Sinn Féin Finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty has today launched his party’s alternative budget. Deputy Doherty said Sinn Féin’s budget would lower the tax burden on ordinary families, protect public services and invest in jobs. He said ordinary people would be better off under Sinn Féin.

Deputy Doherty said; “The Sinn Fein budget will reduce the tax burden on ordinary families. It will protect public services and invest in jobs.

“We have identified a series of taxation and savings measures, fully costed by government departments, to reduce the deficit and pay for new spending measures.

“These include giving 1.8 million homeowners a tax rebate by abolishing the property tax, restoring the respite grant for 86,000 carers, taking 296,000 low income workers out of the USC, providing free school meals to five hundred more schools and halving the cost of school books, giving every child under five free GP care, extending the fuel allowance by three weeks, protecting the vulnerable – no more cuts to disability payments, no more cuts to Child Benefit, no more cuts to social welfare and introducing a stimulus to create thousands of jobs.

“These proposals are all fully costed by the government’s budgetary costing unit.

“The document also sets out proactive measures to assist job creation, SMEs, the agriculture sector, and people in mortgage distress. It deals with corporation tax and natural resources and also stresses our commitment to equality budgeting.

“Our adjustment is just under €2.5billion. We believe that families need to be given a break. Austerity is not working. The government needs to take its foot off the necks of the people. With this document we show how people are better off under Sinn Féin.”