Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)

I will begin with a comment one would not normally make, but I think the convincing passage of the budget last night was very helpful for confidence wider afield in what we have to do to face our current economic and financial situation. It is encouraging that a marginally larger majority than might have been expected did recognise the realities facing this country and voted accordingly.

The aim of the budget was to be fair and to do the least possible prejudice either to growth prospects in the economy or to living standards, particularly of less well off citizens. Obviously, in the current situation if one is being realistic stimulus measures have to be extremely well targeted because there simply is not the large-scale funding for conventional forms of stimulus. Unfortunately, it has not been demonstrated so far in this debate that there was somehow an easier way.

We cannot expect, as a letter writer living in Germany suggested to The Irish Times on 1 December, to go on enjoying higher living standards on borrowings than exist throughout Europe. He referred particularly to the remuneration received by the professions in this country. De Valera famously said in 1932 that no man should earn more than £1,000 each year. Since the budget, the Taoiseach, President and judges will be on take-home pay of scarcely more than €100,000 a year. This should be extended not only to the semi-State sector, which has been decided in principle, but to all professions to the extent they are paid by the State. I suspect very few of the electorate realise that the take-home pay of Deputies, who are perceived as being very well paid, will be only just above €50,000 a year.

Social welfare payments are still well above the real levels they were until the very recent past. Unfortunately, we had overshoots in all directions in the boom years and these have to be corrected. It is painful for everyone concerned because practically everybody will have become accustomed relatively quickly to the higher living standards and an adjustment downwards is never very easy but we have to do it if we are to be able to continue to borrow over the coming years until we correct our deficit to maintain the basic services described very ably a few moments ago by my colleagues on my right and left, the Minister, Deputy Pat Carey, and the Minister of State, Deputy Mary White.

Since I came into office in 2008, the Office of Public Works has taken a 41% cut in our gross expenditure, or a reduction from €681 million to €401 million. I am proud rather than ashamed that we have been able to make that contribution and I think we have managed to maintain most of our vital services, not always without difficulty. The services we provide have been extended. The formation of the national procurement service has a dual role to rationalise procurement and implement some of the savings decided by the Government through more efficiency and also to make the process more user-friendly through an outreach process, particularly to our small and medium enterprises. At the same time, it is unrealistic to think that procurement can be run on the basis of a pre-1958 economy - a type of protected Sinn Féin style economy. Small and medium enterprises have to be competitive and in terms of procurement they must also seek out contracts abroad.

With regard to flood risk management, in the aftermath of the November 2009 floods which hit the country, the Government allocated €50 million for capital spending on flood risk management activities for 2010. This allowed us to extend the number of capital work schemes already targeted and under way throughout the country in places such as Mallow, Fermoy, Clonmel, Ennis, Mornington in County Meath, Waterford City, Carlow Town, Johnstown in County Kildare and along the Dodder in Dublin. As a direct result of last November's floods, the OPW has commenced studies in Bandon, the lower area in County Cork and Claregalway in County Galway as well as funding a study of Skibbereen undertaken by Cork County Council and detailed design for a scheme on the Dunkellin River in Galway. We will also commence design work in areas including Carrigaline, Midleton and Ballymakeera in the next two months. Some of these will develop into full-scale schemes.

The 2010 allocation also allowed the OPW to increase funding to local authorities under the minor works programme. This programme, which I introduced in August 2009, targets minor or small-scale flood defence works undertaken directly by local authorities. Under this programme, a total of €16 million has been approved this year for local authorities for works and studies including minor works executed by the OPW, and further applications for funding are being received and assessed on an ongoing and rolling basis. In total, approximately 170 small-scale projects in 23 counties have been approved for funding this year. In allocating funds, my office continues to concentrate on areas where there is a substantial risk to human life, property and infrastructure. In addition to capital and minor works, the OPW is committed to the programme for the production and completion of catchment flood risk assessment and management plans, CFRAM, and associated flood mapping for all national catchments. The Lee CFRAM has already been published but it will be extended. It will mean additional targets for the OPW being included in multi-annual budgets as various recommendations arise in the coming years.

I am pleased to state the allocation in the 2011 budget for capital flood relief work is €45 million including carryover. This reflects the very keen and competitive tender prices currently available in the market and is sufficient to enable the OPW to continue with its planned flood risk management programme to the benefit of many communities and businesses throughout the country. I am very proud that in the past couple of years we have been able to ramp up substantially our flood protection and defence programme, but this will need to be carried on for at least the next ten or 15 years by our various successors in Government.

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