Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The budget offers no plan as to how to the developing economy will reach rural Ireland. It seems that the Government does not intend to act in this regard. If there is to be a fair sharing out of the improvement in the economy, then the Government believes it will happen without its guiding hand. However, rural Ireland does not share the optimism of the Government.

Does the Minister truly understand that rural Ireland continues to stagnate while he expresses such optimism for the future? This budget has been treated as an accounting exercise by the Minister, by distributing the money available across as many sectors as possible. However, it will have little impact on the ordinary people in rural Ireland. The Government is showing little vision, and this has been the hallmark of Fine Gael in government. It is balancing the books without showing any real understanding of what is required to stimulate the economy.

In 2015, 22% of the jobs created were created in Dublin and 46% of the IDA visits were to Dublin sites. In the budget, €15 million has been allocated to broadband which is not nearly enough to provide the essential infrastructure that is needed in rural areas in order to attract industry to our counties. An employer in Tipperary is paying €15,000 a year for broadband, but has no proper service and is losing business as a result. This has to change if rural Ireland is to attract IDA and foreign direct investment.

The proposals on health and the 950 home care packages are welcome, as are the 58 additional transitional care beds and the 55 acute beds. My county would take all of what was promised in the budget. South Tipperary General Hospital in Clonmel is in crisis. We heard rumours that there would be investment in a hotel type structure, but there are no plans for that in the budget. There are no psychiatric beds in the county. The allocation for mental health is not nearly enough and the crisis in the health service in Tipperary will become worse rather than better.

There is not enough funding for rural roads in the budget. Sports grants for 2016 have been axed. Many voluntary organisations were waiting and hoping to get those allocations in 2016. There is scant regard in the budget for the preparation for Brexit.

Horticulture and grain, two sectors under immense pressure, will get very little comfort from the budget. An Oireachtas joint committee presented a submission to the Minister for Finance on the horticulture sector. None of the submission was taken on board in the budget. There is no relief on PRSI for the horticulture sector. There is no crisis fund for grain farmers.

There has been much hype about the €150 million that will be made available for low-interest loans. German farmers can borrow money at lower interest rates than what is promised in the budget. Granted, it is cheaper than the rate one can borrow money from banks at currently. The Minister, Deputy Bruton, stated the Government can borrow money at 0.3%. Why does the interest rate on loans have to be 2.9%? How will the scheme be administered? To whom will the money made available?

I can see the scheme being another administrative nightmare, as happened with TAMS and other schemes that the Government established in the past number of years. The ANC scheme was a simple way to get money into rural Ireland, but the Government refused to increase funding for it in 2017.

Most of the funding announced yesterday is a rehash of schemes that were already in place and there is very little extra money. While the opt-out year on tax paid by farmers is welcome, all it is doing is postponing the payment of taxes for 2016 to another year. In his speech yesterday, the Minister hinted that it is not an ideal solution, and I agree. We need a solution that will allow family farms to operate without being forced down the company route. An opt-out year simply defers tax bills and will not have any real long-term benefit for farm families.

The Minister must re-examine the proposals made by some farming organisations which would allow money to be put away during good years and taken out again to pay taxes and bills during poor years, such as 2016. While the opt out scheme will help farmers in 2016, it will do nothing in the medium-term to solve the income tax crisis brought about by volatility.

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