Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In terms of hotels in rural Ireland, I absolutely agree, which is why other measures need to be put in place, such as the recalculation of the rates and a re-examination of the charges put on hotel owners in rural Ireland who do not have the footfall there is in urban areas.

Today's budget is a missed opportunity, and this has not happened by accident or through lack of foresight. I want to press the point the budget is well thought out and has a definite ideology behind it. It is an ideology that dictates that as soon as the economy begins to recover those who can afford to give an little in order to help raise the living standards of those who have suffered the most remain the protected species. I say this because €662 million could have been raised if we were to ask those earning more than €100,000 to pay an extra 7 cent in each euro they earn. This would only affect 3% of earners, as 97% of earners under the Sinn Féin alternative budget would not be affected in any way by it. The sum of €662 million could go an awfully long way towards addressing many of the infrastructural deficits Senator Paddy Burke and others, who are familiar with Mayo and the rest of Ireland, know could really do with it, whether it be broadband, roads, sewerage or many other areas where the money is desperately needed.

We talk about unemployment, and I do not want to talk about my colleague, Senator Paddy Burke, all the time, but he has given rise to a few issues that are important to address. With regard to the congratulations on reducing the unemployment rate, which is at 5% or 6%, he absolutely must know there are areas of Mayo and rural Ireland with unemployment figures of above 30%. I live in one of the areas myself. This is even with the huge and savage emigration that has happened. Emigration has been the solution to much of the unemployment in rural Ireland. To be working off the premise we are in a situation with full employment is deeply worrying.

With regard to the rainy day fund, we have all these infrastructural deficits and serious problems in health, with almost 700,000 people waiting for treatment and hundreds of people on trolleys and everything else in terms of people being able to access treatment. We also have many people who are homeless and who are about to be made homeless. Surely it is a rainy day for them. The money in the rainy day fund, I believe, should be used to invest in vital infrastructure. We know every single euro invested in this would mean a return of €4.

Now I will get to Fianna Fáil. Earlier today, Fianna Fáil spoke of its achievements in mitigating some of the worst aspects of Fine Gael's budget, and we should be so grateful that Fianna Fáil is here to save us. It is very proud the cut in mortgage interest relief was only 25%, but I want it to explain to first-time buyers why this has happened at all. Either Fianna Fáil has influence or it does not. Either it has red line issues or it does not. The tax cuts that were negotiated between Fianna Fáil and the Government behind the scenes are of no interest to those who are on hospital waiting lists or in emergency accommodation.Those who earn more than €70,000 will save €328 per annum whereas those on €20,000 will save a mere €53 a year, about one euro a week. While €53 does not seem like a great deal of money, put together the tax cuts amount to €335 million. That €335 million means a lot to those on the waiting list for operations or for those waiting for funding of essential medicines. It certainly means a great deal to those who are waiting ten years or more on the social housing waiting list and those who are living in areas that are seriously restrained by chronically poor services, such as transport and broadband. I want that figure of €335 million in tax cuts for the most well-off to be at the forefront of everybody's mind every time they are told that the money is simply not there. This goes to show where Fianna Fáil exerted the pressure and Fine Gael jumped in to protect the highest earners.

The headline figure announced today for health spending does not even cover the amount needed to allow the service to function and to stand still as it is. Demographic pressure-----