Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have a lot to get through in five minutes and I am not sure where to start. I found a lot of Deputy Fleming's contribution quite disingenuous. There is no new policy in this Bill. The Deputy is around this House a lot longer than I am and he knows the Appropriation Bill gives technical effect to issues that have been debated to the Nth degree in this House and have been voted on and passed by the Houses of the Oireachtas.

The Deputy talked about charitable organisations advertising on radio. I do not believe certain individuals he has named would like to be linked to his own political ideology. However, it is important to note that charitable organisations, which we all support in this House, have always advertised for funds, and it is a very important part of what they do.

The Deputy referred to the issue of Supplementary Estimates for the Health Service Executive. Again, it is important to note that, in almost every year since the establishment of the HSE in 2005, it required a Supplementary Estimate, although I accept this is the biggest one. Even when we were the wealthiest country in Europe, and the Deputy's party had more money than sense, there was always a requirement for a Supplementary Estimate. Given the health service has come through an extremely difficult number of years in funding terms, to suggest that needing a Supplementary Estimate is wrong, bizarre or out of sync simply does not stand up to any level of scrutiny.

This Bill does three things and, if the Deputy is going to vote against it, which he has every right to do, he needs to be conscious of the three things it does. The Bill ensures public servants get paid in January. It ensures that people on jobseeker's allowance, disability allowance, non-contributory State pensions and all other social welfare payments funded from the social protection budget get paid. It ensures nurses, gardaí and teachers get paid. It ensures there is payment to suppliers of goods and services, including Irish SMEs.

To be fair to Deputy Tóibín, he acknowledged that and he said he did not wish to hold that up. If Deputy Fleming wishes to hold it up, that is his prerogative. He and I will get paid because we get paid out of the Central Fund but other people depend on the passage of this technical piece of legislation each and every year. To try to turn it into a political debate about other policy matters, when there is no new policy in this Bill, is disingenuous. All of the provisions this Bill gives technical and legal effect to have already been debated and passed by these Houses.

The Bill also does another thing, namely, it allows for capital project spending to be carried over. Again, when we have ambitious projects that have not quite got there yet or that need to be finished, rather than allowing the money to go back to the Central Fund, the Bill allows the Department to hang onto that money and deliver those projects. That is to be welcomed. If we do not pass the Bill, that cannot happen.

As the House knows, the Bill refers to transferring tobacco duties to the Department of Health. I know Deputy Fleming's party may have an affinity with the HSE as its leader set up the HSE. This Government gave a commitment to bring back accountability to the health service so that, when Members of this House ask questions, they are not constantly told: "That is a matter for the HSE". The Vote will come under the democratically elected Government's responsibility and that of the Minister appointed by that Government. That is progressive and important for accountability. I know the Deputy has a fondness for the HSE. We do not. We think the transfer of its vote to the Department of Health is important.

I heard much of the debate that went on in committee about pensions. It is important to say that a lot of what this Bill deals with is the legacy of the Fianna Fáil policy of 2009. Among the figures that party briefed the media on during the week, as is its entitlement given it is public information, is the fact there is a follow-through on some of the decisions taken in 2009, when the Fianna Fáil-led Government decided to introduce the incentivised scheme for early retirement. People took 10% of their lump sum but, when they reach pensionable age, they have to get the other 90%. That was a decision taken by the last Government. There are many former public servants sitting at home today who retired under that scheme on the promise of the last Government that, once the State was solvent - which, thank God, it is, due to the efforts of this Government - they would be paid the 90%. To try to disown that policy choice, when it is one of Fianna Fáil's legacy issues we are working through, is disingenuous.

It is always important to have discussion about whole-of-year budgeting. We must always look at whether we can do things better and what we can do better, and we are determined to try to do that. We now have the comprehensive expenditure report 2015-17 and we have departmental allocations set out over a three-year period to 2017. This allows Dáil Éireann and the select committee to engage on a multi-annual basis and it allows greater foresight to be provided to Dáil Éireann and the public with regard to future expenditure. There will be much need to have that sort of political debate. However, let us not pretend this legislation is something it is not. I do not have the time in the 35 seconds available to me to debate the whole fairness issue.

Certainly, the decisions taken by the Fianna Fáil led government were not fair.

In regard to the issues concerning the wealthy, I look forward to having a debate with Sinn Féin in regard to how to define "wealthy". We have categorised our effort in regard to people who are earning between €32,800 and €70,000. I describe these people as being middle Ireland, the people at the backbone of our public services and working in our SMEs. However, we must leave that debate for another time. I commend the Bill to the House and ask that we pass it without too much pantomime.

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