Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)

Some of us live in the real world, although the Government does not appear to. We have had this debate concerning cost issues to businesses and taxpayers over and over again. I read last night's speech from the Minister of State, Deputy Dara Calleary, and was shocked by it because he spoke as if there was no real problem or issue. He and the Minister of State seated across from me, Deputy Mary White, sat with us during committee meetings over the space of four or five months when we listened to retailers and people involved in business telling us our cost price was way off compared to every other country in Europe. We have the highest banking charges and costs for telecommunications, energy, rents, rates, contribution levies, insurance and waste disposal. The list goes on, with all the costs in some way related to the Government or regulation from the Government.

It is time we woke up. This Bill is trying to change the mindset in order to drive down the charges which the Government controls. It is possible and there is nothing wrong with indicating that we want to achieve a 5% cut. In 2008, the Minister wanted to bring about a 3% cut in wages in State agencies. Although it was not achieved, there was at least an attempt. We want to achieve a 5% cut, which is possible.

This is not about cutting services or putting up taxes. We believe we can find another 5% in most of these agencies in cost savings, and in some cases where companies are regulated, profits can be reduced. This is not about populist measures or increasing taxes and what we seek can be achieved in other ways. We must find more savings in these budgets, and part of the issue is how the budgets are set in the first place. We would like to see parties competing for resources in Departments in order to earn budgets, and the sooner this happens, the better. They should prove their need and detail their spending.

Efficiencies can be rewarded rather than penalised. I worked in various State bodies over the years and I saw that if money was not spent, it would be lost the next year. That logic still exists and we want to change it. There should be a new approach to budgets, and part of the process is setting an overall target to cut costs. It has been too easy for the Government to add stealth taxes and sneakily increase prices here and there. Examples of this include television licences, accident and emergency department charges and local authority levies. Even getting a taxi now involves colossal costs which have been quietly increased. The registration fees in colleges did not rise quietly but jumped dramatically. It has been too easy for the Government because no targets have been set as an example of leadership, and no costs have been cut through decreasing charges. That is just not happening.

Businesses want an action plan to bring these costs down. Our businesses are not competitive but this country can only solve its problems through exports. That is something on which we probably all agree. For too many years we thought selling houses to each other would make us rich as a country but it did not. The exporting of goods and services is the only way to bring more money to this country. If businesses cannot compete on price, their products will not compete as exports. That is why these charges must be driven down. Businesses need a chance to survive.

If the Government is not prepared to reduce these charges by 5%, we can consider other areas. The high level group on business regulation came before the committee today, having been given the job to implement a 25% cut in red tape by 2012. One would imagine that in the current economic climate we would speed up the delivery of that target but we are not in a position to do so. The group spent the first three years drawing up a flowery list of reduction targets; it will spend another year implementing a plan to achieve these targets. A dog in the street could draw up such a list.

It is a pity the Minister of State, Deputy Kelleher, is gone as yesterday he attended workshops and will attend them again later in June and July. He will speak with people in business about areas in which regulation can be cut. Group after group comes before every committee we have to give us a list of areas in which we can cut costs and regulation, but we only organise more flowery meetings to delay any opportunity to give businesses a chance to reduce costs. Government regulation is adding to the cost of business. We must begin to address this one way or the other.

There are other examples. Many businesses in this country cannot compete with counterparts across the Border because of the VAT rate. People can cross into the North, where the prices are the same but one can get away without paying VAT in some of the hardware stores. We could try to fix that problem to give businesses an opportunity to grow.

I am glad Deputy Collins mentioned local authority charges. Fine Gael has held a majority on most councils for the past nine months but we are not in charge of the budgets because the money comes from the Government to every council, which then decide what to give or cut. A small amount is raised in some county councils from rates but the majority of funding comes from the Government. That funding has not matched population growth and service delivery in most counties. The contribution to local authorities from the national tax take has decreased every year since the former Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, took office as leader of Fianna Fáil. The level was brought down and local authorities were expected to find a greater percentage of their own funding.

Local authorities are not in a position to introduce all these rate reductions because they are not in charge of the finances. Local authorities, under the direction of Fianna Fáil, were told to bring in contribution levies which the Deputy claimed are causing a serious problem. They are a major barrier to business and job creation.

If a person wants to set up a small business employing ten people, the first thing received is a bill for €80,000 or €90,000. That is before a shovel is even put in the ground, which is ridiculous. These are Fianna Fáil policies backed up by the Greens rather than those of Fine Gael. We should not muddy the waters because it is quite straightforward to see who is in charge of this country and in Government. This Bill seeks to change this logic and we must reduce costs if we are to survive as a country.

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