Brian Stanley: Minister Turned His Back on Ordinary Workers
Brian Stanley accuses the Minister of ignoring warnings and leaving working families exposed to rising living and fuel costs. He recounts protests in Leash, truckers losing €6,000 a month, and gaps in supports such as home heating oil and fuel allowance.
Brian Stanley says opposition warnings were dismissed and points to protests in Leash where hard-working people, including truckers, told him they were losing thousands of euro a month. He argues that the measures so far provide relief for some but leave many groups without protection.
Stanley details the groups hit hardest: commuters, taxi drivers, home helps, public health nurses and the 700,000 people on home heating oil. He highlights the increase in household arrears for electricity and gas and the severe pressure from rising rents and childcare costs.
He criticises recent budget decisions that, he says, favoured developers, landlords and big businesses while ordinary workers saw tax plans frozen. Stanley warns that many registered workers are now paying more tax than last year and calls the approach in 2024 cynical.
Stanley frames the current situation as part of the wider cost-of-living crisis and urges further measures to protect low and middle income families. He stresses that failing to act will deepen financial strain on households already pushed to the limit.
Warnings Ignored
Brian Stanley says opposition warnings were dismissed and points to protests in Leash where hard-working people, including truckers, told him they were losing thousands of euro a month. He argues that the measures so far provide relief for some but leave many groups without protection.
Who Is Being Left Out
Stanley details the groups hit hardest: commuters, taxi drivers, home helps, public health nurses and the 700,000 people on home heating oil. He highlights the increase in household arrears for electricity and gas and the severe pressure from rising rents and childcare costs.
Budget Choices and Consequences
He criticises recent budget decisions that, he says, favoured developers, landlords and big businesses while ordinary workers saw tax plans frozen. Stanley warns that many registered workers are now paying more tax than last year and calls the approach in 2024 cynical.
What This Means Going Forward
Stanley frames the current situation as part of the wider cost-of-living crisis and urges further measures to protect low and middle income families. He stresses that failing to act will deepen financial strain on households already pushed to the limit.
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Transcript
Minister, the warnings from us here on the opposition benches were ignored and I want to say just about in relation to the protests. The protests in Leash, the ones I attended, there were decent hard-working people on it, people who work 60-70 hours a week. Truckers told me that they were losing €6,000 per month and you can only do that for a couple of months. The fact of the matter is they couldn't get a week's wages and they were sinking below the water mark. And the measures, while they may bring in some relief, there's a lot of people left out. Commuters, there's 12,000 people in Leash, 12,000 workers who commute out of the county to work, a lot of them by car, by necessity. Taxi drivers, home helps, public health nurses. And the 700,000 people on Home Heaton Isle, the majority of rural households in Leash, in fact the majority outside of Port Leash are on Home Heaton Isle. These are low and middle income families being crucified and they don't get fuel allowance, not entitled to fuel allowance, so they're left out. And the cost, this is on top of the cost of living crisis. 220,000 households with arrears in electricity, 180,000 with arrears in gas. And if you just look at the rental situation, rents in Leash now, there's cases where there's over €2,000 a month asked. One family then with childcare, €1,400 per month. School transport fees are up, leave insert fees are back, being there, being levied. So this is a very tough situation and further measures are needed for people. Minister, there was a budget last October and the budget before that, which was just before an election, there was helicopter money dropped out of the sky nearly on top of people, including on top of us, you know, on top of people who didn't need it. Developers, landlords, hoteliers, McDonald's, Supermac, Starbucks, they were all looked after. What happened with ordinary workers? The tax plans were frozen. What happened as a consequence of that? Joe and Mary Soap, who is paying tax, registered workers, they now are paying more tax than they did last year. So not only did they not get zero, they're actually in reverse now. And that is not good enough. It was cynical what you done in 2024. Last year, election over, you totally turned your back on ordinary working people. That cannot continue.