Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)

What the Minister has told us is that in the eight years since the Government is in office there is something like €34 billion of a surplus on day-to-day spending. From what he said it is clear the vast majority of that is being spent on capital projects. Should we not prioritise human need over physical infrastructure? What is, in fact, happening with those large surpluses is that they are going to fund roads, bridges and broadband, and not to fund issues such as health, education and housing. Is it not the case that the most important infrastructure is a healthy and well educated population rather than roads and bridges? Should we not ensure that human needs services, such as health, education and housing services, which have been subject to under funding historically, are funded properly through the surplus? Is it not normal practice in any other European country to fund capital projects through borrowing? The surplus gained in the day-to-day running of the economy should be spent on funding the various human services to which I referred. Should we not stop regarding the funding of health, education and housing services, as distinct from roads, bridges and other forms of infrastructure, as a cost to the Exchequer? Rather, we should consider it as an investment in people.

The considerable budget surplus, amounting to €34 billion since 1998, would go a long way towards bringing us up to international levels. Where the funding of education is concerned, Ireland is 19th out of 26 OECD countries. The figure for second level education in particular is even worse, we are 21st out of 26. There is historic under funding in the health and social services. Should we not use the surplus to fund these services and engage in prudent borrowing to fund capital projects which we would be allowed to do under EU guidelines and legislation?

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