Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I would like to take the House back one year to the previous budget and remind Deputies of the circumstances in which it was debated and what happened at that time. This time last year, we had in place the Economic Management Council where four people dictated the budget to the House and it was debated, rubber-stamped and passed. It was the year when the guillotine was used, the Government had a large majority, there was little room for manoeuvre or change and the Opposition was overwhelmed by a powerful Executive that dictated what happened in this Chamber.

This year, the budget comes to the House in utterly different circumstances. It was decided by Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, at least seven Independents, a number of rural Independent Deputies and God knows who else. Power has moved from the Government side, where it was centred in a very small Executive that decided crucial financial measures, and has moved towards the middle of the House where it is shared by various parties. The decisions taken in this budget, the measures it sets out and the inputs in the process came about in a unique and different manner. It is a great tribute to all parties that they came together to produce a budget of this sort, which has been successfully endorsed by the House and has not been dictated by the Executive. That is something which we, in the Independent Alliance, strove to achieve in our charter. We stated in our manifesto that what we wanted, above all, was for power to be taken from a small cabal, whether it be Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael, and transferred to the House in order that decisions would be taken by people who were truly the representatives of the people. That is what happened in this budget.

Some critics have argued that we have spread what was available too thinly. The number of people who had an input into the budget means it is fair overall. This was one of our primary objectives and one we are proud has been achieved. We are also proud that the Dáil has power again. We are even proud that the budget is the result of long negotiations between parties and individuals because that is the way this Dáil operates and will continue to operate. Rather than having one side dictating to the other, there will be mature and sometimes robust and difficult negotiation. That is what has happened in this budget and it has been a successful operation.

The Independent Alliance is also proud that we had a major input into the budget, although I will not claim that it was exclusive in any area. I refer not only the input in the area of rural affairs from the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Canney, and Deputy Kevin Boxer Moran, principally from our side, the input into health and disabilities from the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, and the measures on research and development on which the Minister of State, Deputy John Halligan, had a major say, but also our input into those areas of the budget process that were covered and understandably claimed by others.

We are also proud that we represented elderly citizens, an area on which Fianna Fáil also takes pride in its input. We are proud that we achieved a further restoration of the Christmas bonus and that prescription charges have been reduced as a result of late and tense negotiations between the Independent Alliance and the Fine Gael Party. We would like the House and members of the public to know about and acknowledge this role.

It is not appropriate for the leader of the Fianna Fáil Party to state in the House that his party negotiated the reduction in prescription charges. That is an unlikely scenario given that it was not mentioned at any other stage. I have another comment to make to the leader of Fianna Fáil. In saying well done to him on his party's input in many areas, which was good and welcome, I should also say that I found it a little strange when he stated he wanted me, as Minister, to make various announcements and asked what I had been doing.

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