Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We can now say that in the first half of the lifetime of the Government we have pulled the country back from the brink, restored stability to its finances and its reputation abroad. The second half of the Government's lifetime must be focused on recovery and job creation, starting with this budget. The country's hard-won independence was undermined by Fianna Fáil's cavalier recklessness and negligence in government. It will take Ireland decades to put the nightmare behind it, but we have turned an important corner and 15 December will be a milestone in the history of the country.

Given where their negligence led us, it is difficult to listen to the pious emissions from the Fianna Fáil benches. Fianna Fáil's protestations on the budget are like vandals who feign opposition to the rebuilding of a house that they themselves burned down because they do not like aspects of the new architecture. Of course, this budget is difficult for some, only because of the mess in which Fianna Fáil left the country. The hardship is not nearly so acute as would have been the case if another €600 million had been taken out of the economy, as was advocated by some. The Labour Party and the Government were determined that we would not dampen the recovery now apparent. We will still make our targets with a little to spare. This is prudent if we are to be able to stand on our own two feet and borrow money at affordable rates in the bond markets.

I have been requested to maintain the grants-based Better Energy programme during the transition to a PAYS-type scheme. I am very pleased to confirm that the €30 million in stimulus funding secured yesterday will now continue the investment in the Better Energy and Warmer Homes energy efficiency schemes to a total of €57 million. Meanwhile, we will continue to adapt a PAYS-type concept for launch next year. The experience of the green deal in Britain should mean that we can learn from that experience. The Warmer Homes scheme provides energy efficiency measures free of charge for low income households. Over 15,000 homes are expected to benefit from an upgrade under the programme in 2014. The estimate for 2014 under the Better Energy homes scheme is that a further 17,000 homes will be retrofitted next year. This is separate from an additional 14,000 social housing units that will achieve improved energy efficiency through a retrofitting programme in the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government's social housing programme. Earlier this year I also established a €70 million energy efficiency fund to encourage similar works in public and commercial buildings, which will also boost employment, a key initiative of the Government's Action Plan for Jobs. The projections are that the fund will deliver up to 675 direct and indirect jobs for every €10 million of expenditure.

The thrust of the budget is to stimulate economic activity and grow employment. In that regard, in addition to jobs in home insulation and the refurbishment of public buildings, my Department is piloting a trading online voucher scheme. Under the pilot scheme, vouchers of up to €2,500 will be provided for 50 small companies to help them develop an online trading presence. The scheme will be administered by the Dublin City Enterprise Board and will target small enterprises employing fewer than ten people that have a turnover of less than €2 million per annum. Following the pilot scheme, we will roll out the scheme country-wide. I am setting aside €5 million in 2014 to assist the roll-out of the national trading online voucher scheme aimed at getting 2,000 new small Irish businesses trading online. This is in keeping with the national digital strategy which I launched earlier this year and sets out a compelling case for increased digital adoption across society, with particular emphasis on small businesses, education and citizens. I am also continuing the basic training programme, Benefit 4, to facilitate what are termed non-liners on how to make practical use of the Internet for everyday chores and social purposes.

By this time next year, every second level school in Ireland will have been provided with world class broadband infrastructure. Any Member of the House who has had the opportunity to visit any of the schools already connected cannot but have been impressed by the exciting new learning possibilities opened up for young people. My Department will continue to support the digital hub, where there are cover 70 digital enterprises providing some 900 high value jobs. I have also renewed the mandate of the national digital research centre for a further five years. My Department is also designing a new high speed broadband intervention to facilitate delivery in areas of the country where it is not commercial for the market to invest. When combined with the commercial interventions under way, this will radically change the broadband landscape in Ireland by ensuring high speed broadband is available to all citizens and businesses.

In the postal sector a new national postcode system will provide a unique code for every letter box in the State by 2015. Under the new system, Ireland will be the first country in the world to have a public database of unique identifiers for all properties that will assist citizens, public bodies and businesses to locate every individual household in the State. The groundwork in designing the postcode and updating private and public sector databases to accommodate the new postcode system is now being undertaken. Money is set aside in the Vote next year to substantially progress work on this project.

While over €180 million in television licence revenue will flow through my Department's Vote next year, work is being progressed to introduce a public service broadcasting charge to transform the funding of public service broadcasting in the State. My Department has just completed a public consultation on the proposed charge. The new charging mechanism will reduce the level of evasion and also ensure commercial enterprises will make an equitable contribution to public sector broadcasting.

After years of retrenchment, we are at a turning point. This view is shared by the IMF, the European Union, the OECD and the ESRI. The country is getting back on its feet and now on the road to economic recovery. On the jobs front, the live register is falling and the number of people at work is rising. In the 12 months to the end of last September, there were 38,700 more people at work. The budget is designed to maintain this momentum, build on the recovery and put people back to work.

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