John Carty (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

I congratulate the Minister for Finance on his very prudent and good budget, which covers the full spectrum of society. I compliment him on the way money is allocated to the various Departments for spending. As a member of the Oireachtas Committee on Social and Family Affairs, I congratulate him on the amount he allocated to the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, whom I congratulate on what has rightly been described as the best social welfare budget in the history of the State. The budget has used the country's economic success not to make the rich richer, as has been said, but as a targeted and focused approach to help the less well-off in society.

The Minister has brought the pensions debate to the forefront of Government policy. In this regard, the budget aims to assist in three very important areas: it outstrips the Government's commitment to increase the old age pension to €200, it improves the lot of those who have generated the prosperity the country now enjoys and it has initiated a process to give women greater pension entitlements.

The budget makes great strides in giving more support to carers, who have, through their compassion and dedication, supported society by caring for those in need of constant attention. Widows who were previously unable to work as carers in their communities because they stood to lose their non-contributory pensions received good news through the budget yesterday in that they can now do so. This will mean a lot to widows in Mayo and elsewhere who wanted to serve their communities by looking after their neighbours but who were unable to do so because they stood to lose their main source of income.

The Minister for Finance confirmed today that, from September 2007 a new payment, equivalent to half the carer's allowance, will be provided for certain people receiving another social welfare entitlement. The Minister for Social and Family Affairs will ensure that it will be allocated in an equitable way. For the first time, widows who wish to work in their communities as carers will be able to receive more than one social welfare entitlement. The Government has committed €31.15 million for 2007 and €75.62 million thereafter. This represents a good investment in communities and I welcome it wholeheartedly.

It was announced in the Budget Statement that respite care grants will be increased by €300 to €1,500 from June 2007. This is also welcome. I welcome it in particular because carers deserve to receive a respite grant given the difficult task they have been doing over the years.

The budget has prioritised addressing the scandal of child poverty and has introduced a package to provide more income and supports, such as the back to school clothing and footwear allowance, which will contribute to helping children take their place in society and build an even better Ireland in the future. The budget will revolutionise social policy. It has set out a framework and strategy by which we can wipe out poverty completely once and for all and make the country one of the greatest nations in the world.

I compliment the Minister for Finance on two initiatives, both of which affect my constituency. He has allocated €1 million for addiction services. Hope House in Foxford will benefit, in addition to two other organisations. Hope House does tremendous work for those with drug and alcohol problems and I thank the Minister sincerely for allocating money to it.

The No Name Club will share a package worth €1.5 million. I am delighted money has been allocated to it because it runs alcohol-free clubs for young people between 15 and 17 years. I compliment the people in my town, Claremorris, on the work they do with people of that age to keep them out of trouble. The response from the young people is tremendous. I thank the Minister for Finance for announcing those measures in the budget.

Small business received a major boost in the budget. In County Mayo there are many small indigenous companies that have worked hard over recent years to build their businesses and they do extremely well at providing employment for many people. The measures the Minister introduced in the budget will help them to work more smartly, pursue excellence and invest in innovation and creativity.

The 250,000 small businesses in the country are a major source of employment and growth, employing almost 800,000 people, or four out of every ten workers. It is vital that the Government does everything it can to help them, and budget 2007 does so. I compliment the Minister for Finance on recognising that and bringing in different parts of this scheme to benefit small businesses. I congratulate him on a prudent budget that will have far-reaching effects. I have no doubt that the next budget he presents will be even better.

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