Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister for Finance on his handling of the public finances and, in particular, the flexibility he and his Department have shown in responding to what has been a very difficult time for spending on new, rapidly changing priorities.

While I understand and appreciate that select committees deal with the allocation of finances and resources, our total gross expenditure is €69.9 billion, with 2023 Estimates from the budget to be €74.25 billion. This House needs to scrutinise matters of financial interest. I know there is time for questions in the Dáil but we need to have scrutiny. This debate is a formality in some ways, given that the Opposition will not be challenging it. Therefore, it is a constitutional imperative. Without it, we will not be able to spend money.

We all get the ins and outs of this Bill, which ensures unspent capital will be deferred. I will raise several areas in respect of which further investment is required in my constituency, which includes County Louth and east Meath. I would like to put in my stake in respect of any moneys left over.

After the pandemic, the war in Ukraine affected numerous crises, and these significantly affected public finances in 2022. This year, additional funding was provided to support the winter cost-of-living measures and the delivery of key public services to provide supports for workers, businesses and communities impacted by the cost-of-living crisis. This funding has been allocated for a wide range of measures, primarily income and employment support schemes under the Department of Social Protection and supports for affected businesses and sectors through grants. If this legislation is not agreed upon today, we will be delaying the promises made on budget day.

Our system of social welfare seeks to provide an effective social safety net for the more vulnerable. In addition to a core budget package, the amount allocated in the budget for 2023 was €6.9 billion, comprising €5.8 billion in expenditure and €1.1 billion in tax. This level of investment reflects our commitment to social support, which has been particularly important in the unprecedented times of 2021 and 2022.

On the topic of budget allocations, it is important in the appropriation of moneys that we consider the hospitality sector to safeguard jobs and protect the industry. Irish businesses are facing energy price increases on top of supply chain problems in the middle of another significant jump in the official inflation rate. There are incredible challenges right across the business and SME sectors. The Ukraine credit guarantee scheme will provide €1.2 billion in low-cost lending to business and will work alongside other measures announced in the budget, such as the temporary business energy support scheme, in supporting businesses through the energy crisis. I have spoken to many businesspeople in Dundalk, Louth and east Meath over recent months and have been flabbergasted by the cost increases they are facing.

The maintenance of the allocation in capital funding for tourism development of €130 million will help Fáilte Ireland to continue to support the delivery of enhanced tourism amenities in line with the objectives of the new national development plan for the period 2021 to 2030. That said, there are significant challenges facing the tourism sector, and the viability of some tourism businesses is a genuine concern. New figures from the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation show that, so far this year, visitor numbers are down 20%. Meanwhile, the Government’s failure to use budget 2023 to extend the 9% VAT rate - it is increasing it by 50% from 1 March next year - was described as disappointing, along with the fact that the Government has not fully recognised the importance of the tourism industry to every town and county. While budget 2023 should rightly be a cost-of-living budget, it should also have formed part of a wider roadmap towards ensuring Ireland is an attractive place to do business rather than crucifying the tourism and hospitality sectors with a VAT increase come March 2023.

The second point I wish to raise on core expenditure relates to investment versus return in our other core public services, specifically health and housing. On housing, I am sure there are many wish lists at the end of year for all parties concerned. Housing is consistently highlighted as a top priority and is significantly important considering the increasing number in homelessness and the increased requirement for social housing. These are paramount for the years to come. The amounts allocated to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage were €5.4 billion in 2021 and €6 billion in 2022, and the allocation is estimated to be €4.5 billion in 2023. This level of resourcing reflects our commitment to making housing a key priority of the Government. The Appropriation Bill will allow for the definitive capital carryover from 2022 to 2023 that I would like to see invested in my constituency, which includes Louth and east Meath.

Another wish on the list would be for reflection and accountability in the health system. In the budget, the Government announced an investment of €23.4 billion in Ireland’s health and social care services. However, it has come to light that, on 25 October 2022, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation recorded the highest number of patients on trolleys in the year to that date. There were 669 people, including 28 children, without a bed. Our rate of acute bed capacity is 2.8 per 1,000 of the population, whereas the OECD average is 4.3. If nothing is done about this, along with the 40,000-plus waiting time breaches, it will result in the complete opposite of what was promised in our national service plan for 2022.

With regard to our hospital services, on top of record emergency department waiting times and overcrowding, the decision to close Navan accident and emergency department will have a significant knock-on effect on Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda. The hospital is currently dealing with a deficit of 16 doctors. Just last weekend, 11 ambulances were parked outside the emergency department of the hospital and could not leave because there were no beds or trolleys for their patients inside. This is not happening in Louth alone. I have a constituent, John Evans, who waited for urgent surgery in Beaumont and was sent home from the accident and emergency department twice. He is not the only constituent waiting on crucial surgery in Beaumont. What is going on? When will the waiting lists be dealt with? When will the trolley crisis be dealt with? As I have continually said, there are many rules and regulations but nothing is enforced, or there is no accountability.

I also wish to raise the issue of specialist care. There are significant service delays in this area in County Louth, especially regarding therapeutic intervention. It would be appreciated if any carryover from 2022 were invested in specialist care services. I am aware of 15 families with adolescent children with autism or a moderate learning disability who urgently require a psychiatric review but who have been told by the HSE this service is unavailable as there are no psychiatrists on the Louth HSE team. If more than half the population are eligible for GP cards, where are the GPs and specialists going to come from? I welcome the changes made by the Minister in the provisions for the sector but we need genuine innovation beyond what is now being contemplated. Providing quality healthcare is a key priority for the Government. Recent years have seen significant increases in resources for the day-to-day running of our health service. This will remain a priority for the Government. Given the scale of the overall allocation, effective management of health expenditure is crucial. Increased capital investment will be critical as we face new challenges in the years ahead, especially on the back of the pandemic and two enormous challenges, namely, the electricity crisis and cost-of-living crisis.

Taking into account the total gross voted capital expenditure allocation for 2023 of €11.7 billion as set out in the budget, the addition of a capital carryover of €800 million brings the total available voted capital expenditure for next year to €12.5 billion. This increased investment will play an important role in delivering much-needed public infrastructure across Ireland, especially in sectors such as social housing, higher education, primary healthcare, public transport, water infrastructure and climate change adaptation and mitigation.

This essential technical legislation authorises in law all of the expenditure that was agreed by way of Estimates during this year. The House will be aware that the passage of the Bill is required to ensure it is possible to make payments in 2023 in respect of services that were funded from voted expenditure this year, including the jobseeker's allowance, disability allowance, the non-contributory State pension, nurses' pay, Garda pay, teachers' pay, all other pay and pensions funded from voted money, and payments to suppliers of goods and services, including small and medium enterprises. Of fundamental importance to those who depend on our essential public services, the passage of this Bill will allow the payments required to deliver those services to continue into 2023.

In all four areas we need to do much better because we are putting at risk resources that will be critical to the country's well-being. We must significantly reprioritise these areas as national priorities. It is really important we do this in a way that is well thought through.

As a general point, both last year and this year the State has done what it does best, namely, support our people, invest in public services and infrastructure and ensure we can continue to look after people to the best of our ability. Contrary to some of its critics, it is capable of being agile, responsive and innovative when required and when the political will is there.

The Bill is important in that it will underpin spending in 2023 and enable us to continue with that spending in the early part of next year until the Estimates come back from the committees and are passed.

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