Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

Last year we were told there would be a five-year plan for child care. The five-year plan only lasted for one year. Having searched high and low all I can find for child care is €2.30 per week on child benefit. How is that to cope with the growing cost of child care? It now costs a family €18,000 in pre-tax income to look after just one child. How is a family with two or three children to cope? The sum total of the five-year plan was one year and a payment of €1,000. It is a very disappointing return for families struggling to get by. They have already had to cope with huge increases in mortgage repayments and energy prices, and today the Minister announced another turn of the screw, a 25% increase in hospital charges which will see the VHI charge, which has already increased by 25% in 15 months, increase again. Ordinary families struggling to get by will need to bear all these burdens. I do not know where the spinners were when those changes were being delivered for those who form the backbone of the country.

The Minister has proposed to increase tax relief for mortgages from €4,000 for a single person to €8,000, if he or she is a first-time buyer and just for the first seven years. While I welcome the change, it needs to be put into context. The extra €15 per week will be wiped out tomorrow. Tomorrow interest rates will increase and it will cost the same person on an average mortgage €15 per week. It will not even last one day. This increase must be set against the Government's record. In the past five years what has the Government done for first-time buyers? It abolished the €3,800 grant. It put an additional 1% VAT on the new house price, costing €3,000. It increased the development charge that people buying new houses must pay by an average of €5,000. In the past few years the Government has placed an additional €12,000 burden on first-time house buyers. This €15 per week given back now is a very small compensation.

What of stamp duty? The stamp duty regime was to be reformed — the Tánaiste told us the Government did not need this money. It was too wealthy and was flathúlach. It could get rid of this money. Sadly something went wrong with the Tánaiste's great plan and the cash cow is still there. The reality is the Government's housing policy has collapsed, a grim reality facing most people struggling to buy a house. The Central Bank recently informed us that half of all families cannot afford to buy a house. This does not come from the Opposition, but from the Central Bank. This has happened because of the collapse of the Government's strategy. We were to have social housing. At the end of five years the Government has delivered exactly 4% of the social houses it promised. We were to have affordable housing. It has delivered less than 40% of the affordable houses it promised. There is a shortfall of 9,000 houses per year which should be occupied by families. Each year for the past five years the Government has failed to deliver for people on low income needing housing. No one on the Government side is taking responsibility and hanging his or her head in shame. It has not delivered on that fundamental promise.

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