Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

In any event, it has enabled the Minister on this occasion to deliver on pension commitments many people said five years ago could not be delivered in ten years, let alone five years. That is something about which we are very pleased. It acknowledges the tremendous work done by old age pensioners both currently and historically.

As Deputy Carty stated, there is improved provision for carers, which is to be welcomed also. This enables some people who were debarred in a rather unfair manner to benefit from payments in that area. The respite care grant, which is important, has been dramatically improved also. People on the lowest rate of social welfare will receive an additional €20 per week. This is a significant increase. There has been a fivefold increase in the Department's Vote in ten years.

One of the most welcome measures, to which few speakers have referred, is the improvements in preventing child poverty. That is one of the areas where we need to continue to direct resources. One could be forgiven for thinking that just increasing payments is sufficient to address issues relating to child poverty, but a much wider provision is necessary in that area to support families. While the payments announced in the budget are of considerable importance, there are other critical areas of support for families to ensure that children are moved out of poverty and benefit from the wealth of the State. It is a hugely challenging area because it involves providing facilities to ensure people have real access to food, education, etc.

The provision of child care is also critical in terms of enabling women, in particular, to be active members of the workforce. There have been significant increases in the number of women participating in the workforce in the past two years. Some of them may have been among the ranks of the unemployed but many were from the inactive element of the population who were previously not encouraged to work outside the home. They have made a contribution to the quality and flexibility of the workforce and its capacity to deliver. One of the critical factors in enabling lone parents and mothers generally to go to work is the provision of affordable child care. That is one of the areas which was non-existent previously.

One of the resources which could be more significant arises from the tax credit provided to those who provide childminding services in their homes. On this occasion the Minister has increased that by 50%. I have no doubt this will impact on the number of child care places available and the corresponding increase in child care places will have a substantial impact on the affordability of child care, which is a considerable obstacle to some people who wish to participate in the workforce.

Another area of concern prior to the budget was first-time buyers and the difficulty experienced by young people getting on the property ladder. The budget increase in mortgage interest relief for first-time buyers is significant and will impact favourably on the capacity of young people to acquire their own homes. We have a tradition of home ownership that appears to be deeply ingrained. It is to the benefit of society as a whole that this is the case. The budget acknowledges and makes provision for this and will help to get people on that important first rung of the ladder.

The fact that the measure is backdated for up to seven years is also an acknowledgement that some people have managed to get their feet on the property ladder, despite the difficulties we are led to believe have existed in that area. In some parts of the country these difficulties were not all due to the economy or the rise in house prices. I refer to matters such as planning permission and other ancillary issues which have been negative in their impact on affordability, especially in rural areas. That may not be something which can be addressed by the budget but does need to be examined generally.

A number of measures are designed to assist farmers. Tax relief on stamp duty, capital gains tax and the leasing income arrangements are all much improved. The farmers' flat rate of VAT has been increased to 5.2%, which is worth an extra €16 million for farmers. Perhaps, more importantly, will be the introduction of REPS 4 which will come into effect during the year. I believe it will have two important impacts. It will clearly improve environmental matters and assist farmers to ensure the environment is protected and enhanced to the best extent possible. It will also have a significant impact on farmers' incomes. That will help to make them more sustainable. A number of issues arise in that regard, not least that of crops in terms of fossil fuels, etc, which are addressed in this budget and which are becoming more of a challenge not just for this country, but for all of western Europe and much of the developed world. The Minister has made considerable advancements in this area in the previous two budgets and it will undoubtedly be of future benefit.

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