John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to say a few words on the budget. I listened with interest to the Minister of State, Deputy Perry, speak about the Action Plan for Jobs and SMEs. I welcome his reference to action but I wonder how it will filter down to businesses in smaller towns such as Enniscorthy, New Ross, Gorey and Wexford. Currently, the retail sector in particular is experiencing major difficulties. Most town centres are dying and most businesses located there find it difficult to make ends meet. Many of those who run small businesses, particularly in my area, have never darkened my door during my long time in politics, but they are now coming to my office expressing serious concern about their inability to make a profit, do business and get paid for it. They are calling for major action, particularly from the Government.

Some of the problems lie in previous planning decisions allowing large supermarkets to go out of town. Out-of-town shopping was the be-all and end-all of town planning in recent years. Parking charges apply in towns and Tesco, Lidl and Aldi are located just out of town and can provide free parking. As a result, very few people now come into town centres to shop. The issue must be addressed in the context of a comprehensive examination of how town centres will be expanded and developed and win back shoppers in order for businesses to survive.

The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Rabbitte, referred to the Better Energy and Warmer Homes schemes, which we all welcomed at the time. I raised an issue of concern with the Minister on a number of occasions, namely, while the Warmer Homes project is a great idea, grants for window replacement are lacking. According to the experts, much of the heating in a building escapes through poor-quality windows. In many houses around the country the windows are obsolete and are not in keeping with modern standards. I urge the Minister to introduce a window replacement scheme. Companies operate a scheme whereby one can keep the frame and replace the pane, which is proving to be successful. However, the costs are prohibitive and I urge the Minister to seriously consider the introduction of a grant to replace windows in addition to the Warmer Homes project, which has been successful.

Returning to the budget, I compliment Brian Dowling from RTE on his ability, on Sunday night, to tell us 99% of what the budget would contain yesterday. There was not much point in our coming into the Chamber to sit patiently and hear what Brian Dowling told us on Sunday night. The message on the booklet warned that it should not be removed from the Chamber before the Minister had finished his speech, yet everyone knew from what Mr. Dowling said on Sunday night what was in the budget. We were probably better prepared than usual to criticise the Government because we knew the good and bad things contained in the budget. I welcome some of the job creation initiatives that will help to create jobs and act as a stimulus.

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, made great play yesterday of the provision of moneys to build 500 houses, yet when 500 is divided among 41 constituencies that comes to 12 houses per constituency, which will not solve the major housing problem and address the local authority waiting lists. I welcome the initiative, but it is a small-scale measure and will not do much for the building industry.

The Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, appears to be very well informed about the banks, of which he has been critical. I read recently that 20,000 couples per year get married and at least 10,000 of them want to buy or build their own homes. The difficulty is acquiring funding from the banks. It is time to encourage the banks to return to an 80:20 approach to mortgage loans, as used to be used in the past. If we were building 10,000 houses per year it would create many jobs and would get unemployed people in the sector off the live register. As the Acting Chairman, Deputy Twomey, is aware, we are very much dependent on the building industry in Wexford. We should seriously examine how we can get the banks to lend money. People have come to me saying the bank will offer them 50% or 60% of the loan but they must come up with the rest, which is causing major problems as they are not able to do so. Many couples with good jobs would be capable of meeting loan repayments and if they were given mortgages it would help to develop the building industry and create jobs instantly.

I support what Deputy McGuinness said about county enterprise boards being subsumed into local authorities. That is not a great idea. I fear that when enterprise funding is allocated to local authorities, the county manager will discover a scarcity of funding for road works or house repairs towards the end of the year and siphon it off for that purpose. We have a very successful county enterprise board in Wexford, namely, Wexford Local Development, which has created a significant number of jobs by developing one or two jobs in many small enterprises. The enterprise board has much expertise at present that has been built up in the past ten to 12 years. It is a mistake to bring the enterprise function under the remit of local authorities. I accept the Minister’s intention is to have a one-stop-shop for development in a county but I am not sure the local authority is the best place for it.

To return to the budget, it has not been a fair one. The reduction in jobseeker’s allowance from €144 to €100 per week for young people sends the wrong message to them. I accept there may be merit in the Minister’s approach in that he has said he will provide courses, education and training. However, Enniscorthy Vocational College, which provides a significant number of post-leaving-certificate courses, made a submission to the Department for extra teachers for the 2013 to 2014 school year to provide for 50 students who wanted to do courses, but the principal was refused. The 50 students went on the dole and drew unemployment assistance when they would have preferred to do a course. This is an area that must be developed through FÁS, which is more or less at a standstill at present because it has come under the remit of the Department of Social Protection. FÁS says it does not have funding at present to run courses or develop new courses.

Only this week I received a letter from FÁS in Waterford on the redundant apprentice placement scheme. People were made redundant and had a year and nine months to finish their apprenticeships. The course was very successful. The letter, received on 10 October, said the programme would not be funded in 2014. That is a major mistake because many young people are within a year and nine months of finishing their apprenticeships and of being certified. If they finish their apprenticeships, they will have a skill, even if they must emigrate. The certificate will enable them to get jobs elsewhere. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, to find out why the Government took the decision to abandon the very worthwhile scheme. If the measure is anything to go by, the young people whose unemployment benefits will be cut will not be helped.

The abolition of the bereavement grant is nothing short of a disgrace. The withdrawal of the telephone allowance is certainly causing major problems. I received a number of telephone calls to my office on this. People depend on the landline for the operation of their panic buttons. Older people are probably now the only people who have landlines. Some elderly people are not able to use mobile telephones and some have panic buttons. I ask the Minister to re-examine this issue seriously as it is causing major concern.

The Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, said he was going to abolish prescription charges but he has increased them by 300%.

The medical card waiting lists are getting longer. A considerable number of people are having their medical cards withdrawn. A doctor colleague of Deputy Twomey told me today that if the Government reduces the allocation for medical cards by what is proposed in the budget, 30,000 people over 70 will be affected and at least 60,000 others. This is of major concern to people with medical cards.

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