Danny Healy-Rae calls budget 'anti-rural', warns of harm to Kerry
Danny Healy-Rae spoke in the budget debate and described the budget as "anti-rural". He argued it will hurt people in rural Ireland, especially in Kerry, citing higher fuel and carbon costs, a VAT rise, and gaps in supports for beneficiaries.
Budget impact on rural households
Anyone with a wheel of any kind is being affected, he said, naming commuters, parents transporting children, shopkeepers, taxi drivers, farmers with jeeps and tractors, and agricultural contractors. He warned the measures are driving up costs for everyday activity and said rural taxpayers deserve fair treatment.
Benefits and fuel supports
He flagged that people on illness benefit, jobseekers benefit, enhanced illness benefit, occupational injuries benefit and other disability benefits are being let down. He criticised rules that prevent a pensioner living with a cancer patient on illness benefit from qualifying for fuel loans, noting that those affected paid contributions and PAYE.
Local roads and Kerry infrastructure
He set out local figures for Kerry, saying there were 697 local improvement scheme applications and that last year 11 projects received funding while this year 22 did. He pressed the minister on the need for good roads to rural homes, arguing Kerry residents pay taxes and fuel costs equal to urban areas.
Hospitality, VAT and school transport
He warned the hospitality sector will be hit by an increase in the VAT rate from 9% to 13.5%, and welcomed a 32 million provision for school transport as a response to rising costs. He said these measures do not fully offset the wider increases affecting rural communities.
Fishermen, coastal communities and Kilmeruddin
He said fishermen and coastal communities are being left behind and that the effects ripple through coastal towns. He thanked Deputy Donovan for announcements made but urged him not to forget Kilmer and Kilmeruddin, stressing that people there have "suffered so much and for long enough."
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Thank you very much, John Cole. I'm glad to get the opportunity to talk again this evening on the budget because I feel it's an anti-rural budget. It's hurting so many people, especially people in rural Ireland. Anyone with a wheel of any kind is being affected. People travelling long distances to work, parents taking children to schools, lolling them in, transporting every kind of every item, shops and whatever, is driving up the cost of everything. Taxi men are hurt. Farmers with jeeps and tractors are going to be hurt. And there's no recognition at all for the carbon that they sequestered. Agricultural contractors are being hurt. Elderly sick people trying to heat their homes are being hurt. Because many people on benefit payments are let down. I raised this with Minister Humphries the other day. People on illness benefit, people on job seekers benefit, enhanced illness benefit, occupational injuries benefit and many other disabled benefits. For example, a pensioner living with a cancer patient on illness benefit does not qualify for the fuel loans. How can that be fair or right? These people paid their contributions. They paid PAYE. They wouldn't get the benefit payments if they hadn't done that. These are being left behind and it's totally wrong. In Kerry, we had 697 local improvement scheme applications. Last year we got money for 11. This year we got money for 22. That's not enough, Minister. And that's not fair. The people in Kerry are entitled to a good road to their door. They're very same as the people in Dublin. They're paying their taxes and they're paying these massive fuel costs and carbon taxes. They're paying taxes of every kind. They deserve fair pay. And they're not getting that. The hospitality sector. The VAT is going to rise from 9% to 13.5%. That's going to affect all of Kerry. School transport, 32 million. When I welcome that, it's only trying to keep up with increasing costs. Fishermen and coastal communities are left behind. Look at what's happened to them. No one fought for their quarter and they're being left behind. And that has an effect on the entire coastal communities. I want to thank Deputy Donovan for the announcements that he made. But I'm asking him not to forget Kilmer. He was good enough to come down there when we asked him to Kilmer and Kilmeruddin. And there's a few other schemes as well. They weren't mentioned by him tonight. And I'm asking him not to forget them because the people of Kilmeruddin have suffered so much and for long enough. He won't have gone down there. The people of Kilmeruddin have suffered so much and for long enough. The people of Kilmeruddin is so much more of it. He wants to capture them from the United States. The people of Kilmeruddin have suffered so much more of it. Some of the people of Kilmeruddin have suffered so much more of it.
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