increase in fuel costs, with the latest increase in the carbon tax. The Government could have scrapped the USC for every worker on the first €40,000 people earn, like we would have done. This would have put €746 back into every single worker's pocket. The Government could have delivered an energy credit of €450 at a time when many people are facing double-digit price increases. It could have increased renters' credit, giving them a break. It could have reduced the cost of childcare to €200 a month, as it promised to do in the election.

What has the Government delivered in terms of the dire state of much of our health service? It has delivered maybe 220 beds across the State, with UHL alone needing more than 400. We are not even sure if there are new beds. We have got little detail and details provided were scant. Last week, HIQA published its long-awaited report on the delivery of urgent and emergency health care in the mid-west region. Acknowledging the crisis with capacity we have faced for years in the mid-west region, it made three recommendations. One of these was the delivery of an additional model 3 hospital in the mid-west region. Yesterday's budget offered no comfort that this much-needed hospital would be delivered. Today, in UHL there were 91 people being treated on trolleys. Almost 19,000 people at UHL have been treated in this way already in 2025, and we have not even reached the core of winter.

I remind those on the Government benches that we remain in the housing crisis of their making. This crisis has led to 16,000 plus people including over 5,000 children awaiting State- provided accommodation. Anyone listening to the budget speeches on Tuesday would not have known. Neither Minister mentioned homelessness. Are these people invisible to them? Who was not invisible to them? The landlords and developers. They certainly were heard. Renters got no increase but developers will get a quarter of a billion euro tax cut next year.

As I am running out of time, I would like to finish with a quote from the Parliamentary Budget Office, which published its 2026 flash impact analysis. This examines how announced tax and welfare measures affect households incomes. Among its key findings it noted, "On average, low-, middle- and high-income households face average income losses from Budget 2026." Never has so much been spent to benefit so few.

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