Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

Why did the Government withhold it for so long and why has it taken so long for a small amount of it to be returned?

The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism stated before the Ryder Cup that it would be unpatriotic for anyone to overcharge visitors to this country in any way. He condemned this practice out of hand, and rightly so. How much more unpatriotic is it, therefore, for the national Government to overcharge its hard-pressed citizens with high and sneaky charges and taxes on houses, cars, fuel and so many other necessities? In its final months, the Government, which has been in power for nine years, is at last fulfilling its long awaited promise of a payment of €200 per week for pensioners. How much less is that money worth now than when it was originally promised? Why did the Government leave the most vulnerable until last? That has always been the way with the Government. Vulnerable people of all kinds have been left to wait, despite the billions spent and the tens of millions wasted on projects such as electronic voting, Abbotstown, PPARS, integrated ticketing and so many others.

The latest line from Ministers and backbenchers is that we are the victims of our own success. Deputy Ellis used it in recent days when referring to traffic congestion. The Members opposite also state that the problems we face are those that relate to success. They should try telling that to the many thousands of people who spend hours sitting in gridlock on the M50, to parents whose children cannot obtain access to psychiatric services or to the many families who live in overcrowded conditions — with their parents or in-laws — and who have no chance whatsoever of obtaining social housing. The last thing the Government will do is accept responsibility. This Administration was elected to govern and to manage the country properly. According to it, however, the problems are always someone else's fault.

"Caring for the Needy" was the slogan used at the Fianna Fáil Ard-Fheis. If Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats care for the needy, I would like them to answer some questions. Why is it that they illegally charged thousands of pensioners nursing home fees? Why did they wait until their final year in office to announce the renovation of 1,300 dilapidated school buildings that so many pupils have been obliged to endure for so long? Why did they force intellectually and other disabled people to resort to the courts to obtain justice?

If the Government cares, why did it tolerate a situation in private nursing homes where elderly patients were neglected and abused? Why, after nine years in office, with so much money at the Government's disposal, do we still have patients on trolleys in hospital corridors? There is precious little evidence that Fianna Fáil cares at all for the needy.

I wish to address something fundamental to the economy and the social life of this country. By and large, it was completely overlooked in yesterday's budget. The area has suffered long-term neglect from the Government. I speak of the critical role of housing in everyone's life. It is worth considering what has happened in that regard over the years. In 1967, the average house cost IR£4,000 and the average industrial wage was IR£1,000, meaning that the ratio of house prices to income was 4:1. Thirty years later, the average price of a house had risen to IR£100,000 and the average industrial wage was IR£20,000. In 30 years, the ratio had risen only slightly, to 5:1. However, a mere nine years later, in 2006, the situation is as follows. The average price of a house is €350,000 and the average industrial wage is €35,000, giving a ratio of 10:1.

That extraordinary turnaround in the basic cost of living over the last nine years has brought enormous changes to virtually every aspect of Irish life. The Government's denial of a house to hundreds of thousands of first-time buyers on single or combined annual incomes of less than €80,000 is the greatest setback to this country's traditional way of life ever experienced. During the Government's time in office, some 515,000 houses have been built, a mere 8% of which have been affordable. Some 92% of all houses built in that time have been unaffordable for most average-income people.

That means that average-income earners, single or married, have been denied the right to home ownership previously enjoyed in Ireland. Categories such as nurses, teachers, skilled workers and gardaí on a single income can no longer afford to buy a modest house. The great work done by the city and county councils throughout the country in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s in building hundreds of thousands of affordable houses in many fine council estates has now been completely negated, as they are out of the reach of most people on average incomes.

In the short and long term, the increased cost of property will be borne by the sons and daughters of current homeowners, either through exorbitant prices if they are fortunate enough to be able to buy or, most unfortunately, by those who can never afford a home of their own, a life-changing experience. We have reached the stage where ordinary people on modest incomes find it impossible to aspire to home ownership. That is not progress, since we have gone backwards. It is not just that home ownership has become unattainable for those in cities and major towns, ever more people are moving out to access affordable housing, in the case of the greater Dublin area to the dormitory towns of neighbouring counties.

In many cases, their lives can only be described as unsustainable. Couples get up at 6 a.m. and drop children off at very expensive child care at 7 a.m. or 7.30 a.m. Then they face the daily commute, which for many living in Meath, Kildare or Wicklow and further afield means two or three hours. There are long journeys in the morning and evening, after which they return home exhausted, frustrated and angry to pick up their children. They get to bed only to get up for work and go through the whole process again the following day.

Many thousands of young couples are living that sort of crazy lifestyle and yesterday's budget does nothing for such individuals. We are condemning an entire generation of people to a situation where they live to work, simply to pay the mortgage and other bills. After many years of economic growth, surely people are entitled to a better quality of life. The public will not be taken in by some of the provisions made yesterday. A few bob were distributed here and there regarding the various welfare payments and a small amount was returned in tax changes. Overall, however, the story of the Government over the past nine years has been one of mismanagement and incompetence. For many people, that has meant a much lower quality of life. People will not be taken in and I believe the Government will hear their answer next year.

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