Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

Before the budget, the Minister said his object was that people would say at least it was fair. People sometimes confuse "fair" and "more equal". I want a more equal society, which might be a different concept from the Minister's. There will never be a perfectly equal society but I would like to see a more equal society.

During the so-called "boom" years, the bankers and others who ran our economy into the ground said they would not get out of bed for less than €700,000. The one thing that is clear is that preceding every crash there is great inequality. I was hoping the budget would not create further inequality in society but looking at the winners and losers in the equality stakes in the budget, the group most at risk of poverty, single parent households, was worst affected. That is unacceptable. There will be a price to pay for that and there will be growing numbers of families in that category as people try to deal with the stresses caused by this recession, with marriages and relationships breaking up as a consequence. I would have preferred a more equal outcome from the budget.

Every one of us knows we must grow our way out of this awful situation. That cannot be done without creating jobs and growing the economy so we can cope with the deficit. I do not see, with the range of different measures that have been proposed, any serious initiative to invest in economic growth. Some of the pre-budget submissions, such as the submission by TASC, spoke of introducing €1.2 billion per year each year from the National Pensions Reserve Fund into initiatives such as next generation broadband and natural resources where there would be a return for the money but there would be large numbers of people back at work and we would be building a more sustainable future. It is a missed opportunity not just for the country but for those who will be languishing on the dole while not contributing to the economy or society.

The Nordic models are sustainable and they are also the most equal societies, with good outcomes economically, socially and in health. There is compelling evidence that those countries have created a good model. We met the troika a month ago and its representatives spoke about the numbers who are now unemployed and the level of upskilling needed by that group. Large amounts of money are needed for training and education. We are going backwards now, with many people in long-term unemployment. Without an initiative in the economy like that proposed by TASC, based on the productive use of the National Pensions Reserve Fund, I cannot see how we will achieve that. The approach seems to involve foreign direct investment as a primary focus for growing jobs. Small and medium enterprises very much comprise the poor relation in this regard. In this sector, there are more purchases of raw materials than elsewhere and more money is retained in the domestic economy. The focus ought to be rebalanced if we are to have a valuable return in this area. People raise these issues with me every week, as they do with every Deputy. Some believe the problem is associated entirely with mortgage debt and not being able to obtain medical cards, but there are those with ideas asking where they should go to obtain certain services. It is not very obvious where one should go. There are people with good ideas whose feet are on the bottom of the ladder and who are trying to move up. Although we will be talking about the jobs initiative later in the week, much more could be done in this area. The return would be very good.

The provision in the budget on mortgage interest relief was a help for a particular cohort. There is no doubt some people who are really struggling with very large monthly mortgages will be helped. I am concerned, however, that we do not consider this issue in its totality. People of a particular generation often have young children and incur child care costs if they are lucky to have work. They should be at their most productive time in their lives. In terms of the lack of an initiative the Government feels it can take on the banks we own and reducing interest rates, and the household charge which does not exempt people in certain categories, the Government is giving with one hand and taking back with the other. There has to be some way to debt-proof some of the initiatives so we look at this in its totality.

We should stop calling the carbon tax a carbon tax. It is not one and I am sure the Minister knows this. If it were such a tax, it would be ring-fenced and used to retrofit houses and reduce dependency on carbon through the use of alternative energies. The increases have a disproportionate impact on those who are struggling most, for example, those who will no longer receive the fuel allowance and who will thus have to foot their fuel bills for an extra five or six weeks per year. The carbon tax revenue is not ring fenced. It is purely an excise tax. Unless we ring fence the revenue and spend the money in a different way, we will have no right to call the tax a carbon tax. There was to be significant job creation associated with retrofitting. I acknowledge that some retrofitting is being done but we are being dishonest with people if we call the carbon tax a carbon tax.

With regard to the incentive for high-fliers to come to Ireland, I regret the relief in this regard is not targeted. The principle is wrong. A person from a big multinational who arrived here last year could be doing exactly the same job as another person who was encouraged to come here, yet the former would be paying a very different amount of tax than the latter. This is but one example. It would be very useful to see a cost-benefit analysis, such as one by the IDA, on demand for the change in question.

It is regrettable that the tax relief for those paying fees is to be reduced. If we are to encourage people to engage in lifelong learning and upgrade their skills, we must incentivise them. The reduction in tax relief for those paying less than €2,250 for a full-time course and €1,125 for a part-time course is regrettable. If we are to have a knowledge economy, we must approach people to invest in up-skilling. The reduction in the relief was not necessary.

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