Anthony Lawlor (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have an opportunity to speak on this matter. The Minister must be used to the fact that he never sees any Opposition Deputies here when there is good news to be announced. The good news began yesterday for St. Patrick's weekend with the "Inspire Ireland" video. It has currently gone viral on YouTube. We must build on the success we have had as a result of the last three budgets. There has been no increase in income tax, which the Government promised when it came into office. In addition, we did not touch any core social welfare payments.

Ireland was the first country to successfully exit from the bailout. In addition, we did a deal on the promissory note exchanging it for long-term government bonds, and economic growth has increased. Recent figures have shown that the domestic economy grew last year, and the NTMA has sold €1 billion in bonds below 3%. All of this attracts a positive sentiment towards Ireland from the rest of the world. We have reformed the banking system and jobs have been generated. When this Government took office, almost 15% of the workforce was unemployed, while the figure is currently just below 12%. We need to work harder on that, nonetheless. Having stabilised the economy, we now need to grow it.

I wish to raise certain points that the Minister might take into consideration for the year ahead. We have been targeting economic sectors, including construction. Part 5 of the Planning Act needs to be changed, however, because local authorities have ceased to build houses. I welcome this week's announcement allowing local authorities to build houses again, particularly in Kilcock in my own constituency. However, the Minister should encourage local authorities to have more shovel-ready projects on stream. The fault in my own constituency of Kildare north, is that Kilcock seems to be the only shovel-ready project. There are no other such projects ready to go.

I urge the Minister to contact the County and City Managers' Association to ensure managers are more proactive in getting projects ready. Then, when the funds are made available, they can actively pursue the building of more houses.

I would like to see tax breaks for middle income families who have taken the brunt of what has gone on over the last number of years. I would also like to see a broadening of the tax bands. It is too easy for people to go on the higher rate of tax when the threshold is just over €32,000. People speak to me about their fear of getting a pay rise as they automatically go on to a tax rate equivalent to approximately 52% above €32,000. I hope the Minister passes on to the Minister for Finance the idea that he might expand the tax bands for those on middle incomes who have taken the brunt of the pain over the last number of years. I would also like to see tax relief on child care costs, which have been growing exponentially. It is almost like a second mortgage for those who have a number of children. I ask the Minister to pass on to the Minister for Finance my request for tax relief for child care costs.

Many of us were elected for the first time three years ago with no idea of the workings of the House. We can look at it now. While I welcome some of the reforms which have been made, we must go further. I agree with the procedure for taking Topical Issues, which is an excellent addition. I welcomed the Constitutional Convention. It is a great idea to involve civil society in the process of making progressive changes to the Constitution. I liked the way in which civil society got actively involved in the debate on the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act. We should do that for more legislation. However, there are certain things I find difficult to stomach. People stand up on the Order of Business and ask questions to which they know they answer. I do not know to whom they are grandstanding, but it seems to be a waste of valuable time. It is easy to make a telephone call to the relevant Department to inquire as to when legislation will be brought forward. The Order of Business should be used for Ministers to come to the Chamber and take questions on topics of the day of relevance to their Departments. The questions should be posed in an unstructured manner. While that would put Ministers under a certain degree of pressure, they would be well able to handle it.

I welcome attempts to bring more women into the Dáil. I do not agree with quotas, which are demeaning to women. However, I would like to see the Dáil become a much more work-friendly and home-friendly environment. There is no crèche here or other facilities to encourage women to come to work here. I am not in favour of quotas and would prefer to see women who are here on merit rather than on another basis. There used to be quotas for sheep years ago and we used to keep the numbers up in order to obtain payments. That is what seems to be happening here with regard to women.

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