'People cannot wait': Sinn Féin calls for 'emergency budget' immediately

Sinn Fein's Pearse Doherty: 'Act now. Bring forward an emergency budget and give people the relief they desperately need.'

Sinn Féin’s finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty has called on the Government to introduce an “emergency budget” with tax cuts, a social welfare package, and energy credits.

In his address to the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis, Mr Doherty accused the Government of ignoring people as the cost-of-living crisis spirals. The Sinn Féin Ard Fheis started in Belfast on Friday evening and will continue throughout Saturday.

The main event of the weekend will be party leader Mary Lou McDonald’s presidential address on Saturday evening.

In his speech to delegates, Mr Doherty said families are “sitting at kitchen tables doing the sums” and the “sums don’t add up”. He said people cannot afford heating oil, “energy bills have doubled”, and the weekly shop is “rising again and again”.

Mr Doherty said Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are saying the “State has never had more money” but that “wealth never reaches ordinary households”, and people are being told to “wait for the budget”.

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“People cannot wait. And tonight, I am saying this clearly: Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael must introduce a mini budget immediately,” Mr Doherty told delegates.

“Not in October. But now. Because this crisis is happening right now. An emergency budget that cuts the cost of electricity by delivering energy credits to families.

“That reduces the tax on fuel, bringing it to affordable levels. A social welfare package that supports people who are struggling — carers, older people, and disabled people. And a tax cut that will put money back into workers' pockets.”

Mr Doherty said this is about “political choices” and Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael must “stop delaying, stop dithering”.

Stop siding with landlords, developers, and the wealthy while workers are pushed to the brink. 

"Stop talking down to people. Stop ignoring them, start acting. Act now. Bring forward an emergency budget and give people the relief they desperately need.”

Mr Doherty also said that people’s anger and frustration are “justified”.

'Fringe events'

As party delegates gather in Belfast, the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis will also feature several “fringe events” scattered throughout the ICC in Belfast. It will be the first time these side events are held at a Sinn Féin Ard Fheis.

The first event was a “Kneecap Lyrics Workshop”, while further events on Saturday include “Another World is Possible: The Role of Liberation Politics”, “From Crisis to New Republic”, and a discussion about learning Irish in Ireland.

The main discussions throughout Saturday will focus on justice and human rights, health, and Irish unity, amongst others.

There will also be a fireside chat-type discussion with Ms McDonald and Northern Ireland’s first minister, Michelle O’Neill, who gave a keynote address to delegates on Friday evening.

On Friday evening, the Ard Fheis was opened by MP John Funucane, before discussions on “activism”, housing, rural communities and the environment.

• Louise Burne, political correspondent