The Workers’ Party have condemned today’s budget as one which has benefitted the better off once again while throwing a few crumbs at workers and the poor with a focus on the general election rather than social justice.
Workers’ Party President Michael Donnelly said that for all the hype on the 75% Christmas Bonus for those on social welfare and the Universal Social Charge the real gains would be made by higher earners and in particular large corporations who are guaranteed further cuts to the almost non-existent rates of Corporation Tax for so-called innovation.
Mr. Donnelly said that the government’s decision to cut taxes by €750 million, mostly to the benefit of the better off, would inevitably mean further reductions on spending on health, education and other social services.
He said: “This government has spoken a lot about easing the burden on the so-called squeezed middle when they actually mean giving more to the affluent top layer of society. Despite the spotlight on certain apparent gains for the less well off he government has not even returned what was taken from workers and the poor between 2009 and 2013”, said the Workers Party President.
“Today we have heard Michael Noonan with his usual bluster pretending to be a reformed Ebenezer Scrooge when he is in fact an inveterate Fagin as can be seen in the decision to introduce a 12c charge on ATM transactions as the government forces social welfare recipients to accept their payments in this form”
“Where is the cancellation of the hospital bed charges introduced over the last few years or in the prescription charges? Having a free GP card for children under 12 is of little use when parents cannot afford any medication that GP prescribes. This government is trumpeting big items for all it is worth but is conveniently ignoring the many mean-minded cuts introduced by Michael Noonan, Brendan Howlin and their predecessors over the past seven years. That is the proof of the bare pudding of this budget” said Mr. Donnelly
“This budget is designed as a mirage to the man or woman dying of thirst in the desert – a promise of replenishment in the distance where there is only more arid sand. It promises jobs but delivers none; it promises housing but relies on the same crooks who created the housing crisis in the first place; it promises improvements in health and education but implements policies which ensure things will only get worse. “, declared Workers Party President Michael Donnelly.