Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)

I thank my colleague for sharing her time with me. Yesterday, the Minister for Finance's announcement on the budget received much fanfare in the Chamber. While matters are good for the majority of people, they could be much better for everyone if we managed our economy better and ensured that money collected via hard-earned taxes was properly spent rather than wasted, which is occurring left, right and centre in every Department and State agency.

Like all Deputies who are going hither and thither around the country, I have travelled a considerable amount in recent weeks, but it is often frustrating to see local authorities resurfacing roads while it is raining. They would be better off not spending the money rather than wasting it in that way. However, if they do not spend it now, they will be denied money next year, which is typical of the mismanagement of taxes.

It is disappointing that the budget is not family-friendly. There was a significant opportunity to provide supports to young families who are under considerable financial pressure in terms of mortgages and child cares costs, but an increase of €2.30 will not address those costs. The challenge is not one of spending money, which the Government is well able to do, but of how to spend wisely, a concept the Government cannot understand. It could have abolished stamp duty, which the Tánaiste advocated in respect of first-time buyers, but it did not. This is another empty promise. It is disappointing that stay-at-home parents were again ignored by the Minister for Finance in the budget.

Regarding the agricultural sector and yesterday's announcements on income tax, a farmer or another self-employed person on an income of €30,000 per annum and with two children will benefit to the tune of €18 per week. However, when one takes the rate of inflation of 3.9% into account, which equates to a cost of €22.50, that person will lose €4.50 per week.

The Minister increased the PAYE tax credit by €440 to €3,520, increasing the gap between the self-employed and PAYE workers. This is an additional tax of €68 per week on the take home pay of the self-employed. This is blatant discrimination. Many self-employed people are under huge financial pressure because of the 45 stealth taxes introduced or increased by the Government in the past five years. It is wrong that they are not given the recognition they deserve.

Home carers and farm families were ignored in the budget. Not one additional cent has been given to them. The tax credit of €770 has not been increased, nor was it increased last year. The budget gives no recognition to the mother who stays at home to take care of her children or to those who care for the elderly in their own homes. The tax system ignores these people. We do not recognise women who work in the home or on farms, mainly in rural Ireland. Many of these women work in partnership with their husbands, in some cases owning land, but because of the tax and PRSI system they are paid by their husbands and no recognition is given to them in the social welfare system. This is wrong and needs to be examined. It is disappointing the budget grants no recognition to these people, mostly women.

I welcome the announcement regarding energy crops and bio-fuels, which Fine Gael called for in our policy document published earlier this year. I welcome the increase of €80 per hectare under the energy crop scheme. However, there is no point encouraging farmers to grow renewable energy or bio-fuel crops when there is no market for them. This illustrates the lack of joined up thinking in the Government. No incentive is given for the production of blended bio-fuels. There are no plans to legislate to ensure blended bio-fuels replace petrol and diesel, no proposals for the extension of the removal of excise duty on bio-fuels, no plans to open a public competition for capital start-up grants for bio-fuel processing plants, no plans to require public transport and other public service vehicles to convert where feasible to bio-fuels and no proposal to make a major capital allocation to bio-fuels instead of wasting money buying carbon credits. There is an appalling lack of joined up thinking. This is why the Minister said yesterday that by 2009 there will be an uptake of only €6 million on grants in this area. There will not be an uptake if there is no market.

The Government has focused on bio-fuels because our sugar industry was wiped out last year. This was not mentioned in the Minster's speech yesterday. Farmers who will receive their compensation payments next June will be liable for the full rate of tax on those payments. Greencore workers are arguing that they are not being paid the correct rate of redundancy but they will not be treated as badly as farmers, who are also to be given a redundancy package. The Minister for Agriculture and Food promised that farmers would be treated in a sympathetic manner but no recognition has been given to them in the budget. The Government closed the sugar industry, made a half-hearted proposal to put some other sector in its place and made sure farmers will receive a reduced redundancy package because the Minister for Agriculture and Food decided to give the lion's share of the compensation to Greencore. Furthermore, the vast majority of the reduced compensation package will come back to the State in tax because no provision has been made to reduce the rate of tax to be paid on it.

In recent years we have heard much about the need for farm consolidation. The Government continually calls for greater efficiency in farming and business. Farm consolidation would lead to much greater efficiency. Approximately one third of Irish farms are in four or more parcels of land. Farming organisations have made submission after submission for a scheme to facilitate the purchase, sale or transfer of land in order to consolidate farms and improve efficiency. The sale of land carries a tax of 20%, the purchase of land carries a tax of 9% and there are other associated costs. The change announced yesterday regarding land swaps will help a handful of farmers but does not address the principal issue of farm fragmentation.

The Government has, in fact, introduced a tax on farm fragmentation with the introduction of water metering, mainly in the west. Farmers will have to pay for individual water meters on every parcel of land. One farmer told a public meeting on Monday last that he has 13 separate parcels of land on his 40 acre farm. He will be charged €80 for each meter even before water goes through it. He will also have to pay one fifth more for water to pay for leakage in the public water main on the public road. The Minister for Finance provided €10 million for water metering. Will this deal with the cost of putting the infrastructure in place? We do not know.

Deputy Enright raised the issue of the compulsory purchase of land. It is morally wrong to force farmers to sell land and tax the sale at 30%. Until four years ago farmers could avail of relief if they re-invested the payment for land compulsorily purchased in replacing the land. That relief was removed by the then Minister for Finance, Mr. McCreevy, and his Minister of State, Deputy Parlon. Farmers who are forced to sell their land are taxed at the rate of 30% on the price of the land sold. The legislation covering compulsory purchase states that no one who compulsorily sells land should be worse off at the end of the process than he or she was beforehand. That is not the current position and I am sure someone will challenge it in the courts. It is not morally right.

Even before his appointment as Minister of State, Deputy Parlon spoke of the need to address the problem of flooding in the Shannon basin. He has produced a report on this, which has been presented for consultation, and there have been round table talks. However, nothing practical has been done to address the issue of flooding in the Shannon basin, especially south of Athlone. Homes are threatened with flooding, communities are isolated but not one cent of funding has been provided to carry out maintenance on the River Shannon or to raise roads to maintain access to those homes. An elderly man suffered a heart attack some years ago. The only way he could be brought to the hospital was on two bales of straw tied to a buckrake on the back of a tractor. It is unacceptable in an economy such as this that any human being should have to be transferred in such a manner. The Minister has produced lovely maps showing that certain areas are prone to flooding. However, little has been done to alleviate the problem at local level.

The nitrates directive has been smothered under layers of bureaucracy. The Minister for Agriculture and Food, her Department and Teagasc have all contradicted each other on the interpretation of the rules and regulations. How can we expect farmers to implement the nitrates directive when the three agents of the State cannot agree on definitions?

During the Estimates process we discovered that the Minister for Health and Children handed back €300 million in unspent moneys to the Minister for Finance. On a per capita basis, that €300 million could have provided 4,300 additional medical cards for families in Roscommon-South Leitrim. It could have provided my constituents with 400 additional inpatient operations in local hospitals. It could have provided 76,000 additional hours of home help in every parish throughout the constituency of Roscommon-South Leitrim. Some 400 children who have been waiting years for orthodontic procedures could have received treatment; it could also have addressed the problem of school bullying and children's self-esteem issues. Instead, the Minister for Health and Children returned that money unspent to the Department of Finance.

All this highlights that this is not a family-friendly budget. While money is flowing into the coffers, the Government does not know how to spend it in a manner that delivers for the public. Money can be put in place by Government to employ additional administrators and we have seen what has happened with the Health Service Executive. However, when it comes to delivery on the ground, whether it is for psychological services, overcrowding in schools, or on health services, the Government cannot deliver.

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