Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The litmus test of any budget is that nobody is left behind, that all citizens feel they have a stake in what is happening and that the budget has something for them, their families and their communities. In the current cost-of-living crisis, this budget has to provide a safety net for those most at risk of poverty or the growing cohort of people who are actually experiencing poverty. The increase in the core social welfare rate of €12 per week is simply not enough. I know it is part of a package and that there are other layers of support, one-off payments etc., but some groups get some payments and others do not. At the very least, €15 per week is the minimum amount required. Social Justice Ireland and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul say it falls far short of what is needed. These organisations deal with people experiencing poverty every day. They have no axe to grind or political agenda. They are dealing with the harsh reality of poverty and deprivation. They say it is not enough and I agree with them.

There are some positive aspects to this budget but my role as a member of the Opposition is to look at where it falls down and fails people, and to make the case to Government to think again. In this context, while one-off payments are welcome, they do not address the long-term issues of poverty, especially for disabled people and others who are living on the margins. I fully agree with the response of the Independent Living Movement, which tweeted, "Any measure is welcome but a 'once off payment', won’t reduce poverty, won’t improve income inequality and won't have a long term impact on our quality of life."

One of my biggest disappointments is that carer's allowance is still means tested and is still not a qualifying payment for fuel allowance. To get fuel allowance, one has to be living alone or with certain others and getting certain social welfare payments. It is absolutely incredible that carer's allowance is not one of those payments. The Minister for Social Protection needs to think again. Family carers are at home 24-7, using more heat, light and electricity than the average family. How are they supposed to pay the bills that will land on their mats over the next few days, weeks and months?

Please tell me if I am wrong but I was shocked to hear that only one of the €200 energy credits will be paid to people before Christmas. That simply will not be enough, not just for carers, but for working people, those on low incomes and on fixed incomes, especially those who are not in receipt of the fuel allowance. People will not be able to pay their bills between now and Christmas. I am calling on the Minister to ensure that at least two of the €200 energy credits are paid to all households before Christmas.

In this context, I draw attention to the fact that the current electricity credit scheme will not benefit a significant number of Traveller families if they share a meter point reference number, MPRN, connection with one or more households. If four families are sharing a connection, they get €50 each. This is not acceptable; it is discriminatory. The Minister has to find a solution. For example, the Government could resource local authorities to make these payments.

My only statement on this is to find a way; what is happening is unfair.

The derisory increase of €5 as a top-up to community employment, Tús and rural social scheme participants must be amended. This brings their top-up to the princely sum of €25 per week. That is what they get for 19.5 hours' work, on top of their jobseeker's payment. It would not pay people to put an extra two or three litres of petrol or diesel in their cars, if they have a car, just to get to work. At the very least the increase should have matched the €12 social welfare increase.

Another group that will not benefit in this budget are those who were on what is called class D pensions. This group of people, who are mainly women, worked in health boards, social welfare offices, in pensions offices and Government Departments. Many were changed to a class D stamp in the mid-1970s. This was revised and reversed in the mid-1990s, but there is a cohort of people, mostly on small, fixed pensions, who do not qualify for any extra supports such as fuel allowance. In order to get fuel allowance, as the Minister is aware, a person must be in receipt of a qualifying payment. In this budget a person can earn up to €500 per week and still get it, which is good, but the vast majority of the people that I speak about are retired women who do not earn even close to €500 per week and they cannot qualify for the fuel allowance. It is a huge anomaly. It is unfair and unjust for those women who are caught in this poverty trap. I had hoped that this budget might address it. It has not happened and I will certainly be asking the Minister, Deputy Heather Humphreys, to look at it again.

In the week that the EU downgraded the development status of the northern and western region, for the second time in three years, and in the week when we have seen the collapse of sterling, both have a hugely negative impact on the region. The sterling collapse has a negative impact on cross-Border trade and Brexit, of course, was not even mentioned in this budget. The budget has been silent on balanced regional development. Budgets do not just impact families and individuals: they impact communities and regions. The programme for Government has promised us time and again to deliver balanced regional development. We have not done it. When we consider the northern and western region, comparatively speaking, it is 21 percentage points worse off than it was in 2006 when compared with other regions. I put it to the Ministers of State that this is simply not acceptable. We see that the gap between the regions is increasing. Those disparities must be stopped. The budget today offered nothing for people living in that region to believe that this Government was even beginning to deliver on the promise of balanced regional development.

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