Richard Boyd Barrett Accuses Firms of Profiting from Cost Crisis
Richard Boyd Barrett criticised the government's handling of the cost of living crisis, arguing that energy company profiteering has inflicted the greatest harm on the poorest and people with disabilities. He also challenged the auto-enrolment pension arrangements and the decision to award a 10-year contract to Tata Consultancy Services, citing alleged links to the Israeli military and Project Nimbus.
He said the cost of living crisis is not accidental and that profiteering by energy companies has driven prices up. He linked the price rises to deregulation and the replacement of a not-for-profit energy supplier, arguing that prices have "gone through the roof" and that governments have allowed it to continue.
He described heartbreaking examples from his constituency, including a young woman with a disability who will receive "660 extra a year" but is still "1,000 less than she got last year," leaving her poorer despite rising grocery and energy costs. He accused the government of prioritising corporate profits over people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.
He criticised the administration of the auto-enrolment pension scheme, saying private firms such as Irish Life Investment Managers, Amundi and Blackrock stand to profit and that the scheme should be run on a not-for-profit basis by the state. He named Tata Consultancy Services as the winner of a 10-year government contract and alleged the company is "implicated with the Israeli military" and with Project Nimbus, which he described as linked to surveillance and military assistance in the occupation of Palestine.
He argued that tax expenditures favour high earners and companies, citing an exemption on employers' contributions from employee benefit-in-kind worth "£956 million in one year" and saying "one billion euro" goes away in tax breaks. He said those funds could be redirected to improve state pensions and reduce poverty instead of boosting industry profits.
He urged the government to reconsider its priorities, accusing it of consistently choosing big business and corporate profits over redistribution to help the poorest. He expressed doubt the government will change course but insisted the current approach is cruel and unjust.
Cost of living and energy profiteering
He said the cost of living crisis is not accidental and that profiteering by energy companies has driven prices up. He linked the price rises to deregulation and the replacement of a not-for-profit energy supplier, arguing that prices have "gone through the roof" and that governments have allowed it to continue.
Impact on vulnerable households and people with disabilities
He described heartbreaking examples from his constituency, including a young woman with a disability who will receive "660 extra a year" but is still "1,000 less than she got last year," leaving her poorer despite rising grocery and energy costs. He accused the government of prioritising corporate profits over people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.
Auto-enrolment scheme and Tata Consultancy Services concerns
He criticised the administration of the auto-enrolment pension scheme, saying private firms such as Irish Life Investment Managers, Amundi and Blackrock stand to profit and that the scheme should be run on a not-for-profit basis by the state. He named Tata Consultancy Services as the winner of a 10-year government contract and alleged the company is "implicated with the Israeli military" and with Project Nimbus, which he described as linked to surveillance and military assistance in the occupation of Palestine.
Tax expenditures, pensions and alternatives
He argued that tax expenditures favour high earners and companies, citing an exemption on employers' contributions from employee benefit-in-kind worth "£956 million in one year" and saying "one billion euro" goes away in tax breaks. He said those funds could be redirected to improve state pensions and reduce poverty instead of boosting industry profits.
Call for a change of priorities
He urged the government to reconsider its priorities, accusing it of consistently choosing big business and corporate profits over redistribution to help the poorest. He expressed doubt the government will change course but insisted the current approach is cruel and unjust.
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Transcript
Minister, the least well-off in our society, the most vulnerable in our society, have been absolutely hammered by the cost of living crisis that has been inflicted on them over the last number of years. Now it's very important to say the cost of living crisis isn't like the weather. It just happens. The other side of the cost of living crisis is profiteering by the people who increase the prices. It's as simple as that. The energy companies ratchet up the prices, and they've done it consistently over the last number of years. In fact, they've done it consistently since a previous Fianna Fáil government deregulated the energy industry, when we used to have a not-for-profit ESB energy supply in this country. It was supposed to lead to a decrease in prices. The exact opposite happened. They've gone through the roof, crippling vulnerable and less well-off people. So their profits go up to the roof, and the cost of living misery is inflicted on the most vulnerable and the poorest in our society. That's the reality. And government after government continues to allow that to happen. I have heartbreaking letters from, for example, a young woman in my constituency who has a disability, and she describes how the current budget will give her 660 extra a year, but that's 1,000 less than she got last year. She's down 1,000 quid when energy prices, grocery prices, and all the other costs of living have gone up. She's going to be poorer this year by a significant margin than she was last year, and that is true of the most vulnerable and the people with disabilities. It's cruel, it's unfair, but you choose to prioritise the profits of energy companies that are going through the roof. You allow them to do that. You do nothing about it. You don't redistribute it properly through taxes, and so people with disabilities get crucified. That's the truth of it. So there's no justification for what you've done, and you should seriously reconsider your entire set of priorities. I doubt you will, because it's always big business and the corporates who are profiting from the cost of living misery who you prioritise. A quick word on the technical amendment to the auto-enrolment scheme, which I'm not sure if it's in the public domain. There are many things I would like to say about this, but one of them is that the company who has got a role in the administration of the auto-enrolment scheme, as well as lots of private companies like Irish Life Investment Managers, Amundi, Blackrock, who are all going to profit out of this scheme, when it should be run on a not-for-profit basis by the state. But also, the company that has won a 10-year contract from the government is called Tata Consultancy Services. Tata are implicated with the Israeli military, deeply implicated with the Israeli military, and with the genocide, and with Project Nimbus, which is about surveillance and essentially assisting the US military in the brutal occupation of Palestine and in all the genocidal horrors that have taken place over the last few years. Why on earth would a company guilty and complicit with the genocidal horror that has been inflicted on the Palestinians be given a 10-year contract by this government? It's absolutely outrageous, as well as the fact that, frankly, we could have a far better pension system in this country. We could probably double the state pensions if you just close down the tax breaks going to the very wealthy and to the companies involved in the pension industry, whose profits, of course, are constantly going up. I haven't got time to detail some of the facts around this, but the tax expenditures, for example, on the exemption of employers' contributions from employee benefit-in-kind, is £956 million in one year. One billion euro going, and I bet you that's the best-paid workers. The best-paid workers. It's a tax scam. It's a tax loophole where some of those on the highest earnings get tax benefits and the companies and so on get tax benefits. The money is there to give people decent pensions. The money is there to address poverty and to help the most vulnerable, but the profits of the rich and even those complicit with genocide seem to come first. Thank you, Deputy. Deputy Seamus Healy.