Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I wish to take up one of the points mentioned by Deputy Frank Feighan regarding the proposed development of the A5 north of the Border. It is an important project for the island and is very important for Donegal. My Dáil colleague, Deputy Charlie McConalogue, my Seanad colleague, Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill, and the MEP for the North-West, Pat the Cope Gallagher, have been vocal in their support for this project. If one is in business in Donegal and trying to bring product to the ports or airport in Dublin, it is essential to have a good arterial route to the capital. I ask the Government to review the decision. The project was identified after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement and the St. Andrews Agreement. It is not only beneficial to counties Tyrone and Derry but also to my constituency, particularly County Monaghan, and Donegal. Crossing the Border at Aughnacloy on the Monaghan-Tyrone border, the road deteriorates very quickly. The route is not adequate for the volume of traffic travelling from Derry and towns along the route.

Previously, when debates took place, officials from Departments attended. The current practice seems to be a new departure. A few weeks ago, we had a debate on social welfare and a number of Deputies from all sides of the House raised matters. I noticed that there was no official taking notes. I appreciate that the Minister cannot always be present for debates. That day, the Minister for Social Protection was not present for that part of the debate. I am sure she had other commitments but there was no official from her Department present. In the past, officials from the Department would take notes and, if queries were raised by Deputies on any side of the House requiring clarification, the relevant Minister or Department would revert to that Deputy.

I refer to an issue exercising the minds of the people and the local authority in Monaghan regarding a decision by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to withdraw funding due to be allocated by the National Roads Authority to Monaghan County Council to complete a project between Monaghan town and Emyvale. Part of the work has been completed satisfactorily and all preparatory work to complete the remainder of the project has been undertaken. This is a matter of road safety concerning the removal of dangerous bends on a national primary route that is not up to standard. I ask the Minister to review the decision, which concerns relatively small amounts of money given the capital budget for the Minister's Department. The Mayor of County Monaghan, Councillor Seamus Coyle, and Councillor Robbie Gallagher spoke to me in recent days about this issue. They are anxious that the decision is reviewed.

Speaking about the province of Ulster and not just the three southern counties, I am appalled at the proposal to increase VAT by 2% in the forthcoming budget. That will lead to significant job losses in Border communities. I appeal to the Government, through the Minister of State, to think twice before loading another 2% VAT on consumers this winter. Whether this happens immediately after the budget or on 1 January, it will be devastating and will do enormous damage to the economy of the Border counties. I am concerned about the economy of Cavan and Monaghan and areas south of the Border counties. Already we see businesses north of the Border capitalising on reports that Fine Gael and Labour are set to increase VAT by 2% in the forthcoming budget. We see advertisements encouraging shoppers to travel across the Border for a better price. For small businesses across my constituency and further afield that are already struggling, such a significant hike will be disastrous as they head into the difficult winter months. The Government should be encouraging consumers to support their local economy rather than incentivising them to flock across the Border for what might be termed better value. Before and after the election, Fine Gael and Labour claimed that job creation would be their top priority in office but their actions since coming into power show quite clearly that this is not the case. By frontloading VAT increases, pushing the cost of sick pay onto employers and cutting the rebate to employers on redundancies, this Government will stifle businesses and hamper entrepreneurship. That is the last thing we want to happen at a time when the economy is facing major challenges. Every household is also facing major challenges. There is still time for the Government to see sense and not accept the proposal from the Minister for Finance to frontload a VAT hike. I appeal to the Minister of State and Government Deputies to review this proposal. It was proposed in the four year plan published a year ago. If VAT was to be increased under that plan, it was to be increased by 1% and 2013 and 1% in 2014. The idea of frontloading it in the budget in two weeks' time is ridiculous and will do enormous damage.

I have represented Cavan-Monaghan in the Dáil since 1992. Far too often, we have seen business literally ebb away from our towns. Those towns during the years of economic progress saw new shops and centres developed and they all provide top class value and great choice for the consumer. Such an increase in VAT will do enormous damage and we sincerely hope that will not happen.

The Minister for Education and Skills has rightly outlined that he faces formidable challenges in providing accommodation for all the new entrants into the school system. The welcome growth in our population places particular demands on ensuring the Department has primary school and secondary school places available. We have seen a huge transformation in the education infrastructure of the country in the past decade, with the provision of new facilities and the upgrading of existing facilities at primary, post-primary and third level. There is always a need to continue the refurbishment programme and the provision of new facilities. The Minister, however, has indicated that there will not be funding for the summer works scheme or the emergency building works scheme. At Question Time a week ago, I appealed to the Minister to review that decision, with his Government colleagues. All of us have seen exceptionally good value for money where schools have drawn down money under those schemes and have been transformed as a result of small grants. The taxpayer has got the best return on those investments and I appeal to the Minister to reinstate those programmes in the next few years.

We have all seen the expansion and upgrading of facilities at third level. In June, the Department of Education and Skills showed the demand for higher education is set to grow by 62% in the next 20 years. That will be a welcome development. In the last ten years, the participation at third level has increased by 60%, growing from 100,000 to 159,000. We have seen people from homes with limited income getting the opportunity to go on to third level. In 2009, we reached the situation in the European Union of the highest tertiary level attainment rate among 25 to 34 year olds. That is great evidence of the success of the programme of investment in the facilities and the human capital.

It is vital at a time of challenging economic circumstances that we prioritise education expenditure. Other countries that face formidable economic circumstances in the past all prioritised Government expenditure. The first debate in this Dáil was a Private Members' motion I tabled on behalf of Fianna Fáil in April and we won unanimous support from all sides that the Government would prioritise education for expenditure despite the challenging economic and fiscal circumstances. I call on the Government to do that on the revenue side and the capital side. We can be satisfied with the progress that has been made but more progress is necessary. Investment is needed in our schools at primary and secondary level and at third level.

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