Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

I wish to share time with Deputy Naughten.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill, and while I have not had much time for preparation, there are one or two issues that I very much wish to raise. I will begin with the subject on which the last speaker finished. I too welcome the support for the Shannon region. Bringing tourism into more difficult sectors is welcome, but in saying that I wish to put down a marker that we have heard a great deal of talk about large sums being made available to the Border and Northern counties through the St. Andrews Agreement. The sooner the package is made specific and people understand what it is all about, the better. It would certainly help to cement the peace process in Northern Ireland and Border areas.

I was canvassing in Clones within the past week. One looks around and remembers what was there, a thriving railway town with a major station. The trains came in, and there were turntables, with hundreds employed. That has now closed completely, and the town has never got over the decimation wrought by closure of the CPV factory.

In that light, we certainly need a package for the Border areas. Money from previous packages, such as the IFI and the PEACE fund, was supposed to be additional but was not, and even the Taoiseach has acknowledged that. In the main, it was a case of replacement. The Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, have an opportunity over the next few weeks, with the elections in Northern Ireland and, one hopes, agreement towards the end of March, to provide the details of that package. We require an absolute guarantee that the Ulster Canal project will be advanced. It could be the mechanism to recreate the necessary infrastructure and tourism, not only for the Clones town area but for all of north Monaghan and the immediate Border region. The potential is absolutely enormous.

The second matter on which I would like to speak is the primary certificate for disabled drivers. The Minister must utilise the Finance Bill to rectify the completely unacceptable strictures in that regard. In some areas, people can secure such certificates, while in others, they cannot, an anomaly that I find very unfair. There has been a great deal of talk regarding the amounts that we are prepared to spend on the disabled and handicapped, but I find this area above all others completely unacceptable. A friend of mine was involved in a very bad accident many years ago. He has been through the mill several times to get the certificate. He simply cannot drive a car without its being customised. His friend, who claims to have a stiff knee, has received it, but he simply cannot get it. It would be laughable if it were not so serious. I would like the Minister to consider the issue again in the context of the regulations in the finance structure. I hope he ensures that some common sense is allowed and that people will be able to get the primary medical certificate and all the benefits that go with it.

I refer to the issue of stamp duty, mentioned some moments ago. This presents a problem for first-time buyers, and people in co-operatives are not currently buying either. To state that if stamp duty relief was given to first-time buyers it would not be beneficial is naivety.

Under the current regime a property sale is free of stamp duty for first-time buyers up to a certain level, but once that is reached it is payable on the whole amount. Fine Gael policy is that a sale would be free of stamp duty up to a certain level, and a sale above that level would only be liable to stamp duty on the balance. The overall cost to the Exchequer would not be very high, with Deputy Bruton estimating the cost at approximately €100 million. That is not much in the context of the yearly budget. I ask the Minister to consider that matter.

I also ask him to consider the transfer of land within the farming industry. The Minister of State used to have some interest in farming.

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