Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Today's budget is an important moment for centre-ground politics. It is an opportunity to continue on a fairer route to how the State delivers services for citizens and it gives working people a much needed break. It is a chance to build fairer policies founded on sustainable finances. It is also an important day for practical politicians. There are politicians in the House who see problems and debate them and others who see problems, debate solutions and seek to implement these solutions. In that spirit, the Fianna Fáil Party has left its print on this budget. We stood up to the mark in 2016 to ensure that the country had a stable Government in uncertain times. Since then, we have emphasised investment in services, particularly housing, health, mental health, education at all levels, child care and improving the social and capital condition of communities, while at times focusing tax reductions on low and middle income earners. The minimum two to one split between expenditure on services and cuts in tax has been the hallmark of our policy, one which has fundamentally set the parameters of the entire budget.

The confidence and supply agreement is not a document created by spin doctors. It is directly responsible for a wide range of measures, including: the €5 increase in the pension and working-age payments for a second year in a row, targeted packages for the most disadvantaged and a phased reversal of cuts in telephone and fuel allowances; extra resources for housing and homelessness and a focus on delivering instead of announcing, as signified not only by today's measures but also by initiatives in recent weeks, such as the legislation on vacant properties introduced by Fianna Fáil last week; the investment of €55 million in the National Treatment Purchase Fund, which has been derided by many but which, if properly used, can give those waiting on surgical waiting lists a chance of treatment; the first proper investment in the mental health services that will deliver on the vision in A Vision for Change; a reduction in the drug payment scheme that will reduce medicine bills for working families and those with chronic conditions; reductions in prescription charges; a reduction in the pupil-teacher ratio at primary school level which, in addition to the planned demographic-related increases in teacher numbers, will make primary school classes smaller; expanded guidance counselling; greater postgraduate access; a greater investment in local and regional roads and community facilities; an investment of €25 million in the areas of natural constraint, ANC, programme assisting those farmers who farm in the most naturally disadvantaged of conditions; tacaíocht bhreise do na heagraíochtaí atá ag obair lenár dteanga dhúchais; and the establishment of the Public Service Pay Commission, which has delivered a sustainable package of pay rises to public servants and which offers a pathway to pay equalisation for new entrants.

These and other measures clearly show that Fianna Fáil's participation in the confidence and supply agreement is delivering for people across the island. Our participation is focused and laser-like and contrasts with that of the Government, a spin obsessed machine which today awarded itself a €5 million increase in funding for the so-called strategic communications unit, also known as the Government's cheerleading unit. This sum could buy many home help hours or home care packages. While the Government can keep spinning, we will keep delivering.

The Fianna Fáil Party's decision to participate in the confidence and supply arrangement was taken last year against the backdrop of the challenge set for politicians by the people through their voting patterns in the general election. That challenge, which came against the backdrop of an enormously difficult decade, was to provide political stability in an unstable world. It became even more urgent in the context of the Brexit decision taken later in 2016. The challenge was to ensure political stability was used to place fairness in our society, give working people a break and invest in services as central planks in any new political arrangements. Unlike others, Fianna Fáil did not run away from this challenge but took it on and in this budget, as in that introduced last year, we have delivered.

It is important to remember that today is not simply about new measures and changes costing approximately €1 billion, it is also about the €60 billion or more the State invests every year. The way in which the public service invests, ensures value for money and delivers services is key to building a state in which citizens can have faith. Delivery is the key to showing citizens that politics works. Today is about fanfare, ceremony and set-piece debates but we will be here tomorrow, in one week and in one month to ensure all of today's commitments are delivered. The confidence and supply agreement is founded on delivery. At times in the past 12 months, this has meant robust exchanges and difficult meetings away from the media focus of budget day and these will continue in the next 12 months.

As Deputy Michael McGrath stated, the key measure in the budget is focused on homelessness and an affordable housing package. I remind the House, not that it needs reminding, that today is World Homeless Day. Homelessness is not only an economic challenge but a moral imperative in a republic. More than 130,000 households languish on the social housing waiting list. Those renting homes are experiencing the highest rents on record, while house prices are rapidly growing beyond the reach of ordinary working people. The homelessness scandal is a scar on our communities, with some 8,000 people in emergency accommodation. The dream of owning a home is becoming more and more distant to more and more people. Despite figures showing employment growth, people are further away from securing a home than ever. We need to allow people to believe in this dream again. Regrettably, there is little in the budget package to inspire this dream in those who seek an affordable home.

The Fine Gael record on building homes is abysmal. Since 2011, the State has built just 4,000 new social houses, fewer than were built in almost every single year from 1994 to 2009 when Fianna Fáil led a series of Governments. If plans, spin and announcements were houses, we would not have a problem. The plans announced today must result in delivery. The €1.1 billion announced for housing next year must ensure houses are built and people secure homes.

The plans must focus on allowing local authorities to once again get back into the business of building homes and release funding for an affordable housing programme. Success will not be counted on the Government's balance sheet or in pats on the back from the OECD or IMF. Success will be bricks and mortar on the ground and homes and roofs for people.

The additional current expenditure of €148 million on HAP and the additional allocation to homelessness organisations are much-needed measures that will be spent many times over unless we address the crucial issue. The development of a carrot-and-stick approach, with ramping up the vacant site levy to drive on development, is badly needed and, hopefully, will promote progress in this regard, but capital spending on social and affordable homes is the key to cutting through this crisis. That will be the test by which the Government will be measured.

For those who own a home and are paying mortgage interest, our insistence on extending the mortgage interest relief will ensure that 420,000 mortgage holders will avoid an effective mortgage payment increase from January onwards.

Morale in our health services is on the floor and matters of recruitment remain a serious impediment to achieving the personnel levels that we need. More than 680,000 people are languishing on hospital waiting lists. Glib comments about record levels of funding and being the best boy in the OECD class are not the way to address these challenges. Extra resources are needed, as are managerial and HR policy changes, to deliver the necessary reforms. The all-party Oireachtas committee's Sláintecare report has set out a clear ten-year roadmap to a fairer, more effective system.

The €55 million allocated to the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, must focus on surgeries. It must focus on targeted medical procedures, such as joint replacements and cataract surgeries, to ensure that we reduce the pain suffered by those on waiting lists. The NTPF has a track record of delivery. There are those in this House who seem to want to leave people on waiting lists in pursuit of a certain political model of health care delivery. We would prefer to get people treated, out of pain and off the waiting lists.

For working families and those with long-term or chronic conditions, the reductions in the drug payment scheme's threshold and the prescription charge are a welcome step towards alleviating daily and weekly health costs. The planned investment in primary health care must result in improvements in delivery in this regard. Rather than aspiring to completing talks on the new GP contract, just finish it and empower GPs to deliver on their talents.

Boosting personal assistance hours and disability services is crucial to giving people with disabilities a genuine pathway to inclusion. This will be an area that will be the subject of extensive post-budget engagement on our part, and we will aim to ensure that this year's HSE service plan reflects our priorities in that regard.

Similarly, the cuts in home help hours and home care packages are a key factor for hospitals. The HSE has adopted a penny wise and pound foolish approach to home help hours and home care packages. It seeks to save a pittance by restricting hours, yet it spends millions of euro on emergency measures to alleviate the hospital trolley situation. In Mayo alone, there are 142 families today for whom home help hours have been approved but cannot be allocated. This situation is replicated on the ground across the country.

There needs to be a focus on addressing the HR challenges in the health service. We have hundreds of vacancies in many areas, including nursing, therapy, surgery, etc. Those working in our health service are doing so under HR practices that belong to a previous era. Pay is one issue preventing people from taking up positions, but by no means is it the only one. The Public Service Pay Commission, PSPC, needs to be robust in addressing not only pay factors, but also HR practices. These vacancies are causing tremendous hardship for patients, and their families, who are dependent on such services.

In recent years, the gap in many State-provided services was made up by what are known as section 39 organisations. These include disability service providers, hospices and care centres. During the crisis, the grants to these organisations were cut. Like the FEMPI legislation, this was a necessary budgetary measure and the HSE instructed these organisations to pass on the specific cuts to their staff. In other words, employees were to be treated the same as public sector employees in the publicly owned section 38 organisations. We have seen the evidence of this.

In response to efforts to bring parity to this situation, however, the Government has been dismissive, evasive and, in some cases, downright arrogant. These organisations provide vital services for our communities throughout the country. Without them, the State would have to step in and spend far more for the provision of such services. The Government claims that this is a matter for the HSE and not it. Workers in these organisations deserve better than such financial gymnastics.

Fully implementing A Vision for Change will demand an extra €35 million next year, which builds on the extra €35 million that was factored into the base from 2017. Our mental health services have long been the Cinderella of our health system. These additional resources are only stepping stones in reaching our goal of implementing A Vision for Change in full. In addition, our securing of extra guidance counsellors for schools will assist in tackling teenage mental health challenges at school level. We will continue to monitor spending and investment in mental health tightly. In mental health awareness week, we in the Oireachtas have a duty to act on, and not just talk about, mental health and mental health services.

Building up a strong education system is central to equipping the next generation for the challenges of the future. The confidence and supply agreement placed education at its heart. We have made significant progress in some areas. The reduction of the pupil-teacher ratio by one is a welcome step that we prioritised. The broadening out of access to postgraduate grant supports was a key aim for our party. The continued changes in the thresholds are welcome. The additional funding for third level and further education is also welcome, but €47 million of it is being funded by a levy on employment. While employers benefit greatly from our third and further education system, the Government cannot entirely leave the resolution of the funding challenge for third level to employers. It must step up to the mark itself.

We also need an outline of how the Government will spend this extra money. Will it be invested in a comprehensive and ambitious apprenticeship scheme? The Government has stated that it is wary of growing the capital budget by too much to avoid pressures on labour costs. An apprenticeship scheme and a retraining scheme will provide the Government a solution, and properly funded ones will give many opportunities. The continued restoration of ex quotaguidance councillors is a positive development that will help schools across the country. We will continue to ensure that these resources are employed properly in each school.

The education sector in particular has been affected by the disparities in pay for new entrants since 2011. This is a serious point of division within staff rooms across the country and is undermining morale and confidence within our education system on a daily basis. We must have the PSPC report on pay equalisation in advance of budget 2019 to allow us to make headway on this issue.

We welcome the changes announced in the early childhood care and education, ECCE, scheme in this budget and the extra resources for Tusla. We now need to ensure that the ECCE is achieving what it set out to do without resulting in displacement or price increases for participating families. We will monitor this situation closely.

It is also time to examine properly issues of pay, including pay levels, for professionals in the early child care sector. The State cannot continue to wash its hands of its responsibilities in this regard. This will be a key focus for us in advance of budget 2019.

A strong and fair social protection package must be at the heart of a progressive budget. Helping to mend the gaps in the social safety net and giving those who need it most a helping hand are characteristic of a state that places fairness at its heart. We make no apologies to anyone for prioritising this. We are committed to a sustainable social protection policy within the parameters of the fiscal space. The package that we have negotiated today will make a difference, however small, to those who need it the most. It is a clear example of a politics that is delivering for people, not the sterile shouts in the wilderness of parties that talk the talk but, when it comes to walking the walk, decide to run. Ensuring fair budgets that emphasise services and deliver for working people has been our core ethos. The welfare package is a step in that direction that simply would not have happened without Fianna Fáil taking responsibility and fighting our corner in the negotiations.

Much remains to be done to recover the ground lost in the recession and the regressive budgets that Fine Gael and Labour constantly pursued.

We need to address the discrimination being experienced as a result of the 2012 changes to the eligibility criteria for the contributory State pension because 35,000 pensioners have had their payments cut. These cuts can be up to as much as €50 a week. Many are parents who made the decision to take time out of the workforce to raise their families and are now being penalised by the State for doing so. It is unfair and we must define a path to reversing this unfairness.

Ten years ago a budget measure on diesel cars changed the buying behaviour of the motoring public. Maybe those who championed it at the time do not like to be reminded of it now. Today's tax changes may not have the same level of impact but will raise consciousness about electric vehicles and begin a conversation we need to have about replacing fossil fuel vehicles with more sustainable modes of transport. Personal behaviour is one thing but it is only a small component. The national transport fleet needs to be radically transformed to lead the way. The forthcoming capital plan should be climate change proofed in this area but it must also provide the infrastructure to encourage people to take the leap so they know they will have the back-up for their new vehicles. The allocation of additional moneys for cycle paths and lanes around the country is welcome but I respectfully suggest we get cyclists to design them rather than engineers.

A specific Department for rural and community affairs was a key commitment in our 2016 manifesto. We welcome the Government's belated approach to setting up this Department. This is the first budget for this new Department so it is still too early to measure the impact of its promised cross-governmental approach on rural and community affairs. One of the new Department's key pillars is the Leader programme. However, blockages in Leader, which has suffered from dire underspend, have to be a Government priority in the coming weeks. Failing to utilise these badly needed funds completely is a lost opportunity for communities across the country. It seems to me there are too many cooks spoiling the Leader broth. There are many inconsistencies across the country in the application process and groups with good and ambitious ideas for their communities are being frightened away by layers of red tape and administration. The Minister should cut the layers and open up the programme, otherwise the potential of Leader as a driver of rural and community development will be lost forever. Last year's boost to the CLÁR programme must be built on and work should be prioritised to reinstate initiatives under the old CLÁR programme which assisted small and local businesses to remain in rural areas. The relaunch of the local improvement scheme is an important step in raising the quality of private roads across the Irish countryside. Our securing of an extra €80 million for the regional roads programme must be spent comprehensively around the country in order to address the challenges our regions face.

Is duais chultúrtha í ár dteanga náisiúnta. Tá acmhainní breise ag teastáil don straitéis 20 bliain chun é a chur i bhfeidhm ina hiomláine. Mar gheall ar an gcomhaontú muiníne agus soláthair idir Fhianna Fáil agus an Rialtas, tá an tiomantas tábhachtach sin cláraithe ag an Rialtas. Glacaimid go bhfuil roinnt beart san áireamh sa Ráiteas Buiséid inniu. Ní thuigim, áfach, na gealltanais, ar lámh amháin, ón Rialtas agus é ag caint faoi thábhacht na Gaeilge nuair a gcaithfimid, ar an lámh eile, troid chun airgead beag a fháil le haghaidh na straitéise don Ghaeilge. Ba chóir don Rialtas a bheith níos dearfa agus an straitéis á chur i bhfeidhm. Is eagraíocht nuálaíoch í Údarás na Gaeltachta. Le blianta beaga anuas, bhí an t-údarás an-tacúil don phobal Gaeltachta ó thaobh úsáid na teicneolaíochta a mhéadú, go háirithe ar an gclár GTeic. Ní mór don Rialtas breis maoinithe, go háirithe infheisitíocht caipitil, a chur ar fáil don Údarás chun an clár sin a leathnú.

The success of the 1916 commemoration programme last year was fantastic and it showed the importance of arts and culture to our Republic. That success has faded and we need an honest conversation about arts and culture funding and the sustainability of the sector in 21st century Ireland. The Fine Gael election manifesto promised a doubling of arts funding but a 4% increased allocation to the Arts Council this year is not a doubling. Once again we have the spin versus the reality of delivery. There is a need for a cross-departmental approach to securing our arts. Our Department of Education and Skills needs to be involved in terms of securing the values of the next generation so they understand the importance of arts and culture. The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation needs to be involved in providing support for those seeking to develop their businesses. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport needs to be involved. Many Departments have a role in providing a sustainable future for our arts and culture community but that role must be underpinned by proper funding.

Members of An Garda Síochána are the backbone of the safety and security of our State. They perform the most important duty of upholding the law and keeping our citizens safe. The scandals and controversies that have beset the organisation over the past number of years do not reflect on the ordinary members of the force who continue to serve our communities well and continue to retain the confidence of their communities. Our gardaí help us in our worst moments. They protect against criminality and resist threats to our State. That is why boosting Garda numbers to 15,000 was a key part of our manifesto and a central plank of the confidence and supply negotiation. Today a further significant step has been taken towards that number. Putting in place the resources to enable the force to achieve civilianisation and freeing up gardaí to go on the beat is also vital and we have further progress on that front today. The upcoming Commission on the Future of Policing must be taken into account in 2018 in setting out the development of the force. The disappointing failures in the force over the past number of years risked unravelling hard won public support. The Government needs to ensure the resources that will be required by the commission will be in place as it does its work.

The ongoing recruitment in our Defence Forces is welcome but is in danger of masking the serious morale and condition problems that are afflicting all arms of our Defence Forces. Our Army, Air Corps and Naval forces are doing outstanding work on a daily basis, nationally and internationally. That work places them in personal danger every day. This work is not fully appreciated by the Government and we need far more than tea and sympathy to address the challenges facing our forces. There needs to be a pathway to address the capital investment required in facilities and equipment and there needs to be action to address the standing of Defence Forces representative organisations in terms of the Workplace Relations Commission which will allow them to represent members properly and meaningfully.

Of all sectors, agriculture is most acutely exposed to Brexit. Farmers across the country are in trepidation of what may come and of a lackadaisical approach on the part of Government to that challenge. Farmers in areas of natural constraint are particularly vulnerable. For this reason and to help to ensure we have the human infrastructure to deliver on Food Wise 2025 and to maintain rural communities, we welcome the boosting of areas of natural constraint payments back towards their 2007 levels. We have worked hard for this in the past 12 months and the Minister now needs to step up to the mark to ensure this extra investment is targeted at those who need it most. We welcome the commitment to a second competitive fund to assist the agriculture community in tackling Brexit. However, it will not be enough. This sector requires a laser-like focus to prevent damage to our food industry, our food exports and our farmers on the ground. We also need in advance of budget 2019, an accurate and honest assessment of the impact of the withdrawal of the UK on Common Agricultural Policy funding given its importance in terms of direct payments to farmers and supports for the regional and rural development programmes.

The year 2018 must also bring a fair and sustainable resolution to difficulties facing our community post office network. This has been dragging on for far too long and it is time to act. There is huge potential within this network if properly resourced. It is ironic on the day that a rise is announced in the minimum wage and in social protection payments, which are often delivered through this network, that most of those who operate community post offices work for much less than the minimum wage. Time for talking must finish.

Brexit has also had unforeseen impacts on public service broadcasting as a consequence of significant curtailment in advertising from UK based companies. This is impacting on RTÉ and on independent, local and national broadcasters. We value public service broadcasting in this country. It is important we make the investment to sustain it in these uncertain times.

The budget is a warm-up act for the forthcoming capital plan which will be published before the end of the year. The transport priorities within that plan must address the transport deficiencies within Dublin, including Metro North and DART underground, and the continuing regional deficiencies such as the N4 Sligo-Dublin, the N5-N26 Mayo-Dublin, the A5 Donegal-Dublin and the N20 Cork-Limerick roads. As I said previously, a key requirement of our confidence and supply agreement is the upgrade of regional and local roads.

In this budget we have secured an additional €80 million as well as an LIS package. However, again the impact of these schemes is being undermined by inconsistent application throughout the country and the use of these funds to make up for lost funds for local government.

This is probably the first budget that has been eclipsed by sport. I am realistic enough to know that more people are talking about Ireland's great win last night than are talking about today's events. There is also excitement and anticipation about the Rugby World Cup. I congratulate all involved and wish the bid to host that event here in 2023 well. It will require a capital investment, if successful, and all parties should reaffirm their commitment to that investment on this budget day. Our grassroots sport capital and current investment should not be sacrificed for big events. The forthcoming sports capital grants, national planning framework and the capital plan should be sports-proofed.

The Government's record on capital is the same as its record on housing and health - a lot of reports and no substance. It has outlined a series of pathways in terms of public private partnerships and the use of the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund that can deliver capital. We welcome today's announcements on housing. We will judge the capital programme when it is released in December. It must ensure that it has beneficial investment for regional areas.

This is the second budget produced under confidence and supply agreement. There are as many commentators on politics and on this budget as there were on last night's game. To some of them politics seems to be a game. Some revel in creating drama where none exists. Indeed some members of the Government see this as their main job within government. Others throw out idle speculation without a thought as to how that might impact on actual people. Politics is not a game. Politics is about people. All of us who are honoured to serve in this Oireachtas are here to serve the people and our country, and we hope to improve their lives and make this country stronger and a better place to live. It may sound twee, but it is the truth.

Fianna Fáil believes in acting on that aim and not just talking about it. This budget is by no means perfect, but it is much stronger, much fairer and much more ambitious for our island than it would have been without our input.

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