The people of Ireland will deliver their verdict on the coalition Government’s Budget at a general election, Sinn Féin has said.
The party’s finance spokesperson, Pearse Doherty said people did not feel better off due to measures announced in the new spending plan and said the Government was “incapable of delivering real change”.
He also said that rather than it being a giveaway budget, it was a “giving up on housing budget”.
The last budget before a general election is called includes a wide range of tax reliefs and one-off welfare supports.
But delivering the opposition party’s response, Mr Doherty said it would not make the difference people need in their lives.
He told the Dáil: “This is the last Budget from this Government, and like all others, there will be a spending increase.
“But the question we must ask ourselves, like all other budgets, is: will it make the big difference that people need in their lives, the difference that they are crying out for?
“Will it address the housing crisis and make housing affordable, as laid out by Sinn Féin? The answer is no.
“Will it fix the health service that is on its knees? No, it won’t. Will it address the cost-of-living crisis in a meaningful way? No, it won’t.
“And will it deliver the fundamental change that we need in their childcare system by introducing childcare a 10 euro day for families across the state? Again, the answer is no.
“The answer is no, because this Government is incapable of delivering real change, incapable of getting value for money.”
Mr Doherty said people could “see through the spin”.
He said: “People hear about the millions and the billions, but they don’t feel better off.
“For most people, it’s about what they have at the end of the week, when the bills are paid, is there anything left? is the question they ask. And the answer for far too many is no.
“Workers and families can’t afford another five years of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael. And it is in that context that this Budget will be judged, how your parties will be judged also at election time.”
Mr Doherty said the Government had been “exposed over and over again as serial wasters”.
He said: “Despite the Budget you’re announcing today, we still feel poor as a country in so many ways, in housing and health and disabilities and mental health, and your job isn’t just to spend money.
“Your job is to get results, and that’s where you’re completely and utterly failing.”
He criticised the Government for failing to increase housing targets.
Mr Doherty added: “What people were crying out for is that this Budget wouldn’t just paper over the cracks.
“Workers are worse off in real terms than when this Government came to power and workers and families can’t afford another five years of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.”
He added: “There is an alternative and we have shown that the alternative is there.
“The alternative is Sinn Fein and we will put our plans, our vision, our determination to the people.
“I say to Simon Harris: let’s call the election, let’s put this to the people and let the people decide who takes on the next Budget.”
Party colleague Rose Conway-Walsh said the Government’s “desperation to cling on to power permeates through this Budget”.
