This Bill brings some long overdue relief to families, carers and pensioners but not much. Independent Ireland welcomes any move that puts an extra few euro in the pockets of those who are struggling to make ends meet. The €10 increase in weekly welfare payments, the higher working family payment threshold and the €20 rise in the domiciliary care allowance are steps in the right direction. Measures like the extension of the newborn baby grant show a bit of common sense in the Government, which is something Independent Ireland has been crying out for. We have said from the start that supporting families is key to holding communities together. Anything that helps parents keep the lights on and food on the table is always welcome. The uplift in parental benefits recognises that. New mums and dads need support rather than red tape when a baby arrives. The higher working family payment threshold reflects our call to reward work and not to penalise it. However, a €10 increase will not fill an oil tank. While we welcome the raise, this €10 a week will be eaten up by inflation before people even see it. The costs of heating oil, fuel and food have soared. This Bill does not go anywhere near far enough to tackle that reality. Independent Ireland believes these small uplifts are only a plaster on a deep wound. Families need real reform and not token gestures. The Bill gives a lift to those on welfare, as is right, but the working man or woman in the middle earning between €40,000 and €50,000 gets nothing. These are the people who cannot get a medical card or free school bus transport. Independent Ireland has called for tax reliefs for middle earners so that hard work actually pays. We want to ensure no one earning less than €50,000 pays the top rate of tax. You cannot build a fair society if you keep harming the workers who keep the lights on in this country. Many of our older citizens still want to contribute, pass on their skills and stay active in work. Independent Ireland says we should stop taxing pensioners who continue to work. We would abolish USC and PRSI for pension-age workers. This Bill ignores that. Let us reward contributions rather than punishing them. While we talk about people's pensions, the new Irish society is looking into people's old-age pensions. That is something I really condemn. People come to me every weekend to tell me their pensions are being reviewed. Some of them lose their pensions. Good God almighty, that was the only little bit they had. I especially refer to married women being discriminated against in respect of pensions. Reviewing people's pensions is as hard a punishment as any government could ever give anyone. It is happening quite a lot. The number is rising every day. This Bill talks about payments but it says nothing about the prices that are crippling families. Independent Ireland would cut the VAT rate to 9% on food services and hospitality. That is how you bring down prices in real life, not just on paper. Let us not forget the very sneaky way the Finance Act was used to bring in a higher rate for the hire of function rooms for meetings, weddings, parties or Christmas events. This is going to cost the hotelier to whom I spoke the other day a fortune. That person runs a good but humble hotel. The cost will have to be passed on. One hotelier told me that it will cost him €25,000 a year. This is a sneaky tax that the Government introduced in the budget. I plead with the Minister to look at it and maybe consider how we might perhaps reverse the decision in this regard. In order for the hotelier in question to cover this cost, he has to make €120,000 extra a year. This is an astonishing and sneaky tax. I would like to know if the Government backbenchers knew this new cost was being brought in. Small hoteliers are absolutely disgusted with this snide move. Were backbench Government TDs aware of this? I want to talk about the pension enrolment scheme, which will come into effect in January. One of my constituents is a subcontractor for Irish Water. He currently employs four men. In January, he will have to pay €15 per week per employee into the pension enrolment scheme. That is a total of €60 per week or €3,128 for the year. He says that he cannot afford it. When he asked his employees to pay it, they refused because they see it as a pay cut for them. He is aware that the bigger companies are offering to pay the €15 on behalf of their employees and that people are moving to the bigger companies as a result. His is not the only small business in this predicament. Where is the assistance for small businesses? This is going to have a massive effect on this man and his business. This is the problem with all the legislation that is introduced: it is another attack on the small employer. The Government is not thinking about them; it is thinking about Apple and other such companies. It is not thinking about the local businesses that employ four or five people and that going to be hit very hard. My time is up. I will give way to my colleague.

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