Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

All this is based on spending and the revenue projections that two leading economic institutions in as many weeks have branded as not credible. This Government's long-standing policy of over-reliance on tax receipts will continue and with it so too will the uncertainty around the funding of our public services. I am delighted the hospital in Limerick is getting a new extension. Meanwhile, hospital beds in Mayo are being closed and home help hours are being cut and refused.

There are no changes to revenue projection. There is no indication that this Government's woeful record on tax will be improved. The Fine Gael fantasy tax cut is even mapped out, stripping €3 billion from the public purse. On top of this, a further €200 million is being used to mop up the fiscal mess and serious waste caused by this Government in regard to the broadband plan. Before I came to the Seanad I attended a meeting of the Joint Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment, where the broadband plan was being discussed with the ESB. Yesterday, the committee discussed it with Eir. What a debacle. What a job the Government has made of that plan.

As the spending projections remain completely unrealistic so too does the draft budget package. The sum of €700 million will be gobbled up instantly by the Christmas bonus and the latest overrun on health. Is the Government telling the people that there will be Brexit preparation measures this year or will it be pleading again for some corporation tax receipts to be found down the back of the sofa? In regard to the last crash, it was impossible to project tax receipts because, again, of our over-dependence on corporation tax. It is worrying to see this happening again. As there is no difference between Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael, we can expect more of the same.

Put simply, there are no changes to tax projections, no changes to the fictional spending projections and no measures outlined on how to broaden the tax base. These plans are now workable. Meanwhile, the upcoming budget and, perhaps, much of the political energy of this State will be dominated by events across the water. Indeed, they will ultimately be decided by the whims of whatever Tory candidate inherits that party's leadership. The Government may not have known that weeks after the publication of the October budget we will be staring into a potential no-deal scenario but it knew Brexit was coming and that it could only spell trouble for the Irish economy, in particular for exporters in the agrifood sector in the Border and rural communities. Those producing for the North-South and Irish-British supply chains are particularly vulnerable. A no-deal Brexit is a very real possibility and, therefore, so too is a deep and significant downturn in the Irish economy. The only sensible response to this potential crisis is support and investment in this budget in a way that will increase our economic capacity. The summer economic statement fails to outline the path we will take as a State to provide that support or the tax measures that will be amended to fund it.

Sinn Féin has proposed a varied range of fiscal and tax measures to support the areas and industries that will be most affected by Brexit. Foremost among those was the creation of a €2 billion Brexit support fund to be used as and when it is needed, funded in part by money this Government intends to squirrel away to bail out the banks again. Beyond those on the coalface of the Brexit threat, our economy is crying out for investment. The Government presides over one of the lowest labour participations in the EU. We need more people at work and more people in proper, secure employment. This can be achieved by lowering the cost and burden of child care on families. For people who may find themselves pushed out of work by the Brexit downturn we need investment in active labour market schemes to provide support and retraining, if necessary. In that regard, we do not need schemes like JobPath on which €185 million that has been wasted. We need capital investment that will unlock the opportunities presented by the low carbon transitions. All this requires targeted investment that will secure longer-term growth and mitigate the worst impacts of the downturn. Investment requires fair and sustainable taxation. This is impossible if the Government remains committed to its farcical tax break election pledges. Despite all its warnings of prudence in the summer economic statement the Government has again mapped out how €3 billion taken from the tax base over five years in an election giveaway will only affect the top 20% of earners, including for 2020. This means €3 billion less in revenue as we stare into a downturn. As recently as the last couple of weeks, two major economic institutions have issued warnings about the Government's management of the State finances.If we have not yet seen any detail, the question is when we will. If there is none, will we ever see it? Is the Government simply using the public finances for election posturing?

Can the Minister of State confirm that he believes a priority for the Government is to strip €3 billion to give to the top 20%? The Government has two options. Either it doubles down once again and pledges to tear strips off the tax base as Brexit and a downturn loom or it performs a U-turn and tells us what we all know. As with Fine Gael's equally ridiculous promise to abolish the universal social charge, USC, this is another risky and soon to be broken promise. While the Government is using the public finances as a Fine Gael election tool, people wake up to the news that housing in half of the counties in the State is unaffordable. Before we get to Brexit, a downturn and another lecture about fiscal prudence, the Government should note that day-to-day life is already unaffordable for vast sections of the public. With tougher days on the horizon, there is one question families across the State need the Government to answer. Is this recovery and resurgent economy what people have been told to wait for? We have historically high rents, extortionate childcare costs and public services that are simply unfit for purpose.

Despite constant warnings from Sinn Féin and others, the Government has continued to waste our public finances on handouts for the wealthy. The bailed out banks still enjoy a ludicrous tax holiday. The Government has allowed vultures and property funds feeding off the housing crisis to avoid hundreds of millions of tax. Hundreds of millions in back taxes from multinational companies continue to accrue. I pointed out earlier this morning that the carer's allowance is taxed. We do not tax the vulture funds but we tax carer's allowance. I had a great deal more to say but I will conclude on that note.