Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This budget is another missed opportunity to move towards a fairer society. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have colluded in forging this budget between them. It once again represents the failed politics of a failed class and a failed system and one with no vision. It is also a mean budget especially when we consider that politicians will be paid an increase in January which is totally unnecessary and, begrudgingly, pensioners will not see their increase, a mere €5, until March, leaving them without the increase for three of the hardest months of the year. It is not worth a damn for Ministers to say they will send back their increases; as we all know they can be claimed back in the future.

It is no secret to anyone that there is a major housing emergency and this budget will only add to the crisis with an ill-judged and irresponsible first-time buyer's scheme. A major component to contributing to the housing shortage is the plight of renters. There is no direct intervention to help renters in this budget. Sinn Féin brought forward a Bill that would have provided rent certainty for landlords and tenants alike, but Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael colluded in stopping it. That Bill would have linked rent increases and decreases to the consumer price index, which would have provided some stability for the market. We have people tonight paying rents which, in some cases, are nearly twice what a mortgage would cost and wondering how they will manage.

New research by Savills Ireland, using CSO data, shows that the private rented sector has increased in recent years. This increase in the private rented sector is also a consequence of this and the previous Government’s actions. A good proportion of private renters have not been able to get into the housing market due to house price inflation, austerity budgets that affected wages, the increased cost of living and additional taxes such as water charges and local property taxes. At the same time there is an increase in demand for private rented accommodation. Social housing tenants are increasingly being housed in the private sector due to the decision by previous Governments to stop building social and local authority housing. The Government knows the scale of the problem and still did not include any measures in the budget, apart from giving developers a nice little bailout. In regard to water charges, there is no mention or provision in this budget for scrapping them, so this will be another bill for hard-pressed householders next year.

In addition to the lack of investment in solving the housing crisis, when we look at the health budget we can see that in terms of investment, we are at a standstill. The real increase for health in this budget is €147 million but that will not reduce waiting lists or go anywhere near to solving the trolley crisis. There is also no mention of funding for the much needed 24-7 mental health services. The budget will not go anywhere near solving the staffing crisis in hospitals. For example, I would point to the joint replacement procedures in Cappagh hospital. I have dealt with the case of a man who underwent an operation on his arm in August 2015 and is waiting on a further operation in Cappagh hospital. Due to his absence from work while waiting for the operation, he is in grave danger of losing his job as it is more than a year since he had the original operation. At the end of September, 258 people were waiting for a year or more on the inpatient-day case surgery waiting list for orthopaedics in Cappagh National Orthopaedic Hospital. It is a scandal that four out of the six theatres in Cappagh are out of action due to lack of staff, consultants and equipment such as artificial limbs and other necessary parts. How can waiting lists be reduced if this is the case? Each person on those waiting lists is in pain and putting their life on hold waiting for this important surgery. There is nothing in this budget that will increase resources and staffing levels to cut the waiting lists. Even the schemes already implemented will not by themselves cut the waiting lists. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael had the chance to support an increase in staffing levels in this budget but instead decided to give tax breaks for landlords and the wealthy.

This budget delivered next to nothing for the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, including essential capital investment. I am not sure if it is now Government policy to ignore our crumbling infrastructure. It certainly has been Fine Gael policy in recent years. It could of course just be the case that the Minister, Deputy Ross, failed to secure anything for his Department. He has delivered nothing in this budget for his brief and it is shocking that no new projects are planned and that only €72 million in additional funding is to be made available. There are serious questions to be raised about the levels of funding for public transport. Our public transport system receives the least subvention of all public transport networks throughout Europe. Ordinary people have had to cover this shortfall through the fare box. but the numbers do not add up. A generous estimate, from looking at the numbers in the budget, tells us that €17 million in additional funding has been made available. In a statement released by the Minister, Deputy Ross, last Tuesday night, the figure was €31 million. His Department informed me this was a clerical error to the tune of €15 million. I hope this discrepancy can be explained to me. It seems the Government is determined to run public transport into the ground. A couple of weeks ago we learned that the Minister, Deputy Ross, sat like a dummy - incapable or unwilling to offer an opinion - when he was told by CIE management of its plans to essentially privatise or, to use its word, “separate”, the Expressway service from the other CIE services. The obvious privatisation agenda of the Government is alarming. This year 10% of routes are being privatised. It looks as though Expressway will be the next victim the Government will attempt to target. We all know full well that once these routes and services are privatised, the private contractor can amend the contract, cut back the service and leave areas completely stranded by opting only to service the most profitable routes. Clearly, the Minister, Deputy Ross, and the Government have very little interest in investing in the public transport system. Instead they have prioritised the increasing of the inheritance tax and capital acquisitions tax reliefs that will cost €20 million and will only benefit 2,000 people. They do not see the value in a well-funded, first-class public transport network. This is a fatal mistake for economic growth, rural communities, business and social inclusion, and the list goes on.

We also have the issue of accessibility on public transport for people who use wheelchairs or have reduced mobility. Accessibility on public transport has been ignored once again. Many people with disabilities are on a low income and rely on public transport. If a person using a wheelchair outside the Dublin area needs to go somewhere, the chances are he or she cannot travel. If he or she can travel, an enormous amount of forward planning is a hassle that has to be endured.

Other obvious omissions include the complete and total lack of a capital expenditure plan for transport. Instead we are being treated to a review next year. No new projects have been announced and there are no cross-Border projects either. I am furious that projects such as Narrow Water bridge and the A5 have not been prioritised, especially given the new challenges Brexit will present to the people on this island, North and South.

Road maintenance is one of the few areas to receive an allocation under the regional and local roads programme. An additional €25 million has been allocated, bringing the total amount available for 2017 to €275 million. By the Minister’s own admission, we need €3 billion to bring regional and local roads up to a reasonable standard. Thereafter we need €580 million annually to keep the network in a steady condition. The Minister has been making jokes about being the Minister for potholes but this is not something to make light of. Our road network has been allowed to disintegrate in the past eight years or so. This affects road safety and economic growth, especially in regional areas. Deaths on the roads have been increasing and rural Ireland continues to be left behind in terms of business, jobs and economic growth. The level of funding provided will not make a dent in those figures. The current allocation will ensure our roads will continue to deteriorate. Tá deis caillte leis an mbuiséad seo. Is mór an náire é.

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