Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to say a few words on this important Bill. I wish it was more worthwhile and positive. The Taoiseach remarked some time ago that we were over the worst, that things were looking up and that there were green shoots but, unfortunately, that was a bit premature. When we see the major job loses of the last few days in Halifax and other areas, never mind in constituencies like mine where individual jobs are being lost on a daily basis, we must realise that significant stimulus is needed to ensure that jobs are retained and produced.

The Minister for Finance, in his opening speech to this debate, advised that there was targeted support for enterprise but, unfortunately, it is extremely limited. Only this week as a member of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly I visited the United Kingdom to be advised that it understood that our Government was examining what it had been doing in England, Wales, etc., to stimulate the economy and look for jobs but, unfortunately, if this is being examined by the Government there is no sign of it in the Finance Bill. In his speech the Minister, Deputy Lenihan said unless we sharpen our competitive edge we will be unable to return to a tried and tested strategy of export-led growth. It is strange that his speech has that line, and yet the strategy is missing.

We were promised that if we agreed to NAMA there would be major benefits to the banking system but, unfortunately, the reality on the ground in my area is that businesses and individuals, especially at farming level, have never been under so much pressure from the banks, not even in the 1980s. It is unthinkable that the Government should hand over so many millions of taxpayer's hard-earned money without getting any assurance from the main banks that money would be made available for the necessary funding of ongoing businesses.

During the recent meeting in London to which I referred we were told by senior Government officials there that they were introducing structures to ensure Government payments would be paid on time, not in a month or two months but in a few days. It is something which we need to examine. I am dealing with farmers on a daily basis as that is the background from which I come. I am trying to get money which they were assured they would get last October. They cannot get an answer as to why they have not been paid. They have been told there are some difficulties with their applications.

When their consultants tried to find out what those difficulties were they were told it was all right, it was being checked. This is putting an impossible burden on many families. I appreciate that the Minister of State spoke of the need to enhance the capabilities of Revenue. The personnel in Revenue with whom I have dealt are among the better civil servants in the country. They have moved a long way over the last number of years, often having to deal with very difficult situations. I find them flexible in that they will co-operate with those who meet them and deal upfront with tax problems. However, it is vital that those who are abusing the system are actually dealt with and made pay their fair share.

The Finance Bill deals with some of the tax relief schemes which were questioned by the Commission on Taxation and verifies the situation regarding mortgage interest relief as introduced in the budget. However, if some structures are not put in place for the many people who have lost their jobs and are now caught in negative equity with serious mortgage problems, this Government will have failed a large section of the community. Putting in place the necessary funding to ensure that genuine people must not and should not lose their homes would be money well spent.

I welcome sections in the Bill that will lead towards energy efficiency, such as the inclusion of equipment in buildings that will save energy. Clearly, this is an area in which we can improve our carbon issues and at the same time save money. Section 40 of the Bill is part of that process. However, I am interested to note that different sections of the Bill from section 41 onwards will give additional relief and support to some financial areas. The Minister for Finance stated he is confident that the measures will give tax benefits and improvements to foreign traders which in turn will improve the international business environment here and help to encourage the creation of high quality employment in the economy. Obviously, I support any increase in employment in the country but I can assure the Minister of State this measure will have little or no benefit to the people I represent in counties Cavan and Monaghan as none of these businesses is being encouraged by the Government or the IDA towards the Border areas. This is why it is so discouraging to see that little or no help was given to the agriculture or food industries for which counties Cavan and Monaghan are renowned.

It is now over two years since the Government removed installation aid from young farmers in spite of the fact that it was one of the incentives used to encourage them into agriculture. They were advised that if they got their green certificates they would be eligible to apply for installation aid and their parents or relations could apply for the EU farm retirement pension. The pension scheme has been restored to a small number of people but unfortunately neither installation aid nor any other support has been given to young farmers who desperately want to remain in farming. At this time no alternatives exist in rural Ireland.

I welcome the break being given to people in the farming community who made a great effort and spent a lot of money in their efforts to comply with the nitrates directive. The change in the taxation structure here is a welcome break from what was otherwise a very unfair system.

The food industry has been and still is under pressure from the sterling-euro relationship, along with the high cost of production south of the Border which, of course, will be made worse as a result of the carbon taxes. It is regrettable that the Fine Gael proposal to allow farm fuel to be removed from the negative charges was ignored.

I welcome the fact that from 1 January the rate of VAT in the higher level was decreased to 21%. Even more important, the UK has increased its VAT rate from 15% to 17.5%, resulting in much less of a differential in the two VAT areas. However, it was a major blow that the lower rate of VAT was not reduced to 10% which would have been a major impetus to tourism and other industries that depend so much on being seen as value for money.

In light of the recent breakthrough in Northern Ireland where, for the first time, the main parties seem to have sorted out their problems by direct discussion and negotiation, I believe it is important that the Government and its counterparts in the UK should look at the potential of cross-Border cooperation in tourism, agriculture and infrastructure in general. The entire Border region has suffered from the 30 years of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. There has been no inward investment and therefore no employment was created in areas such as counties Cavan, Monaghan, Leitrim and Donegal. If inward investment is not available then the Government must look at ways in which small industry can survive and increase employment. Unfortunately, there is nothing in this Bill to give such impetus.

After in-depth discussion with small industries, Fine Gael came up with clear proposals which would allow industries to get sufficient finance to keep going and also give a breather to the lower paid in respect of PRSI. Other people may have better ideas but we have gone past the time when these problems could be ignored. The creation of jobs must be the first priority to get people off the social welfare treadmill and increase our exports to bring in much needed revenue.

The Minister of State's speech emphasised the need to get employment going under the heading "Target Support for Enterprise". This Bill does not give that support which is absolutely necessary. If we are to get out of this recession we must get people back into jobs. It is extremely disheartening to see families again having to say goodbye to their young people as they go to Australia, Canada and other places in the hope of finding a job. This is causing severe hardship to many families. Many of these young people are highly educated, at great cost to this country and to their families, but no stimulus has been provided in this Finance Bill when the opportunity was there to do so.

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