Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have only a couple of points. The Minister said there was no real roadmap in relation to the risk the country faces.

He also stated he wanted to have a low-risk budget. It is extraordinary that all the representatives of the various interest groups that appeared before the committee, including trade unions and employers, focused on the current very low levels of capital expenditure which are a consequence of the crash of 2008. Inflation in construction costs is running at approximately 5% and in some cases it is even higher. There is also a visible slowing down by either the Department of Finance or Department of Public Expenditure and Reform or both in forwarding and commencing construction of key projects such as schools and facilities for older people who may need care. To give an example, while I am aware that the development of a new purpose-built Garda technical headquarters is the subject of an ongoing legal dispute, the decision to build the facility was taken a long time ago and no moves have been made to commence building work.

If things turn out as projected, and leaving out of account those things the Minister will decide as we approach the budget, public expenditure in the period until 2021 will be potentially lower than in most other European countries. While this is a matter of statistics, the delay in the capital programme is heartbreaking for many people and deeply disappointing. In that context, will the Minister confirm that he has abandoned the idea, at least in this year's budget but hopefully permanently, of establishing a rainy day fund? Why would we start saving billions of euro every year when interest rates are so low that we would not make much from any savings we made and we have, at the same time, a crying need for capital investment?

Public infrastructure in transport and housing is vital if our large cities are to continue to attract multinational companies, which understandably complain about infrastructure in terms of the quality of life of the employees they are trying to attract. Does the Minister intend to review the public expenditure capital programme before the budget to ensure spending is pitched at a reasonable level and moves towards average European levels as the economy hopefully continues to grow in strength? Does he also accept that the idea of a rainy day fund is entirely inappropriate in policy terms?

To add to the point made by the previous speaker, the real difficulty with the income tax system is that single people enter the higher rate of tax when their earnings reach approximately €38,000. Even if it were to take him five years, would the Minister be inclined to move the level at which people, particularly younger people who find the task of buying a house very difficult, begin to move into the higher tax bracket? I assume he wants younger people to continue to have a capacity to own a home?

To return to the earlier questions asked, I assume the Minister's focus in the area of housing will not be entirely on real estate investment trusts, REITs. While this type of structure has many advantages in certain circumstances, it does not replace home ownership.