Sinn Féin has called on
the incoming Government to act quickly to protect
workers and homeowners in Inishowen from rising
inflation and mortgage interest rate rises.
Cllr. Padraig MacLochlainn, who narrowly missed out
on securing a Dáil seat in Donegal North East, said
the new administration must acknowledge that the
exchequer was now "vulnerable to a sharp contraction
in revenue" caused by the country's dependence on
construction and consumerism. This, he said, would
eventually have a negative effect on people's
standard of living and could also result in
redundancies in the construction industry.
"We are now facing into an unstable economic
situation of the outgoing Government's own making.
Instead of bedding down the economic prosperity of
recent years it allowed it to continue to develop in
an unsustainable manner for selfish short term
political gains."
He said Sinn Féin was the only party to highlight
such vulnerabilities in the Irish economy.
"We presented the electorate with an honest picture
of the economy and did not engage in auction
politics based on a false economic premise."
He said the party pointed out the economy's
overdependence on construction, property and
consumerism; inflated property prices and the
dangers of rising interest rates and high personal
debt.
"When others promised tax cuts in the run up to the
General Election, we pointed out that the more you
reduce income tax, the more dependent the Government
becomes on these other more insecure sources of tax
revenue.
"We warned that the Government then becomes
increasingly more vulnerable to a sudden and sharp
contraction in revenue which would have serious
implications for its ability to deliver public
services."
To offset a worsening scenario, Sinn Féin is
demanding action to ensure alternative employment
opportunities for those in the construction sector;
increases in mortgage interest relief; an immediate
review of the taxation system to redress the current
overdependence of the exchequer on revenue related
to property and consumption.
The party is also calling for the reduction or
abolition of "regressive stealth charges and taxes"
that hit those on lower incomes hardest.
This was necessary to protect the standard of living
of workers and address rising consumer price
inflation, said Cllr. MacLochlainn. |
