Deputy Mary Lou McDonald- speech from 28 Sep 2022

Ceann Comhairle, this budget comes at a time when our people are struggling with the most serious cost of living crisis in 40 years. The challenge households face today are reminiscent of the late 70s and the 80s, and families find it very hard to make it to the end of the week. Soaring energy bills and motor fuel costs, extortionate rent and sharp increases in the price of food have combined to create a perfect storm for workers. and families. It is true to say that even having a full-time job does not allow workers to meet the costs of getting by or prevent a slide towards poverty. Russia's criminal invasion of Ukraine has added fuel to the fire. But it is true to say, and must be said, that it is the responsibility of government to shield people here from the sharpest edges of that crisis. For the last 18 months, this government refused and failed to come up to that mark. Everyone understands that government cannot do everything, but it could have done more. There is no doubt that the decisions and choices made by government have made things even harder for households dealing with the biggest squeeze on income for 40 years. The cost of living shock has served to compound the real-life problems brought on by a generation-defining crisis in housing and by a healthcare system that is persistently overcrowded, under-resourced and creaking at the seams. Today, in Ireland, the very basics of a dignified life are denied to so many. A roof over your head that is secure and affordable, access to hospital when you need treatment, the right to retire from work at 65, if that is what you wish, with a fair pension, and now working parents worrying that they will not be able to put food on the table for their children. All of this is a result of bad policies implemented by successive governments that have refused to put workers and families first. This budget represented a real opportunity for government to turn away from those bad policies. This should and could have been a watershed budget, a budget to turn the tide. The money available, the quantum of it, provided a chance to make better choices, choices that would have made real differences in the lives of workers and families. Because there is no doubt that government has huge financial resources. But the reality is, this budget does not invest those resources in the right way. It could have and should have been a budget prioritising those on low and middle incomes and the generation of young people locked out of opportunity. A budget that really tackled the cost of living crisis and provided households with help and certainty to get through the winter months. A budget that builds for the future by kick-starting the delivery of the housing and the health care that is needed. That is the type of budget that Sinn Féin would have delivered yesterday. But instead, your budget continues the cycle of failure that is now the hallmark of your government, missing entirely the big picture. With no answers to the big questions in housing, in health and indeed in the cost of living. Showing that you are not prepared to do what must be done to really protect households in the here and now. And that you have no plan for the future where all our people have a good and a secure life. And when you look beyond the trumpeting of billions and the splash headlines, we see there is no change of direction from government. What we get, draped in the clothes of a so-called giveaway budget, is another rehash of the policies that have failed for the past 20 years. You spend so much to achieve so very, very little. And when the dust settles, people will see a budget with no real vision, no real ambition, no real appetite to deliver change. Instead of backing workers, families and young people by tackling the big structural issues that affect their lives, this government has done what you always do. You have splashed the cash, talked up a big game, but nothing is really going to change after this budget. Here are the hard facts. We had a housing crisis before this budget. We have a housing crisis after it. We had a two-tier health service and outrageous waiting lists before this budget. We have a two-tier health service and outrageous waiting lists after it. Households were hit with scandalous hikes in energy bills before this budget. Households will be hit with hikes in energy bills after this budget. Those on low and middle incomes struggle to make their pay packet stretch before the budget, and they will struggle after this budget too. But the most serious criticism of this budget is that it provides no visible route out of these crises and makes no long-term difference in people's lives. These are the most serious issues also for us who've been involved in the budget. in you agus to say in over more in the govac in which are the hit case air foot on falls no mina a mock rowing agus touchy do creche a go now oh well on irishin roach if we did any arm man income at all we've rue not by big knock go miloon every ain sent oh preevola conoch on realtis in you nil aen athru trough oon conochneis a cohon an irishin arraigad cun byogon a winch a mock budget day is a big day in the political calendar the government presents its budget the opposition responds broadcasters broadcast their analysis pages of newspapers are filled with reaction and rightly so but amid all the political theater we must remember that the choices made by government in the budget shape the lives of ordinary people and i want to speak about one of those lives about a young man that i met on monday he's 27 years old he's emigrating he and his girlfriend bought their plane tickets to canada four weeks ago he doesn't want to go but he feels he has no other choice he believes that leaving gives him the best opportunity to build a good life and here's what he told me he told me that he always does his best he really thought if he did all the right things he'd be able to get on so that's what he did he paid attention at school he went to college he studied hard and he graduated he did a bit of traveling after college but never ever did he think that he would look to leave ireland for the long term but despite working so hard he says he's just not able to make it he described a feeling like being on a hamster wheel running faster and faster but getting nowhere no chance of saving for a house never mind owning one barely making the rent each month fleeced by big bills he told me that his poor mother is beside herself she doesn't want him to go but she knows that's what he needs to do he feels so badly let down but he said something to meet last count corla that's the reason that i'm actually telling this story he asked what was the point in doing all the right things and doing my best my parents worked hard to give me a good start and now i have to leave to make something of myself and even though i know it's not my fault i feel like i've let down my mom and dad and that's an awful feeling to carry around but the truth is that the odds are stacked against my generation those that can make a difference just don't listen i am 27 and i am exhausted by it all that's his story and sadly it's not unique to him in the ireland of 2022. now i don't know about you but for me that is a damning indictment of government that the spectre of forced emigration is now back with us our young people look again to the airports for the prospect of a life in boston or toronto or perth a life away from family from friends from the communities that they love because no matter how hard they work and even though they do all the right things they cannot build a good life at home and the sad truth is that as fiona fall and finnegale passed power between yourselves for a century forced emigration has been regarded almost as a right of passage for our young people i imagine that young man that i spoke to on monday would have tuned into the budget you know to the announcement and the debate probably looking for a sign of a change of direction he'll certainly have been looking for hope but will he have found what he's looking for in this budget will he find that hope will he find that much changed needed change of direction from government well the straight answer to that is no the truth is that there is nothing in this budget that would make him want to stay and he shook one of the things forcing that young man to emigrate his housing it's defined life in this country for over a decade government came to office in june 2020 saying that should fix housing remember you yourself tisha claim that it's the single most important social issue for this coalition and yet in this budget as with all of your housing initiatives all we get is a recycle of policies that got us into this mess policies that feather the nest of big developers corporate landlords and wealthy investors to the detriment of those in housing need this government went two and a half years without doing anything for renters the average rent in dublin is over 2000 euro across the state it stands close to 1500 euro you know all of this i've told you repeatedly repeatedly that you have to do two things firstly cut rents by putting a month's rent back into renters pockets through a refundable tax credit and secondly ban rent increases for three years and you've ignored these calls consistently all of you and now in your budget you show up with 500 euros 500 yours that will be swallowed up by the inevitable hikes and rent that will in no doubt come and that you refuse to prevent a tax credit by the way which extends excludes students and low-income workers and your refusal to cut rents adequately and to ban rent increases confirms that this government doesn't really care about renters they are at best an afterthought so let me say it plainly and on the record a tax credit without banning rent increases will not work there's no progress to be found in your budget measures for social or affordable housing either no increase in capital spending no increase in the paltry targets targets that you miss time and again no credible action plan to stem the record homelessness in this budget you have blatantly ignored the lived experiences of a generation locked out of affordable housing as you desperately attempt to dress up failure as delivery but people caught up in your housing crisis aren't fooled Taoiseach they see this built budget for what it is a blueprint for the deepening of their housing nightmare house prices will continue to rise exploitative rents will still go up and the number of people in housing need including homelessness will continue to grow so what's needed urgently is a plan to reverse decades of bad housing policy a plan to deliver 20 000 public homes per annum a plan a plan to ban rent increases and to put a month's rent back into renters pockets by means of a refundable tax credit and a credible emergency response to homelessness that is what a sinn fein government would deliver a sinn fein government would house our people the soaring cost of living has pushed workers and families to the brink at the heart of this crisis is a conveyor belt of hikes and energy bills that just keep coming and you told hard pressed households to wait until the budget in september for help for government so now we are here and families don't just need help they need the right help shin fein called on you to cut electricity bills back to pre-crisis levels and to cap them at that level until the end of february this would give two million households the certainty they need it would help them to make it through the winter and protect them from further hikes but instead you've chosen to give energy credits and households by the way will only see 200 euros this side of christmas so just like your rent credit these credits risk being swallowed up by further increases that's what happened back in the springtime and yet your government chooses not to learn the lesson of that once again you've failed to protect households from the barrage of hikes that are to come and people will pay a heavy price and many more families will be pushed into fuel poverty in the areas of personal personal taxation and social protection the budget fails the fairness test for all you had to say about pensioners the 12 euro increase in welfare payments and the state pension are inadequate and everybody on the front line has told you so the increase will be cancelled out by runaway inflation and recipients in reality will actually be worse off than last year so in real terms this is a welfare cut and people will be poorer and more at risk than they were before that's why in the sinn fein budget we provided for an increase of 17 euros and 50 cents in working age welfare payments and a 15 euro increase in the state pension that's what you should have delivered workers are experiencing the biggest squeeze on their income in 40 years workers need breathing room and that means tax relief a cut in personal taxation we are all agreed on that but it is incredible that at a time when so much has been said about the squeezed middle that 1.8 million workers will not get one cent from your government's main tax proposal you've spent over 1 billion euros on tax measures which will give someone on 130 000 euros an extra 830 euros while someone on 35 000 euros will get only 190 euros how can anyone call that fair a better a fairer approach would have been to slash the usc and make cost of living payments to middle and low income workers in a targeted way putting 700 euros in the pockets of teachers private sector workers on 35 000 euros and those nurses young nurses many of whom we are losing from this country as they seek a better chance abroad that is what shin fein would have done and it's what you should have done yesterday the very best idea for the future of health care in ireland is a single-tier all-ireland national health service and we need a plan for that transformation this budget however delivers just more of the same the expansion of the gp card scheme is certainly a headline grabber but everyone on the front line is already saying that the lack of gps means that the primary care system will now come under even more pressure he should introducing this measure without investing to increase gp capacity is a recipe for failure and we know this because it's happened before this cannot be another broken promise we need to see delivery nearly one million people are on hospital waiting lists the healthcare crisis presided over by government has touched every family everyone knows somebody who has spent too long on a waiting list for treatment too long on a hospital trolley too long locked out of care and yet the investment you've provided doesn't meet the scale of the challenge there were 508 people on trolleys yesterday and yet you're not providing for one additional acute bed in your budget and by the way we're still waiting for delivery of the 300 beds that you promised two years ago how on earth will we ever ramp up the capacity needed in our health service another year another budget another failure to tackle waiting lists or the crisis in a emergency departments truth is this budget cements the unequal unfair two-tier health system a sinn fein government would bring that inequality to an end in our budget we provided for 500 additional acute beds we provided for a workforce planning strategy to retain to recruit and to train the health care workers to the levels needed we would have delivered a budget to begin the transformation of public health care and build a health service that works for everyone it's a very sad truth that citizens with disabilities and those with mental health challenges are so often forgotten by government those citizens their families and those who work in the sectors that support them have been crying out for help the measures announced in yesterday's budget fall far far short of what is needed 29 million euros only in additional money for disability services 14 million euro only in additional money for mental health shame on you it's a drop in the ocean and it means that the disability and mental health sectors will remain chronically underfunded that's the reality so again government fails to provide the investment needed to ensure that these citizens can access the supports they need and live full inclusive lives as fully equal citizens in the coming decade ireland has two transformational opportunities to drive our progress and our prosperity the first of these is the reunification of our country the second is the securing of energy independence by fostering renewables particularly wind energy and i believe these opportunities should be seized with the enthusiasm energy and determination yet in both areas the government's budget demonstrates a breathtaking lack of ambition the momentum behind irish unity is growing generational change is underway in ireland and it is in my view unstoppable it's therefore vital that we plan for the future of our country in an inclusive and positive way it's incredible to me that there is no provision within this budget and no political will from us government for the establishment of a citizens assembly on irish unity because the truth is that there is now an urgent and necessary need for leadership in government and an urgent need to establish such a forum because this is the most important conversation of our regeneration and any decent responsible government would be leading out on that the energy crisis we face today underscores the importance of securing a sustainable and affordable supply of energy through our abundant renewable resources the development of our offshore capacity and green hydrogen production ireland has the potential to become an international hub for clean renewable energy and can help drive the decarbonisation of the european economy if we get this right we can achieve energy independence for ireland we can transform not just energy supply and security but our whole economic model and meet the goal of a truly just transition to a green clean future when we enjoy such natural advantages when we have a sector ready to deliver it is incredible to me that this budget does so very little to reduce the barriers that to realizing that potential and to developing our wind infrastructure and our green hydrogen capacity as kangorla budget 2023 is defined by its failure to deal with the big issues that dominate the lives of ordinary people and have done for well over a decade government is no doubt splashing the cash but nothing is really going to change and it fails at a time when government has the financial resources to make a real difference the budget won't make a dent in the housing disaster it won't even scratch the surface of what's needed to transform our health service the cost of living package is big on numbers but is delivered in a way that ensures that any benefit to households will be wiped out by future price hikes and inflation your package doesn't give households the certainty they need and those are the real headlines from your budget headlines that expose again the big failures of your government and can i say the game of musical chairs you intend to play with leo varadkar before christmas will not change this reality one bit your cozy arrangement is a guarantee of more of the same not what's best for the people it's what's best for fianna fall and finna gael let me tell you Taoiseach we need more than just a change in your office we need more than a change of Taoiseach we need a change of government and without a shadow of a doubt this should be the very last budget delivered by your failed directionless government now as can Carla time and again in times of crisis our young people have been forced to leave worse still they've been told by those in power to go the message given to generations deprived of opportunity is that we all can't live on a small island do you remember that one gentlemen that emigration from the home they love was a lifestyle choice that was so very very wrong forced emigration was a failure of government then and it remains a failure of government to this day but i believe the chapter of this generation is yet to be written and i believe that we can change the story for all the challenges we face i don't accept that our future must be a repeat of our past and i want that young man that i spoke to on monday and all of our younger generation to be able to build a good life here in ireland to have a home here to have opportunity here to be able to make it here isn't that the future we all want for our children and our grandchildren our people are seeking real change they believe that a new direction and a new ireland is possible and it is in our young people in particular that we find everything we need to make that ireland a reality the old ways and the politics of the past have had their day and change is coming because with the right government with the right policies with the right ambition we can build the future our people deserve we can build a nation as a home for all that's a future last cancola worth believing in that's a future worth working for that's the future our people will achieve together and for each other of that i have no doubt