John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is spot on in terms of the value of the initiative and that it should be extended to large towns such as Drogheda. Dundalk is another large town in his constituency which I am sure could also benefit.

I echo the sentiments expressed by the Deputy in respect of the costs faced by businesses and people who are thinking of starting a business in facilities that are already exist. There are countless numbers of premises that are closed on high streets and other streets in towns and cities across the country. The planning charges and the development contributions required are so large in many cases that they are putting people off. I believe the Deputy is correct in suggesting that the Government needs to look at this. I know it has been done in other places on the Continent. I did a bit of research about it a while ago. It was even done, perhaps not successfully, in parts of the United States, although small-town America probably died many years ago. Efforts were made to revive those towns. There is no doubt, when one observes this city, the main roads leading out of it and its immediate hinterland, as well as Cork and Galway, that conditions have improved visibly over the last three or four years. Such improvements are not visible in much of the rest of the country. People are not necessarily feeling the improvement in their own pockets and they will not believe it until they see it happening. This should not be taken as undermining the good work that the Government has done. The purpose of the Finance Bill is to give legislative effect to the budget announcements. For that reason, I am fully supportive of it. However, I wish to address some specific issues arising from the Bill.

There is merit in Deputy Naughten's suggestions regarding public service pensions for those who have been less than good in the delivery of services, whether as politicians or senior civil servants who were in powerful positions during the period leading up to our economic collapse. Last week the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform announced a list of reforms for the public service. A system of clawbacks from those who presided over the collapse would act as an incentive for those who currently occupy such positions to ensure it does not happen again.

The issue of petrol stretching and diesel laundering was mentioned by several speakers. There was a significant discovery of a diesel laundering plant in the Border region yesterday. I am part of a group of members of the British-Irish Parliamentary Association preparing a report on this issue. We have had several meetings with Ministers on both sides of the Border and with the acting Garda Commissioner. There is considerable anecdotal evidence along the Border about such activity, including the presence of tankers, many of which are unmarked, moving around where they should not be at all times of the day or night. I realise that officials in the customs division are put to the pin of their collars. Various agencies have a hand in regulating farms, and if a farmer seeks to carry out any sort of development it will not be long before the county council finds out, but some of these plants appear to operate with impunity in certain Border regions. I do not understand why there has not been a more comprehensive crackdown on these facilities. Some of those who have come before our group have suggested that a blind eye is being turned on the basis that it is preferable for some of the elements involved in this business to be laundering fuel than to be killing people. That is not acceptable.

I have been trying to get answers to my questions about the budgetary measures on the transfer of land to young farmers. These are welcome measures, because there have been significant problems in this regard since the cessation of the early retirement scheme. It has emerged following the announcement in the budget that the measures will apply only to full-time farmers. That is not acceptable. If the son or daughter of a farmer owning a 50-acre farm needs another job to make a living, why should he or she be penalised? I am led to believe that the difficulty in this area is coming from the Department of Finance rather than the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I urge the Minister for Finance to consider amending these measures to include all young farmers who are qualified regardless of whether they may be inheriting a large or a small farm. It is probably more inequitable for people farming small holdings who might hold an off-farm job out of necessity.

I welcome that the private sector pension levy will be removed in 2016. It was introduced for the specific purpose of allowing the VAT rate for the hospitality sector to be reduced. One of the most spectacular measures this Government has introduced was the reduction of the VAT rate for the hospitality sector, which led directly to the creation of thousands of jobs in towns and villages across the country. The pension levy was controversial, to say the least, but now it is being removed. A similar question arises in respect of the public service pension levy, which affects a considerable number of people who retired from the public service on the basis of the pension they expected. They understand that the levy was introduced in response to the emergency facing the country three or four years ago but they want an indication from the Government that it will be phased out over time. Their expectation of an income that could provide a decent standard of living during their retirement years should be met.

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