Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)

There is no denying that this is a difficult budget. Taking €3.8 billion out of the economy is a challenge and a balancing act. The Government must promote growth and stimulate jobs while reducing the deficit. We must do this to put the public finances on a stable footing. Getting there will not be easy. It will take time, dedication and commitment, but the Government has the commitment to create a roadmap out of the mess we are in. We have published a medium-term fiscal statement. This sets out a clear plan for how we will reduce the budget deficit. We have also published a €17 billion capital programme. This is focused on health, education and job creation. We published only last month a robust and progressive programme for reform of the public sector. This will see savings in excess of €2.5 billion by 2015. We are creating a more stable environment that will lead to job creation over the short and the medium term.

The legacy of 14 years of Fianna Fáil Governments here is that we have an economic mess, the bailout agreement, more than 440,000 unemployed people, a national debt of approximately €150 billion and a €16 billion current spending deficit. The Labour Party in government has delivered in the first budget of this Government. Let us focus on what this budget means in five key areas - job creation, taxation, education, unemployment and health. This is a positive budget for jobs. Over the next two years the Department of Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation will commit nearly €1 billion in enterprise capital supports and this will see a 4% increase in Enterprise Ireland's capital budget. The IDA and county enterprise boards will see their capital budgets remain the same. The Irish venture capital industry will see an extra €18 million available and we will see a 20% increase in the number of innovation partnerships. This is alongside targeted measures to boost exports. We are encouraging small and medium enterprises to develop their markets in the BRIC countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China - and in South Africa and these markets have a growing middle class who have shown a desire for Irish products. SMEs will be able to invest more heavily in those markets and we have brought in research and development grants which will make it more easy for them to gain access to capital and to get their money back. This will have a real effect on job creation across the country. People's take-home pay will be the same in one month's time as it is today. There have been no changes in tax bands, tax rates or tax free allowances. Some 330,000 people, low paid workers, have been taken out of the tax net, as it were, because of the change in the application of the universal social charge, so they will see an increase in their take-home pay.

In terms of education, it is easy to forget the large size of our education system. We have more than 1 million people in our education system with more than 100,000 staff and we are protecting education while still making the necessary savings. It is important to point out that SNA numbers will remain the same in our schools. The primary school pupil-teacher ratio will remain untouched and we are making sure there will be no change to the number of resource teachers. High speed broadband will be rolled out to every second level school in the country by 2014. People on the dole will not see a reduction in their core payment. People who have been unemployed for more than a year who are finding it difficult to get back to work will have the benefit of the new labour market activation fund, which will see an investment of €20 million aimed at those who are long-term unemployed.

Major reform of the Department of Health will take place over the next four years and this budget is one step along the path to reform of the health sector. We have started the ball rolling on the provision of universal health care. Some 56,000 people on the long-term illness scheme will be entitled to free GP care. Funding of €35 million has been ring-fenced for mental health services. The programme for Government is committed to a Vision for Change and provision for it is also ring-fenced. That is a further commitment to reform of health care provision. The Labour Party's involvement in the budget has brought all of that about.

It is important also not to forget what the Labour Party's involvement has meant in terms of what has been left of this budget. There are not cuts of €4.4 billion, as many commentators said there would have to be only a few weeks ago. This is not an unbalanced approach to cutting versus tax increases. We have managed to deliver on that. No medical card charges, which some people said would have to be brought in, were introduced. There are measures in the budget that are very good for the country but there are also things that have been left out as a result of my party's involvement. There are things we are not pleased about doing, but overall these measures are necessary to make sure that we get the country back to work and regain our sovereignty in the process.

See this speech in context