Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have been actively involved over the past few months in something that was contained in the budget, which is the cutting of the tax on vehicles, and I acknowledge this measure on behalf of the haulage industry. For the past two to three years, the haulage industry has been haemorrhaging jobs. Northern Ireland had a tax rate of €900 for a lorry. The equivalent in this country was €4,500 to €5,000. The measure will repay in its own way because it will create jobs. It is a badly needed boost for the haulage industry which has been struggling severely. I advocated the introduction of a measure similar to that introduced by England, which was a £10 sterling tariff on every one of our lorries that went over there. I have spoken about the introduction of such a measure but we have not done it yet.

I welcome the provision of an extra year for children in preschools. Parents in middle Ireland have been struggling with large mortgages and the banks have done nothing about the situation except to put a gun to their heads and not listen to them. The provision of an extra year of child care is a small relief for these parents.

A first step has been made on behalf of the self-employed. I would have preferred if all the steps had been taken in introducing a tax credit equivalent to that enjoyed by PAYE workers. We speak of middle Ireland and the ordinary PAYE worker earning €30,000 to €40,000 a year. These people are being crippled by the universal social charge. They have struggled over the past three to four years to rear families and keep going, day to day, with expenses creeping up on them. They struggled to survive. I would have preferred to see more given to them because they kept this country going over the past few years. They are the people who in the hour of call put their shoulders to the wheel. Everyone in this category is tortured by the universal social charge. They hate this unjustified charge and should have benefitted more from the changes introduced.

At a time when we talk about the country improving, it was sad to see in the area of agriculture €1,000 cut from the areas of natural constraints scheme, or the disadvantaged areas scheme, as it was once called, when our country hit a crossroads. I do not know if the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine lobbied the Minister for Finance but he did not achieve anything in this regard in the budget. To put it simply, there was nothing other than the €550 tax credit for the small farm family. There were measures in respect of transferring the farm to the next generation but that refers to bigger farmers only. It does not affect the small farm family. All we got in terms of the agriculture portfolio was the beef data and genomics scheme. This is a ferociously complicated scheme that is going nowhere except to bring us down a dangerous road. We are telling Europe we will produce quicker something that eats less and dies sooner. This concerns carbon and in four or five years time we will be caught out on this issue.

Sadly, the same Minister was not able to deliver anything for farmers in this budget in respect of the GLAS scheme. Forecasts on the different types of measures that would be introduced were given to Europe but these were not projected correctly. There has been no solace in the budget for the small farm family, which is my concern and not the landlord farmer. I do not know if it is the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine or someone else that we should hold responsible but it is sad to see this budget deliver nothing for small farm families.

The country is starting to recover and there are green shoots here and there but they are scarce in many a part of the country, especially down my neck of the woods. I do not know if the issue is one of more money, although I do not think it is, but hospital services at the moment are in chaos. I do not know if we need someone who can handle the situation better or whether managers are the problem, but something needs to be done quickly because people are being treated horrendously.

Prior to the budget, I spoke about the credit union movement. After the people of Ireland coming to its aid today we saw the arrogance of Bank of Ireland when it told people not to come to the teller at the counter if they are not withdrawing €700 or more. Let us think of a pensioner on €200 or so a week. These people may on a Friday go to a bank. They are not used to bank cards. Many of them are not used to computers. These people are now being turned away. Will the Minister for Finance please give the reins to the likes of the credit unions? The Minister might not believe or understand this but the banks, once they got the money, have abandoned rural Ireland. The last things left are the post offices and the credit unions. The credit unions need facilities to provide direct debit facilities and cards for transactions. When a person walks into a credit union, someone will be there to greet an elderly person and ask if he or she needs help, which means so much to those people. At the moment, all we see in a bank is a machine. We have to press buttons, as if it were a piano, to lodge or withdraw money. Now if customers go to the counter and are withdrawing less than €700, which might not even be in their accounts - there might not be €300, or €200 even, in the account - the bank expects them not to attend at the counter.

The housing crisis is chaotic. On my first day in this House a year ago, the budget was announced. I heard lovely figures on housing being thrown about. Like many things in here, there was a lot of talk but little happened. Nothing has been solved in the housing crisis over the past year. Huge numbers of people are being housed in temporary accommodation. It is time for someone to take the bull by the horns. Someone needs to roll up his or her sleeves.

The Ceann Comhairle would like me to finish.

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