Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)

Politics should be about progress; that is the whole point. Why are we here only to make things better than they are? For voters, politics is about hope. At least these are what politics should be about. Politics is about optimism and it is an incremental activity. One does not achieve progress overnight but builds on the progress that has been made by our predecessors in the Dáil, Seanad, local authorities and local communities. Now when politics is discussed, the opposite of what I have described is regarded as a virtue.

People receive kudos in respect of the cuts they propose to introduce and the amount of dismantling they promise to do. When Deputy Varadkar announced that he would make €7 billion rather than €4 billion in cuts, he was the hero of the day as far as some members of the press were concerned. That is not the type of political discourse with which I wished to be involved when I became a member of the Labour Party. Politics has become so denigrated and people are so cynical about it because we have forgotten the fact that it is about progress. The latter is the aspect which is absent from the debate.

We are in a bad situation and it is difficult to resist the temptation to be extremely pessimistic about the future. However, progress can be achieved. This has been done in Ireland and other countries in the past. I am of the view that the greatest example in this regard is what the British Labour Party did in 1945. When Britain was in ruins at the end of the Second World War, that party won a landslide victory and went on to establish the National Health Service, NHS, introduce the idea of people making social contributions in order to pay for pensions and set up the comprehensive education system. These developments still stand as a testament to that particular Government and the fact is that the initiatives which brought them about were launched in extremely difficult circumstances.

The debate on ideas which took place in Britain both during and after the Second World War was quite different from that which is occurring in Ireland today. Such a debate did take place in this country in the past. Universal children's allowance was first introduced here in 1943. Ireland was not wealthy at that time and there was rationing of food, etc., but still the progressive move to which I refer was made. The welfare state was established - out of the ruins of two world wars - in very difficult times in Sweden and other Nordic countries. Those examples have stood the test of time.

If, during the Celtic tiger years, we had focused more on politics as a way to make social progress as opposed to any old type of progress, we would have built homes rather than constructed houses which we just do not need. My party and I have a social democratic view of what constitutes progress. However, whether one favours the type of politics espoused by the former Progressive Democrats or by the Labour Party, there is no doubt that all politics should be about progress.

Politics should also be about ideas. I do not refer here to a "Your country, your call" type of approach. A very good article was published in The Sunday Tribune during the summer. Even though it related to politics, the article in question was written by that newspaper's television critic and focused on the concept of people coming up with an idea that will solve all of our problems. It states:

For some time, we've been encouraged to think like consumers, not citizens (we've been calling the state Ireland Inc for over a decade now). It stands to reason that we might think we could remove our recessionary stains with some form of New Daz idea ...

There is a need to reinstate the concept that politics is about ideas. One such idea relates to the type of society we might build out of politics. Lately, however, the debate has focused on numbers rather than ideas. Everything now appears to be about sums, subtraction, number crunching and reductionism. The debate appears to be an ideology-free zone but that is not the case. In reality, it is the same old ideology we have had for the past 13 years and which has led us into ruin.

There is a need for a new approach based on old ideas. We must reintroduce the concept of social solidarity to our society. It does not come down to whether some judge or other is being paid child benefit, it is about whether it is good for society to invest in its children. We must focus on the idea that equality is a good thing and that we should do our best, through politics, to bring about equality in society. There is major evidence which shows that citizens - even the wealthy - in societies with more income equality do better over a range of indicators. Those to whom I refer live longer, have better lifestyles and quality of life and enjoy a better environment. In addition, fewer of these people go to prison and there are fewer teenage pregnancies. The societies in question also have better education systems, etc.

Everyone benefits from a public health service. People also benefit from investment in a good education system which takes individuals through from preschool to third level. It does not matter whether we or our children enjoy the upside of such a system. Everyone benefits if a society encourages people to think, develop and create. Some great cross-party ideas have been introduced to Irish society in the past. This could be the case again in the future. However, the current debate features very little ideology. What, for example, is the ideology which underpins what we are doing at present?

The budget should not focus on numbers. Rather, it should focus on the ideology which underpins it and the progress we are intent on achieving. As Deputy Gilmore stated, when the Canadians contemplated this matter, the question they asked related to the type of services they wished to provide. What services do we believe should be part of the public realm and what things should be a matter for the private sector or the markets? Asking this question is the starting point from which the debate on the budget should be launched. It is certainly the point from which the newspapers should start. However, they are not doing so. They are more interested in what cuts people will introduce and what they will dismantle or abolish.

We need to begin to consider the type of society we can build out of that which we possess. Our country has been brought to ruin but politics will extricate us from the mess. In that context, we must contemplate the type of society we wish to construct and the type of health system we want to develop. We must ask ourselves whether we are of the view that we should have a public health system or whether there should there be universal health care. We have been well served by our investment in education. Before it draws up the budget, the Government should consider the amount it is going to invest in education. It should also give consideration to the type of skills it wishes people to learn and the type of training it wants to provide. Instead, the debate is focusing on the amount we intend to cut from the education budget.

The Government appears to believe that there is nothing wrong with people being on the dole. Much of the discourse in the media reflects the same view. It is all about satisfying the markets and then hoping the markets will solve all our problems. Forget about the human side of what it means to be unemployed. I have been unemployed in the past and it is not a good place to be. When I was unemployed, I would much rather have been working for nothing. We must focus our imagination on how we can ensure that there are opportunities for those on social welfare to move into the workforce. This could be done through community employment schemes, graduate placement, the creation of new jobs or whatever. Such considerations must be central to whatever budget is passed by this House.

Unfortunately, it does not appear that the approach I am advocating reflects the thinking of the Government. I read a number of newspaper reports this morning which highlighted the Taoiseach's comments to the effect that the focus is going to be on cuts rather than on changes in taxation. During the Celtic tiger period, it was all about the level to which taxes could be reduced. The same old philosophy is still being adhered to and certain people state that the tax system should not be reformed. Who is the Government afraid of offending by reforming the tax system in order that it brings about more income equality and a fairer society? What is its problem? The more we focus on cuts, the more people will become unemployed and the more those who vote for us to represent them in this House will suffer.

We need to bring back the passion for politics in this House. We must remember that politics is not about numbers or about being the most macho in respect of how much one can cut or the amount of things of which one can get rid. Politics should revolve around making social progress and should focus on the type of society we wish to build. It should also give people hope.

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