Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 2:

"To delete all words after “Seanad Éireann” and substitute the following:

“notes that: - the annual rate of inflation in Ireland has risen significantly reaching 7.8% in May, the highest in over thirty-eight years;

- the rise in inflation is being driven by increased costs for electricity, home heating oil and gas, higher rents, housing costs and mortgage payments, and rising prices for food and fuel;

- the National Minimum Wage only increased by 30 cent or 3% in January which is well below the current rate of inflation;

- the €5 increase in weekly social welfare rates in Budget 2022 is not enough to keep pace with rising prices resulting in a real cut in living standards for those on fixed incomes;

- the Department of Finance reported a record tax take for 2021, with VAT alone raising €3 billion more than 2020, and €1 billion ahead of projections;

- the Irish Congress of Trade Unions issued guidance in December to private sector unions that they should seek pay increases in the range of 2.5 to 4.5 % in 2022;

- Ireland is the most expensive country in the EU for housing costs with record rents, the highest mortgage interest rates in Europe, and a chronic lack of supply that caused house prices to increase by 15.2% in the year to March 2022; recognises that: - the soaring costs of food, heating, fuel and housing is causing real hardship and putting more people at risk of poverty;

- VAT is a tax on consumption which disproportionately impacts on the less well-off, and rising prices in particular on energy and fuel is resulting in a VAT windfall to the State;

- rising prices will cost some households an additional €1,300 this year on their gas and electricity bills after prices rose by over 27% in 2021, amongst the highest in the European Union, while petrol and diesel fuels rose by 33.7%, with petrol prices rising above €2 per litre across the country in June 2022;

- increased economic growth, global supply concerns, and the situation in Ukraine will influence future fuel price rises;

- the proposed €100 off energy bills is tokenistic, not enough for those who need it, and poorly targeted;

- measures to control rents have failed with annual average increases nationally of 5.3% over the last decade, the most recent RTB report showed a 9% increase on an annual basis in the fourth quarter of 2021, while rents in Dublin are now more than 40% above pre-crisis levels;

- the average Irish mortgage interest rate of 2.79% is more than twice the EU average of 1.31% costing households over €2,000 a year with no action to date from Government to bring this down;

- Ireland has the second highest OECD household spend on childcare costs, with couples spending an average of 24% of income and single parents spending 29% of their wages on childcare costs;

- despite the constitutional commitment to free education parents and guardians pay significant out-of-pocket costs to send their children to school;

- since the publication of Sláintecare in 2017 progress on the abolition of patient charges and the rollout of free GP care is taking too long; acknowledges that: - the failure to act on the cost of living crisis in a whole-of-Government way will further reduce the living standards of millions of Irish people and condemn more people to poverty and homelessness;

- the key factors impacting the rising cost of living are within the regulatory and fiscal control of Government; calls on the Government to: - urgently take a whole-of-Government approach to tackling the soaring cost of living;

- introduce an immediate rent freeze and a roadmap to reduce Irish mortgage interest rates to the EU average;

- provide an emergency energy costs relief package for households which should include a temporary time limited reduction in the VAT rate on energy and fuel up until the next Budget, and for the Minister for Finance to seek an EU derogation to allow for the long-term retention of the historic 13.5% rate on electricity and gas after such a temporary VAT cut expires;

- introduce additional targeted supports for those in energy poverty by widening access to the fuel allowance, and commit to the introduction of a refundable carbon tax credit for low-income households to support the long-term phasing out of fossil fuels;

- support pay increases for workers across the economy in line with the rising cost of living;

- legislate to enhance collective and sectoral bargaining laws and frameworks to ensure that working people obtain a fairer share of the wealth they create;

- transform the national minimum wage to a living wage;

- provide for increases in social welfare payments linked to the rate of inflation, with a long-term commitment to bring weekly rates up to the minimum essential standard of living;

- introduce a windfall levy on excessive profits made in the energy, transport, housing and food sectors due to rising prices;

- take comprehensive action to make education free, introduce a universal public childcare model, bring forward the cap on childcare fees, and accelerate the implementation of Sláintecare;

- meet any additional costs of living with Covid-19 through 2022 including the proactive provision of antigen tests and FFP2 and medical grade face masks.”