Despite government spin working people being asked to pay bill for Covid
People Before Profit TD and spokesperson on Finance and Housing Richard Boyd Barrett says that the majority of people will be worse off following a shockingly inadequate Budget 2022 announcement from Ministers Donohoe and McGrath this afternoon.
Responding to the government’s budget announcement the People Before Profit TD said that the budget was “a budget of crumbs which will do nothing for people facing extortionate rents, energy charges and the cost of living in this country. Social welfare recipients are only getting €5, a 2% increase on income. Workers on average incomes are only getting a 0.5% increase while inflation is at 3.7%- on top of that we have a carbon tax increase, and energy price hikes an property tax increases- all which hurt the least well off most.”
He said that the required vision to end the housing crisis, develop and national health service and deal with the climate and biodiversity emergency was seriously lacking in the budget.
He said: “Despite the spin through Budget 2022 the government are asking working people to pay the bill for Covid. Budget 2022 was shockingly inadequate and fails to meet the challenges facing the majority of people in this country.
“There was nothing in this budget to deal with the extortionate increase in rents, or the pitifully low delivery of public and affordable housing on public land, which is essential to bring us out of the worse housing and homelessness crisis this state has seen.
“Many people in this country will have to make a choice in the future between getting colder, hungrier or poorer due to the government loading an increased carbon tax on their shoulders whilst we have an energy price crisis.
“Similarly, the measures announced to deal with the climate and biodiversity crisis are all measures that merely fiddle around the edges of the biggest crisis facing humanity. All the measures announced, such as the new VRT rate to encourage people to buy greener cars, and the paltry amount of money designated for retrofitting, do not tackle the systemic issue of Ireland’s emissions.
“What we needed from the government was a commitment to free and frequent public transport, investment in renewable energy and a ban on further development of data centres, LNG imports and new fossil fuel infrastructure.
“The government in this budget failed to take the necessary radical action to deal with the crisis’ facing our society and climate and thus have reverted to the pre Covid status quo.”