Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)

I welcome to the Visitors Gallery the group of women, including Patricia Walsh, from Rock Street, Tralee, which I am told is the street of champions. They are very welcome to Teach Laighean inniu. Cuirim fáilte rompu.

Ar phríomhleathanach an Irish Daily Mail inniu, tuairiscítear bhfuil sé ráite ag an Tánaiste go gcuirfidh sé airgead ar ais i bpócaí na ndaoine. Gheall an Tánaiste roimhe seo go mbeadh laghdú ar cháin ioncaim do ghnáthoibrithe. Bhris sé an gealltanas sin. Gheall sé go mbeadh laghdú ar chostais fuinnimh, ach tá na costais sin níos airde ná mar a bhí riamh. Tharraing sé siar na creidmheasa fuinnimh a bhí daoine ag brath orthu. Bhris sé an gealltanas sin. Gheall sé go mbeadh plean aige taobh istigh de 100 lá a chinnteodh go mbeadh costaisí cúraim leanaí ar €200 sa mhí. Arís, bhris sé an gealltanas sin. Gheall sé sa toghchan go n-ísleodh sé táillí triú leibhéil do mhic léinn. Bhris sé an gealltanas sin agus chuir sé in airde iad. Níl daoine bómánta; déanfaidh siad breithiúnas ar an Rialtas bunaithe ar na gealltanais atá déanta aige agus ar cé chomh rialta is atá na gealltanais sin briste aige.

On the front page of the Irish Daily Mail this morning, the Tánaiste is quoted as having said he will put money back into people’s pockets. He even describes himself as “Sensible Simon” in his new role in the Department of Finance. However, for workers, families, carers and students listening today, that claim collapses when measured against the promises the Government has made and broken. Let us take these promises one by one. The Government promised to cut income tax for ordinary workers but instead produced a budget that delivered huge tax breaks for developers and wealthy executives, while PAYE workers were left behind. The Tánaiste promised that energy bills would go down under Fine Gael. People have never paid higher energy bills and the Government withdrew the energy credits they depended on. The Government promised to abolish student fees but instead hiked them by €500 compared with what parents were paying last year. The Government promised that within 100 days it would produce a plan to reduce childcare fees to €200 per month. The 100 days are long gone and there is still no plan and no reduction in childcare fees in the budget the Government introduced. It promised to protect households from fuel price shocks but it is now driving up the prices of petrol and diesel through further carbon tax hikes. It promised it would increase the rent tax credit, yet the budget failed to do so, while landlords received tax breaks and rent pressures continue to spiral out of control.

These are not minor oversights; they were clear, repeated promises of the Government and each and every one of them is broken. The Government has done the exact opposite of what it promised. This is the real issue. People are not stupid. They are judging the Government on the promises it made and how consistently they have been broken. At the same time as breaking promises to workers and families, the budget found millions in taxpayers’ money for banks and developers. To be absolutely clear, this is not putting money into people’s pockets; it is taking money out of their pockets.

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