Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thought the Acting Chairman was going to make particular reference to Deputies from his own constituency for a moment there, given his generosity earlier.

I also thank all colleagues who have contributed to this debate and who have offered their thoughts on the summer economic statement. I will respond to different points that were offered, but I will start by making the point that a recovering economy is not the same thing as a recovered society. This Government understands that completely. We cannot achieve what we want to make happen within our society unless we have a recovery taking place within the economy and the prospect of stability in the future. My colleagues from the Government benches have pointed to the fact that progress is being made. Acknowledging that progress has been made is not the same thing as saying that we do not need to make any more progress. Acknowledging that change has occurred is not the same thing as saying that we do not need to make more change in the future. Acknowledging and arguing that our society is strong is not to dispute the fact that our society is still scarred as a consequence of the horrific crash our country, our economy and our people went through. However, not to acknowledge incremental progress that has been made and the steady change in our prospects is wrong.

It was stated by some colleagues here in the House today that no progress at all is being made. Progress is being made. We are making efforts that are having an affect on the lives of people. Of course we acknowledge that there is more that must be done. That is the message that comes out of the summer economic statement. It is a message of ambition and realism. It acknowledges that we have opportunities but is explicit about the risks we face due to the changes in our external environment, whether that be Brexit or what might happen in America, or something that might happen here at home that a future Government may have to respond to, such as the prospect of our economy getting to a point that pricing for projects rises so much that we cannot get value for money. It recognises all of those things.

I heard some Deputies, particularly those associated with the far left, stand up and seek to back up the posters that they have put up in many parts of Dublin which call for a revolution. Who would this revolution benefit? We want to deliver continued change that can benefit all in our society. Let us recognise some of the facts that are contained within this summer economic statement. Let us recognise that in the framework that I am presenting to the House today that we are planning to increase capital expenditure next year by 16.6% versus where it is this year. The year after that we are seeking to increase it by 24% versus the previous year. At the end of this programme we are planning to increase capital expenditure to just under €8 billion, an increase of approximately 75% versus where we were at the lowest point in our difficulties. Anybody who stands up and claims that this is a capital plan which is lacking in ambition is not taking account of the fact that year after year, assuming the continued stability and growth within our economy which we believe we are able to deliver, we are laying out a framework that will increase spending by hundreds of millions of euro year after year for the next number of years.

This offers a strengthened framework in which this Government will make choices about how we can better use the resources available to us to deliver on the opportunities we have to respond to the challenge that never ends of how to be fair to all. This is now a level of resource and if colleagues want to go beyond that they have to answer several questions about it, namely, where will we get the money to do it and how can we be sure that going beyond this point will not trigger some of the forces that were central in the recent downfall of our economy. This is why issues of value for money and strong regulation are central to what we will do.

In response to the claims made about fairness, let me offer some facts on the fairness of the redistributive model here. Ireland is the most effective country in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD, at reducing the level of inequality between pre and post transfer income. In respect of poverty reduction, Ireland has the largest improvements in at-risk poverty rates in the European Union, after taking account of social transfers, which is what social transfers are there for, after taking account of pensions. Those who argue that the measures we have put in place are not delivering improvements for those who need support the most ignore the reality of the cumulative impact of our social transfer policies, not to mention the fact that the way our tax system is set up is one of the most progressive in the European Union.

As I make these points I know that Deputies will offer individual examples of where the need for fairness is not met, of projects that have not gone ahead, of needs that have not been met as quickly as we would all want. I understand this, as does the Government, but if we have learnt anything from what we went through recently it is that if we do not have a sensible economic framework that makes careful choices we will not have the prospects and resources we need to respond to the level of need that I know is there, and to take advantage of the opportunities our country has. When the Taoiseach speaks about the republic of opportunity and the Dáil asks what progress has been made in it to date, I point, for example, to the decision to make available 970 more special needs assistants in our schools. Is that not an example of a government meeting the needs of those who need support the most? I point to the agenda this Government has set out for the rest of the year, looking to put in place a budget that builds on progress made and to make careful choices about how we can achieve more with taxpayers' money. We will then follow that with a ten year capital plan that will lay out for the first time in years in our country a long-term approach to make sound, sensible choices for the taxpayer, accompanied by a planning and spatial framework that meets the needs that the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, described a few moments ago. That is the agenda of a government based on choices about our economic strategy, balancing our books next year, looking at how we can make more effective use of taxpayers' money and how we can make and achieve more of the €60 billion we are planning to deliver next year and we will lay out approaches and thoughts on that in the comprehensive spending review that I will publish soon. This offers a framework that tries to learn the lessons from the past and to acknowledge the new environment in Ireland, where investment in infrastructure is needed in a way that would have seemed unlikely some years ago, and where there is the ability to generate steady levels of increased investment in public services, in schools and hospitals but within a framework such that not only do we do the right thing by those we are privileged to serve and govern now, but also look to make long-term choices to make sure we can maintain the kind of positive change we have seen in our circumstances in a steady way in a changing world.

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