Opposition hits out at Budget of ‘empty promises’
Fine Gael’s shadow finance minister Richard Bruton laid into the Coalition’s attempts to “buy votes” by pledging things they could not deliver.
He told the Dáil: “This Budget marks the first step in this Government’s attempt to buy the next election and it is going to do it with taxpayers’ own money. But people have wised up.”
Mr Bruton was scathing about the Finance Minister’s “big ideas” on childcare and tax reform. He compared the standing ovation Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrat TDs greeted yesterday’s Budget with to the rapture unleashed by the decentralisation initiative unveiled two years ago, which is now mired in controversy.
To the delight of his own benches, Mr Bruton compared the Finance Minister to cartoon slob Homer Simpson. “Homer Simpson says making promises makes me a good dad, his daughter Lisa replies that it is keeping promises that matters.”
Comparing Government TDs to “gobbling turkeys” waiting for Christmas, the FG finance spokesman insisted the Coalition now had a deeply “unbalanced” approach to vulnerable groups in society like carers and elderly people.
“The €150 million package for the elderly costs less than the money wasted on the health service PPARS computer system,” he said.
“There is no sense of structural reform in this Budget. Nothing to deal with the waste problems, value for money issues, or rip-off Ireland,” he added.
Mr Bruton dismissed the five-year childcare plan as too little, too late.
“This is a very timid first step in relation to childcare. He is not even providing €20 a week.” Mr Bruton said the Government had “given back” just €1.3 billion in the package - less than the €1.8bn it received in extra tax last year.
Labour’s finance spokeswoman Joan Burton said the Budget was “like a bad baked Alaska”. “It looks lovely on the outside. It’s full of hot air and cold in the middle and when you try to eat it falls apart.”
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte welcomed increases in social welfare payments but warned the childcare initiative would create divisions between parents with children either side of the six years of age cut-off point.
“Mr Cowen had a lot of money to scatter around and he did it to achieve the maximum electoral advantage,” he said.
Greens spokesman Dan Boyle dismissed the Budget as a missed opportunity. “The Minister’s proposed reforms in the system of tax reliefs are piecemeal at best. The cap on tax relief is long overdue, but it is set at such a high level that many high earners will still avoid tax.”
