Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am just saying that, as a new Senator, I was a bit surprised that there was not a bigger interest in the discussion in the Seanad on an important issue like the budget. I will leave it at that.

The budget failed to demonstrate a real and tangible commitment to decades of neglect in rural Ireland. If this is the best the Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil combo has to offer on the centenary of 1916, it is surely time for an alternative.

The 2017 budget patched together by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Independents clearly demonstrates a lack of urgency in addressing the real issues facing rural families and communities. Do they not understand that if we continue to do the same thing we have always done, we will get the same results? I refer to high emigration, unemployment, the working poor, struggling families, issues with schools, and post office closures. At a time when we need vision and bold ideas to rejuvenate rural Ireland and address regional imbalance, we get promises of another action plan and crumbs from the table of Government.

While I welcome the fact that some of the measures proposed in the Sinn Féin alternative budget have been taken on board, such as the improvements to farm assist and the 500 additional places on the rural social scheme, the failure to address the cost of living will leave families struggling. The famous five increases for pensioners and some social welfare recipients will not remain in their pockets for long when they pay their property tax, prescription charges, telephone and energy bills. More than the 85,000 people over the age of 65 will continue living in deprivation under this Government. The Government was more about the two parties keeping each other on board rather than addressing the serious problems of rural Ireland. Young people on social welfare continue to be discriminated against. These are the same young people who are expected to clothe, feed and house themselves while looking for work and paying extortionate car insurance, all on €100 per week. They are not magicians.

Sinn Féin is the only alternative that will genuinely reduce the cost of living and invest in public services, and the only alternative that will build an all-Ireland economy while investing in long-term growth. We can only achieve that by building a tax system that is fair and equitable. Promises to close the door after the horse has bolted to address tax avoidance measures will ring hollow for those who have suffered most because the wealthiest in this country, and beyond, have been facilitated to make obscene profits without having to pay tax.

The litmus test of this budget will be whether it provides beds for the sick and elderly lying on trolleys, whether it tackles the 530,000 people on waiting lists for appointments, whether it provides meaningful treatment and supports for children with special needs and adults with disabilities, and whether it gives a break to carers or facilitates job creation that pays a decent wage.