Hundreds of thousands of working families have been left asking why they have been left behind by this Government. They are left wondering what it will take for the Government to act to help them. Which piece of road or which port should they blockade before the Government takes notice? Over the past six months, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Independents made deliberate decisions which left those workers behind and worse off. It decided on plain silly VAT cuts for fast food firms, paid for by PAYE workers, because it chose not to index income tax bands and credits. Only now does Fianna Fáil appear to have a problem with that stroke. The Government made a decision to withdraw critical, once-off payments and energy credits. For three years families relied on a couple of hundred euro to ease the burden of Europe’s highest electricity prices. The Government left them at a loss with less money in their pockets. They are now getting bills for €300, €400 or €500 at a time. That decision is now coming back to haunt the Tánaiste and his colleagues. The Iran war will nearly double inflation this year. Construction and food prices will rise further, making a complete mockery of the Government’s VAT-cut misadventure. Grocery prices were already increasing at over 6% and electricity prices will rise even more, adding €150 to average bills which were already sky-high. Before Easter, the Tánaiste and other members of the Government were talking about tax cuts for the richest in our society on inheritance and for special investment accounts. Quite frankly, that was tone deaf. That consideration once again ignored the needs of many who are struggling to pay their bills. Now it seems the Government has realised finally realised the error of its ways. In the past week, the Government has flown many budget kites, including income tax cuts, energy credits and increased retrofit grants; you name it. Why do PAYE workers have to wait more than six months for relief when protesters only had to wait for a week? Those sectors did need some support but why are the needs of the real drivers of the economy being blanked by the Government? Yesterday, the Commission laid out the measures the Government can take to address the impact of the energy crisis. There are many policy options available to the Government in this toolbox such as a windfall tax on energy profits, price controls, energy vouchers, social tariffs and income support schemes for households. People know there is a massive surplus. Why? Because the Government keeps telling us. They also know we cannot spend it all at once and that services need to be paid for. People saw that the Government very quickly found €750 million over the past month for sectoral interests. They need help now and there are ways for the Government to responsibly do a mini-budget now to provide real relief for PAYE workers. It could reverse the VAT cuts, introduce a windfall tax on energy companies and use the money for targeted energy credits of €400 for average income households. It could introduce the income tax indexation it promised during the general election but abandoned last October, and offer real supports for families with grocery bills and school costs. It can use existing laws to place maximum-price orders on home heating oil. Will the Tánaiste now move to help working people through a mini budget?

Sentiment score: 0.04

There are other and better ways of targeting supports to businesses which may need them, not a blanket VAT cut that is going to disproportionately benefit the burger barons like Ronald McDonald and his friends. That is a very poor use of taxpayer money and is being paid for directly by PAYE workers. That is the reality. The Tánaiste is now trying to retroactively justify that by the increased energy costs that businesses will be experiencing. I simply do not buy that. The Tánaiste is going to have to explain, with great difficulty, to workers who are going to continue to find it very difficult to pay their bills this summer when the VAT cut is introduced in July, why he is continuing to justify that. Lobbyists do a great job for the hospitality business. They did a number on the Tánaiste. Hauliers did a great job in terms of how they acted. They got the Tánaiste to respond. They have done the business for the people they represent. It is about time now the Tánaiste and his Fianna Fáil and Independent colleagues did the business for working people.

Sentiment score: 0.15