Package to buy off sectoral interests sees little comfort for working people – Nash
Package to buy off sectoral interests sees little comfort for working people - Nash - The Labour Party
Labour’s Finance spokesperson Ged Nash said that the updated package of measures which is “designed to placate narrow sectoral interests” has seen the government “abandon PAYE workers in the process”.
He said:
“The chaos of the last few days has seen this government’s authority drain away. The basic competence of individual Ministers and this administration is now very much in question.
“This is reason enough for Labour to support a planned motion of no confidence in this government.
“The package of measures announced by government tonight is designed to placate sectoral interests. In the process, government has effectively abandoned the PAYE workers who will ultimately end up footing the bill for these measures.
“There is little or nothing in this package for the low and middle-income workers who have no option other than to pay their tax from pay packets that are under increasing pressure from rising energy bills, skyrocketing grocery prices and escalating housing costs.
“Labour accepts that some time-limited supports are needed to keep exposed sectors running, but this government has some real explaining to do to the 320,000 households in arrears on energy bills, and who were looking to today’s package with the hope that some respite would be forthcoming.
“Where is the targeted energy supports for working families? Where is the renewed mandate to work from home to help manage commuting costs?
“The message from the past week seems to be that FF and FG will only listen to your concerns if you close the country down. This is dangerous territory for any government to be in and will come at a financial and political cost to this administration.”