Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Before and during the recent election and before the budget we heard much talk, both inside and outside this House, about fairness. The word "fairness" was used by many people, but fairness is a state of mind. I would ask those people who argued for fairness if it is fair that in ten or 12 years prior to 2011 the blind pension was cut by 16%? Is it fair that the Christmas bonus was abolished? Is it fair that the minimum wage was reduced not once, but twice? Is it fair that the universal social charge was introduced as a temporary measure that we still have and for which we are still paying a penalty? I would say it is not fair. It is important now, as we discuss budget 2017, that fairness is discussed in an honest way. The budget announced this day last week is the first step to ensuring there is fairness for everybody across the board.

I want to concentrate on a number of issues, the first of which is the agriculture sector. As Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, I want to talk about a number of areas in the agriculture budget. It is important to acknowledge that the agriculture sector has been a key driver of this economy in the recent difficult years, growing to one that will be worth almost €11 billion in exports in the coming year, which is very important.

There are many challenges facing agriculture, no more so than Brexit, which is an issue that needs careful and honest deliberation. The past year has been difficult for the agriculture sector in general and has resulted in cashflow difficulties that have put many farmers under serious pressure. I welcome a number of the initiatives introduced in the budget last week that should go some way towards helping those farmers. For example, it is essential that the loan scheme was introduced. It was something for which I lobbied hard, in my position as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, both outside and inside this House. I welcome the fact that the Government not only matched the €11 million required from Europe but that it put €14 million into that fund. It would have been pointless giving a handout to farmers to the tune of €300 or €400 under that fund. It is essential that money is put to good use in acquiring capital that can be used to alleviate the cashflow difficulties being experienced. The loan fund being introduced at an interest rate of 2.95% should be hugely beneficial to farmers who can use the money, up to the tune of €150,000, to offset against the capital and loans they may have, which will be a huge saving for them.

I welcome also the new sheep scheme to be introduced under the rural development scheme. There has been much criticism in the past week that €25 million has been allocated for a sheep scheme whereas €35 million is needed for some other area. It is important to remember that sheep farmers are minimum wage workers. It is a labour intensive job. The average sheep farmer's income is between €14,000 and €16,000 per year. That is a very small amount of money for people who work very hard, and it is important that their livelihoods are protected. I welcome the announcement of the €25 million for the scheme and hope it will be as flexible as possible over the coming period.

It is also important that funding for the green, low carbon, agri-environment scheme, GLAS, will be increased to €211 million. That will cater for 50,000 entrants over the coming period.

From a taxation point of view, a number of initiatives introduced in the budget are very important. We talk about cashflow and volatility in income, which will be a huge issue as we move towards Brexit. The income averaging opt-out is very important whereby people will not have to pay tax on last year's income, which may be difficult. They can park that for one year and move on to the next year. I welcome that.

There is an area in the agriculture-horticulture sector about which I have concerns and which I want to put on the record again tonight. The mushroom sector is going through a very difficult time. Mushroom producers made a presentation to the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine two weeks ago. There are 3,500 people working in the mushroom sector, with approximately 80 producers in the country. Unfortunately, three or four of those have gone to the wall. They have become the first victims of Brexit. The volatility in sterling has been a huge issue in that regard. We need to ensure their livelihoods are protected. That we have 3,500 people in one sector under serious pressure deserves special attention.

Some of the other taxation measures introduced can be very beneficial to the agriculture sector. Also, it is important that the farm assist difficulties experienced in the past three or four years have been reassessed and we are now back to where we were prior to the cuts in the previous period. I welcome the fact that 500 new places have become available for the rural social scheme.

I welcome the reintroduction of the sports capital grant this year. It is an important scheme that affects every town and village throughout the country. It is a stimulus package in terms of getting people back to work and doing jobs in a local area, and it creates good will across the board. In my county of Carlow, in the past difficult three years of the last Dáil term, 55 sporting organisations benefitted to the tune of €2 million, which is not bad for a small county. We need to continue reinvesting in those schemes over the coming period.

It is very important that we maintain the 9% VAT rate in the hospitality sector. There was much talk prior to the budget about the fact that it may not happen but it is important that we acknowledge and recognise that there is a huge difference between the hospitality sector in this city of Dublin and that in rural Ireland. It is important that Dublin's hospitality sector does not kill the golden goose that we have developed. The hospitality sector, and the tourism sector in general, has been the good news story over the past four or five years. A large number of visitors come to this country. Approximately 40,000 extra jobs have been created in that sector and it is important that we make sure it continues to develop.

The final area I want to touch on briefly is housing. I welcome some of the initiatives announced in the budget with regard to the first-time buyers scheme. It is not just the first-time buyers scheme; it also relates to first-time builders. As the previous speaker mentioned, it requires tweaking. Like other speakers, I have been inundated with calls to my office about the 80% mortgage issue. From what I understand, it is almost impossible to get an 80% mortgage; the maximum available appears to be 75%. I ask the Minister for Finance in particular to consider making adjustments to the scheme. The principle is good, because it is all about supply and demand. We do not have the supply, and this scheme will ensure that supply is increased.

The other area I would like to mention, which a previous speaker also mentioned, concerns the lack of respite services. My constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny has suffered from a lack of respite services. The Health Information and Quality Authority investigations and reports have ensured that the respite services available previously for children with serious difficulties and disadvantages are no longer available.

We need to make sure these opportunities are presented again to the parents of these people, who deserve a break when they are in difficulty. Without these services it is difficult to survive and to have a decent existence. I ask the Minister for Health to set up a special fund for respite services. HIQA does a very good job but it must be aware of the consequences of the job it does. There is no point doing a good report and closing down an institution, a respite house or a hospital without being aware of the consequences.

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