Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the budget. While the disadvantage of having the budget earlier this year is that the Government did not have a clue what it was talking about, the one advantage is that Members have the opportunity to debate it. Traditionally this was the practice when budgets were published and announced in January, but since they moved to December this was no longer possible. It is important that all Members get the opportunity to discuss and debate budgets. It is important also that the Government is openminded with regard to suggestions from the Opposition.

It should not come into this House knocking the Opposition and praising its own achievements while claiming that circumstances were very different when Fine Gael, the Labour Party and Democratic Left handed over the economy in 1997. Circumstances were indeed different in 1997, a year in which 1,000 jobs were being created per week. The country is at present losing a job every ten minutes. The coalition that left office in 1997 was the first Government in many years to pass over the public finances in the black rather than the red. At the end of 2006, the Taoiseach, as Minister for Finance, could count on €4 billion in the bank, whereas the projection for next year is a deficit of €12 billion. That is some change given the brevity of the intervening period. The EU believes the deficit will reach €14 billion by the end of 2010. The Taoiseach admitted we will have to face another difficult budget and that the additional €5 billion deficit highlighted by the EU will have to be brought forward in next year's budget or in a mini-budget.

In the past 12 months, 3,000 jobs have been lost in my constituency of Roscommon-South Leitrim and its surrounding towns. For a small rural based economy, this is a huge blow. I ask the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy McGuinness, to raise the issue of Elan Corporation with the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. It was announced prior to the last election that 500 new jobs were to be created in a new development in Athlone. Elan, which is the biggest employer in my constituency, now indicates that it will instead create these jobs in Dublin. The company was originally founded in Athlone and its headquarters were based in the town for a number of years. I hope the Government will get its act together before a final decision is made. Athlone Institute of Technology put forward a proposal for a national bio-processing research facility to be based in the town but, because Wyeth flexed its muscles, this facility was ultimately established in Dublin, with the result that Elan doubts the Government's interest in supporting the midlands. Why should Elan invest in the region when the Government is not prepared to support such a valuable research facility for Athlone?

A number of contributors have pointed out that the cause of our financial predicament is not the international credit crunch, although this has given a fig leaf to a Government which put all its eggs into one basket in terms of the construction industry. Yesterday in Brussels, the Minister for Finance put the blame on the European Central Bank for selling money too cheaply. However, the housing bubble developed because the Government appointed Financial Regulator failed to police properly the doling out of money by banks. The crazy situation arose whereby 110% mortgages were issued to people who now find themselves in serious financial difficulties. The Department of Finance also turned a blind eye to this practice. Furthermore, the Government actively encouraged the housing bubble through a variety of tax incentives. Low interest rates were undoubtedly a contributing factor to the bubble but they also contributed to the expansion of our economy during the Celtic tiger years.

Our mistake was to take our eyes of the ball in respect of competitiveness. Ireland is now stuck in 22nd place in the World Economic Forum's competitiveness rankings. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is supposed to be responsible for this area but the former Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Martin, and his predecessor, Deputy Harney, failed to address the bottlenecks in our economy. They should have lowered taxes and cut through the bureaucracy and red tape that surrounds business. Unlike the majority of EU member states, Ireland has addressed none of these issues.

Broadband is an issue with which every Deputy from a rural constituency must contend on a daily basis. Why can we not get our act together on broadband? At least four, if not five, State owned fibre optic cables are located within half a mile of Elan's front door, servicing the metropolitan area network, An Bord Gáis, Iarnród Éireann, the ESB and, perhaps, Bord na Móna, but they are not connected to each other. Why can we not establish a semi-State agency with a commercial mandate to make use of these fibre optic cables, which are of no use to anyone at present, so that broadband reaches every part of the country? That in itself would open up competition, not only in broadband but also in telephone services, and would help to address some of the competitiveness issues we currently face. We are told that services will be the major growth area in the future but there will be no growth without access to broadband.

My colleague, Deputy Bruton, spoke about the challenges that existed in advance of the budget. He highlighted areas in which savings could be made, such as a recruitment ban on non-frontline services, a pay freeze across the public service, a better deal for the taxpayer from the bank guarantee scheme and a carbon windfall tax. However, his proposals were ignored by the Government. Other issues in the Government's control, such as opening access to the electricity grid to ensure competition, have not been addressed. The energy and enthusiasm to deal with these issues are lacking. The cost of utilities has gone through the roof in recent years, with repercussions for families as well as businesses. Small businesses are facing serious problems in accessing capital, even where they have good ideas and sound business plans.

From the point of view of Opposition Members, it is frustrating the Government failed to acknowledge its mistakes. It has ensured the most vulnerable people in our society will foot the bill. Those targeted are the elderly over 70, people who are sick and ill, those on social welfare payments and young people in our education system.

The most vulnerable people in the disadvantaged areas in the farming community were the main focus of the attack. It was hypocritical of the Taoiseach to state that cutbacks needed to be made but that he would not target the weak and the vulnerable. The budget did exactly that and the impact has been on the weak and the vulnerable.

The typical young family, with an income of €60,000, is paying an extra €3,200 annually as a result of the budget. The cost of mortgage payments, utilities and services has increased and will increase over the coming months and it will be difficult for them to make repayments on mortgages. Something needs to be done in that area to put a structure in place. While some of the financial institutions are prepared to be reasonable and work with people to allow them to work themselves out of the situation, the vast majority are extremely ruthless and are looking to jump on people at the first available opportunity. However, those who owe substantial amounts of money, such as developers, are treated with kid gloves. The banks are like vultures over young families who are struggling to keep their heads above water, waiting for them to slip up so that they can penalise them.

It was frustrating to see elderly people come to Leinster House the week after the budget. People were there on Zimmer frames, in wheelchairs and with oxygen masks because of the fear that had been spread about the withdrawal of the medical card. People came to rely on it. Many on this side of the House were critical of the scheme when it was introduced, but it had been an effective measure in improving the health of elderly people since it was introduced. What was sickening was that in the resolution, the savings made amount to €7 per week per elderly person. In total, it amounts to one quarter of the cost of the electronic voting machines rotting in a field in County Meath as we speak, which are still costing us money. Elderly people are asking themselves what will be next. Will it be free travel?

The universal provision in respect of children's allowance has been withdrawn, a mantra that has been broken. This has not received the coverage it should but the principle has been broken in respect of the introduction of a means test. While this only applies to those over 18 at present, we can be sure that this will be clawed back to apply to 16 year olds, 12 year olds and ten year olds, based on what the Taoiseach said this afternoon.

Coming from a rural community, it is frustrating to see those in the poorest areas of land in the country being targeted. Some €2,000 each will be taken off many farmers in the west. In total, €34 million will be saved, a sum equal to half of what was squandered on electronic voting machines. The Government does not care about the vulnerable elements in our society. I refer to the cutback in the suckler cow scheme. In fact, the money for that is ring-fenced and the changes in the budget have only drawn out that payment over a longer period of time to keep civil servants in jobs at the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Food. Consistently, one can see that the budget was drafted by civil servants on the basis of ensuring their jobs are secured and that the most vulnerable are being penalised as a result.

The HSE website has a blank page, with no information, on the over 70s medical card. There is no information on the announcement made by the Taoiseach and the Cabinet last Tuesday week. The fear persists and there is a lack of information being provided to elderly people on this issue.

The immigration services budget for 2009 has been cut again. What is frustrating is that this is a false economy. At present, it takes eight years to process an asylum application. It costs €1.4 million to process each application, based on social welfare and accommodation costs alone. It makes more sense to speed up the process and give people a decision more quickly. This would benefit the applicants and the taxpayer. I cannot understand why these are not fast-tracked, instead of the situation where one in five posts in the immigration services that deal with asylum applications are vacant.

I discussed the Refugee Appeals Tribunal with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform last week. It costs €180 million per annum to process applications and appeals. Of that, €11 million is spent on legal fees. If we streamlined the process, significant savings could be made in the area, yet that issue was ignored. The Minister of State, Deputy Lenihan, is turning out to be a comedian but he has seen his budget slashed by one quarter. His budget is now less than €7 million and the administrative costs of his office are more than the money he can distribute. The budget of the Minister of State is being cut at a time when racism is on the increase in this country and fear about an immigrant taking someone's job is increasing. This is a time when we should spend more money in that area to deal with the concerns about racism and to promote greater integration, but we are pulling back in respect of such investment.

The same applies to the budget for language teaching for those from outside the country in the Department of Education and Science. At a time when we must ensure these people integrate in our schools and communities, to reduce the levels of resentment and racism, we are cutting back the funding available. It is a false economy.

The Minister of State, Deputy McGuinness, was frustrated when Members referred to curbing the number of Ministers of State. The website of the Department of Education and Science refers to the Minister of State, Deputy Devins, as having responsibility for disability, five months after he was appointed as Minister of State with responsibility for science and technology. He is the Minister of State with responsibility for science and technology and for disability issues. If the Department of Education and Science does not know what is the responsibility of the Minister of State, how in God's name are members of the public to know? Surely we need to streamline this area.

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