Before the Dáil adjourned I was dealing with the remedial measures being taken by the Government to deal with inflation, the promotion of job opportunities, reduction in the dole queues and so on. The brief statement read by the Taoiseach in no way serves as a measure which would save the nation from the disaster it now faces. I noticed a change from the situation with which we are familiar, that is, the financing of services. The Taoiseach said "the simple truth is that taxation is necessary to meet Government expenditure", as if we did not know it. This is the first time we have seen such a statement. Previously it was said that there were other ways of meeting Government expenditure. Experience has shown that Government expenditure cannot be financed without difficulty and it is about time the government found that out.
Every measure before the House should be aimed at protecting the economy and this measure is not. We are unsure of this package. One day we are told it is on, and the next day it is not. Something more positive is required. At the moment more than 100,000 are unemployed. There is nothing in this measure to ensure that there will be a contraction of the dole queues. There is nothing in it that will bring relief to the large number of school leavers looking for employment. They have no hope for the future. If we add the 50,000 leaving school to the 100,000 unemployed, the professional people unemployed and those who are being retrained we will see that the unemployment figure is very substantial.
Between June, 1974, and June, 1975, there was an increase of 46 per cent in unemployment. There are also 5,458 people on short-time. What have these people to look forward to? There is nothing in this measure which will bring relief. This situation must be tackled efficiently and effectively and in a way which will bring relief to the needy sections of the community. Twelve months ago the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social Welfare told us that there were 25,000 people living below the poverty line. What figure has that group reached? Is it now 35,000, 45,000 or 55,000? Where do the people on the dole and the school leavers go from here? Does this package give any hope for the future? We must again examine statements by Ministers on the problems as they existed before June last, when these remedial measures were introduced.
I compliment the Minister for Labour for being in the House now. During this important debate this morning we did not have one member of the Labour Party in the House. I hope my words before the adjournment were responsible for the Minister being here now. Perhaps a member of the Labour Party will now add his voice to that of the Taoiseach, who this morning sat in the deserted seats of the Government benches. I notice that the Minister for Labour is sitting alone now. Is this an indication of the lack of support by Government backbenchers for Government policy and the remedial measures being introduced?
I hope that before this debate concludes I will hear from many Government backbenchers, especially members of the Labour Party, because a very exacting burden has been placed on the shoulders of the trade union movement. This Government package depends on certain action being taken elsewhere. The Government are not stating positively that this is the way we should go. I am positive that responsible trade unionists will respond effectively to every crisis as they have done in the past, conscious of their responsibility to the nation and to those on the labour exchange. There is nothing in this measure to suggest that there will be any relief for the thousands who are helpless at the moment.
Some people argue the dole queue may reach the frightening figure of 200,000 in the near future. We hope this situation will not develop. We hope the measures taken, admittedly too late, will prevent that desperate development. Day after day the Minister for Local Government, Deputy Tully, when questioned about the building industry, insisted that there was nothing wrong. This is one of the most important industries we have, providing employment in the industry proper and in ancilliary industries, such as carpet making, fabric manufacture, cabinet making, furniture and a variety of others. We were led to believe that there was no need for stimulating the industry, that houses were being built by the thousand, houses of which there was no trace except in the Minister's mind. We knew the builders' providers could not get rid of their stockpiles. Yet the Minister insisted houses were being built by the thousand, apparently without bricks and mortar, without timber and all the other items essential to the building of a house. Nobody knew where the houses the Minister for Local Government was building were to be found. The construction industry told the Minister on many occasions he was misleading the House and the country. Last June the Government, exercising collective responsibility, considered it necessary to inject capital into the building industry. Apparently every Minister, except the Minister for Local Government, knew there was a housing crisis prior to June and realised it was necessary to stimulate the industry. Either the Minister for Local Government was out of touch with the Government or the Government were out of touch with the Minister for Local Government.
When measures were suggested by this side of the House to relieve the situation in the boot and shoe industry, the textile industry and other industries, we were told there were no problems. All we met with were the sneers of the Minister for Industry and Commerce, of the Minister for Local Government and of Deputy O'Brien. The economic problems were highlighted time and time again by Members on this side of the House and we got the same answer every time, a sneer. The Minister for Industry and Commerce has told the Parliamentary Labour Party to damp down the fires, to hold their political nerve because this situation will blow over; we have no more money but do not let the boys on the other side of the House know that.
The Government must come clean and indicate what the factual situation is. Only then will we know what the remedial measures should be. There have been so many changes of mind it is difficult to know what the true position is. We had an increase in value-added tax. Now that has been removed. We had an increase in CIE fares. Now they have been reduced. An increase in ESB charges was allowed and a few weeks later certain relief was given in another budget. These are but some of the items. I could give a long list of measures introduced one day and repealed the next. All this shows the utter confusion within the Government in relation to the problem as a whole.
We hope there will be an improvement in the coming months. It will not be engendered by Government action. The Government are depending on oil finds, gas finds and mineral finds. We are told that in four or five years when gas begins to blow and oil begins to flow everything will be all right. In the meantime there will be a great deal of human misery. There is not much hope if we have to wait for oil and gas. The remedial measures taken will not be sufficient to cure the situation. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social Welfare has told us on many occasions that many people are living below subsistence level.
The first prerequisite is to create confidence. Industrialists will not come in here to establish industries if they have no confidence in the Government. That is the situation at the moment. I asked this morning if the Minister for Finance is a member of the administrative council of the Labour Party. He is certainly not the man who holds the job in this House. We have had plenty of statements from Ministers, plenty of taxes imposed, plenty of promises, plenty of bluff and far too much unemployment. The incompetence of the Government has allowed the situation to deteriorate to the point at which it is now a national disaster. There is the upward spiral in prices. Some of the items from which value-added tax is allegedly removed are much dearer now. Blankets were mentioned here. They carry 19.5 per cent, almost one-fifth in tax.
We are told that VAT has been removed from essentials. VAT has not been removed from blankets which people need to cover children but VAT has been removed from mink coats. Of course the average housewife cannot buy a mink coat. Perhaps Ministers can and perhaps it is more important to have VAT removed from mink coats than it is from bed clothes. The Government would need to get their priorities right.
A very serious situation has developed. Irish workers are most reasonable people and they will respond to a call to ensure that this nation survives just as they have in the past but they will not respond to political blackmail or the waving of big sticks. Intimidation will not be a deciding factor but common sense will prevail as on every occasion in the past. If the Government are trying to beat people into submission they have made a mistake. They have created a feeling of distrust. They did not rely on the goodwill and the common sense of the workers and the workers are far more anxious to see the nation survive than apparently the Government are. I hope the budget will in some way stimulate confidence but I am sure it will not bring about the desired results. I had hoped that the Government would introduce something more positive, even if more difficult to consume. I am sure every person would be willing to respond to a nation in difficulty.
What is required is confidence. A great burden rests on the shoulders of the people in authority and the Taoiseach in particular. I believe he is being pushed and shoved around by other sections of the Government. The policies that have been presented and the way in which they have been presented is a clear indication of the pushing and shoving that has gone on. I hope that at some stage a more positive approach will be made. The Government change their minds by the hour. Every meeting of the Government brings a new decision and every meeting of the political parties in the Government brings another decision. We have seen this in the case of the CIE fares, the ESB charges and a variety of other matters. I hope this budget will make some small contribution. I am sure the people will respond willingly in order to ensure the survival of the nation. The Government are responsible for allowing the situation to deteriorate over a considerable period before they took any measures and the measures they have taken are too late and too little.