Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)

Certain measures in the budget were obviously very welcome and Deputy Shortall referred to the changes affecting social welfare recipients accessing carer's allowance. Over the years we have found that a tremendous difficulty for people. The Department of Social and Family Affairs' iron rule has been that one may benefit only from a single social welfare allowance. That change certainly has to be welcomed. However, the Carers Association and the 150,000 people this evening caring for invalids want the means test to be addressed. The Government continues to rigorously enforce the means test.

Likewise, the passing of the €200 barrier by the State contributory pension is to be welcomed. However, the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament and a number of other senior citizens organisations were hoping that a pension of approximately €215 per week would have been achieved from 1 January. That was not to be. The Government did the minimum that it could, just as it did in many of its other measures in taxation, energy and elsewhere. The overall effect was flat and gave an "as you were" sensation.

There were many areas to which the Minister for Finance did not refer, such as education, health care and child care. On the "Today With Pat Kenny" radio show he said he dealt with these areas in his previous two budgets and would return to them if the Government is re-elected. Yesterday's budget lacked vision. The Government has no idea how to use the €9 billion overall, or €4 billion net, which the Minister could have put into key social policy areas.

It was interesting to compare the performance of the Minister for Finance with that of the Chancellor of the Exchequer who yesterday addressed the House of Commons, our sister parliament. The Labour Government has had a long-term strategy for energy and climate change. It has published three separate major reviews on energy. It has promoted the idea of the carbon emissions mechanism and market and has a clear energy agenda. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, probably the future British Prime Minister, laid out the way forward. By contrast, as our Green Party colleagues have already said, the Minister, Deputy Cowen's speech was simply a greenwash. It was an attempt to wrap a green, environmental flag around him while doing next to nothing.

The Government raised expectations that the budget would have at its heart serious measures to increase and support the development of renewable energy, tackle climate change and address the soaring levels of fuel and energy poverty. The Taoiseach seems to have undergone another Pauline conversion. His previous conversion was from dedicated capitalist to socialist and he has now gone from dedicated socialist to green eco-warrior. We need not have worried — the overall commitment to encouraging renewable energy and energy efficiency was uninspiring.

While the announcement of a new programme of grant aid for the production of bio-energy crops was welcome, as our Fine Gael colleagues already alluded to, there was no new thinking, vision or significant funding that would help farmers and rural communities. When one thinks of the substitution that could take place — 200,000 gallons of oil per day, most of it imported — one regrets that no significant steps were taken.

Funding for the greener homes scheme was increased by just €20 million. The programme has proven popular with the public but needs to be significantly enhanced to allow middle and low income families install new renewable energy technologies. I noticed that at the recent Fianna Fáil Ard-Fheis, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government announced a tranche of micro-generation measures that the Government was going to launch. It was just like the wind that blows through windmills. It was a load of Fianna Fáil waffle.

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