Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate. As I stated in my contribution to the budget debate, while I generally welcome the 2017 budget, I also have some reservations. There is no doubt the Government must manage the public finances in a fair and prudent manner. We can never return to the Fianna Fáil boom and bust policies and we must not forget that these policies wrecked the economy, brought the troika to the country and caused us to lose a generation of our youngest and brightest citizens to emigration. Every citizen has paid a heavy price for the reckless policies of the last Fianna Fáil Government.

Since the Fine Gael Party entered Government in 2011, we have had to make some very difficult decisions, the results of which are plain to see. We have restored the public finances and the jobs lost during the crisis, stopped the flow of our youngest and brightest citizens leaving our shores and returned the economy to growth. The Irish economy is now the envy of our European colleagues.

As I stated, I welcomed budget 2017 and the commitment in the programme for Government to focus more on investment in public services than tax cuts. As the Minister stated, we must manage our public finances effectively and fairly for the benefit of all. I recognise that we cannot make all the changes we want in a single budget. The recent budget is only the start and as more resources become available, I expect more progress will be made in future budgets.

Speaking as a Deputy from a Border county, the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union poses many challenges while also offering many opportunities. The decision to retain the reduced VAT rate for the tourism and hospitality sector is particularly welcome and will help negate some of the effects of the UK's decision. North County Louth has a thriving tourism industry and from speaking to many of the key stakeholders since the budget, it is clear they are particularly pleased with the retention of the reduced VAT rate.

The changes to the USC are also welcome. It is welcome that the rates have been reduced as this will benefit a large number of taxpayers. It must be noted that the squeezed middle did a lot of the heavy lifting during the years of austerity and this fact should be recognised in all future budgets.

I welcome a number of other measures in the budget, including the extension of the mortgage interest relief scheme to 2020; the increase of €2,000 in the amount that can be earned under the rent-a-room scheme; the introduction of the low-cost flexible loan fund for the farming sector; and the provision of €319 million for the local and regional roads fund.

The introduction of the help-to-buy scheme for first-time buyers is an initiative that will be of great benefit. I thank the Minister for addressing my concerns about the minimum mortgage required. Following my representations, the limit for the minimum mortgage required to avail of the scheme was reduced to 70% from 80%. This amendment will make the scheme more readily available to a wider number of applicants. I ask the Minister to consider further amendments, particularly to the upper limit. I strongly believe the amount of relief should be capped at 5% of €400,000. I urge the Minister to leave the cap at €400,000 and not have the scheme open to houses valued up to €600,000. I argue that capping the relief at €400,000 would have the effect of keeping prices for first-time buyers at or below €400,000. Builders would not build houses in excess of this figure for first-time buyers because, simply, there would no demand for them. Another point is that a first-time buyer who is in a position to purchase a house for €600,000 does not require help from the taxpayer to do so.

Prior to the budget, I made numerous representations to the Minister that Dundalk should be included in the living city initiative. I am extremely disappointed that it was not included in the scheme and urge the Minister to reconsider his decision. The United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union will affect Dundalk more than most as it is a Border town. We must support the Border region and including Dundalk in the scheme would have been a great start. I note that the Minister, in his written response to my queries, explained that he wanted to make changes to the living city initiative before including Dundalk in the scheme. I disagree with this approach and again urge the Minister to include Dundalk as a matter of urgency. The initiatives included in the scheme would be of great benefit to the town centre of Dundalk and help to regenerate the area. What we must realise is that Border towns like Dundalk will be in direct competition with towns on the other side of the Border, including Newry, for retail trade. We must support towns such as Dundalk in every way possible.

In the main, I fully support the efforts of the Minister in the budget. As I stated, I support the vast majority of the measures included in it. I urge the Minister to consider my suggestions in regard to the help-to-buy scheme and the living city initiative.

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