Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Consider the benefits over a year or two of the USC and income tax reductions, the benefits of the pay increases that we have negotiated with public services, the pay increases in the private sector, the increase in the minimum wage as well as the reduction in the cost of living by reducing prescription charges and introducing subsidised child care. When one takes all of them together, one sees how they add up and become of real value to individuals and families. It will never be about just one announcement or one budget. It will be about a series of announcements and budgets containing different measures - some to reduce taxes, others to increase pay and others to reduce the cost of accessing public services.

We also believe in helping people who need it most. We have strengthened the safety net by increasing weekly payments by €5 for a wide range of people, including pensioners, carers, people with disabilities, the blind, widows, one-parent families, and those seeking work or those on employment support payments such as community employment, Tús and the rural social scheme. We believe in bigger budgets for public services so we can make a real difference in the areas that matter to many people, such as education, health and housing. For example, funding is being provided to deliver a further 1,300 additional teaching posts as well as an estimated 1,000 new special needs assistant posts in 2018. New funding will be provided for higher and further education by an increase in the national training fund levy, and we want an allocation of an additional €310 million up to 2021 to meet infrastructure needs in higher and further education.

Health has received a record allocation which will allow additional resources to be focused on reducing waiting times, increasing capacity in our acute services, enhancing mental health services and services for people with disabilities. There is a particular focus on primary care, including a new general practitioner, GP, contract which is central to the development of the reformed health service we all wish to have. The Minister for Health has also announced measures which will reduce the monthly cost to patients of their medicines. This will benefit people with medical cards and people who do not have medical cards will pay a reduced monthly maximum under the drugs payment scheme. However, it is not simply about spending more money. As our experience during the mid-2000s demonstrated, increased spending must be accompanied by reform if it is to deliver results. Extra spending does not equal better services. The correlation is indirect at best and often absent altogether. In the case of the health service, the Government is working on a reform roadmap in response to the Sláintecare report of the Oireachtas all-party committee.

The Government understands the stress faced by people without a home and the strain that homelessness is on our society. We know so many people struggling to buy or to rent a home. These people are not faceless statistics, but our friends and families, constituents and supporters. They are people we know and we want to help them. The total budget for housing is now €1.9 billion, an increase of €600 million compared to 2017. This investment will see housing provided to 25,000 individuals and families in 2018 by the State. These are new tenancies. The Government recognises the need to go further in its work on housing and we have therefore announced that €750 million of the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund will be made available through a new vehicle, called Home Building Finance Ireland, HBFI, to drive commercial investment in new house building. It will use the expertise of many existing staff of the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, as that organisation comes to the end of its mandate. The housing budget also includes an increase for housing assistance payments of €149 million and a further €18 million for homelessness services, bringing the total spend to over €116 million, with an extra €31 million in social housing current expenditure.

We believe in supporting individuals and families and allowing them to plan for the future. We believe in making work pay. We also believe in laying the foundation stone for a sustainable and prosperous economy which benefits all our citizens, young and old, in rural and urban areas. Budget 2018 is built on these values and is also built on our aspirations. We wish to improve people’s lives and enable individuals and families to plan for the future with confidence. We aspire to create a sustainable economy that supports the life cycle of our citizens from cradle to old age, one that reflects the reality of life and not simply a changing economic cycle. We aspire to full employment, a job for everyone who wants one and the opportunity to move up to a better one if one works towards it.

We wish to share the benefits of our return to economic growth by improving the lives of people in their later years. Among the changes included in budget 2018 which will have a direct impact on older people is a further €5 increase in the State pension to come into effect in March. This is the third year in a row in which the pension has been increased above the rate of inflation. There is also an increase for the free travel scheme and a range of measures to keep people independent in their homes. The telephone allowance is being partially restored and the fuel allowance extended by another week.

We believe in ensuring that all parts of the country have an equal opportunity to share in our economic growth and prosperity. The Department of Rural and Community Development was established for that reason and it is already delivering results. Funding is being directed towards creating the conditions for sustainable rural development and providing local level supports to help sustain vibrant and sustainable communities across Ireland. We have included a range of benefits for rural Ireland in the budget. This includes the retention of the special 9% VAT rate for the tourism, hospitality and leisure sectors, which is all the more important in the context of Brexit and vital for the economy in rural Ireland. It is particularly important in the Border areas where increasing VAT on hotels, bed and breakfast accommodation, hostels and accommodation, which must be kept together under EU VAT law, would be damaging for the economies in places such as Louth, Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal.

The budget provides the resources to allow for the recruitment of an additional 800 gardaí during 2018 to tackle crime, both rural and urban. There are an additional 250 places for the rural social scheme. Funding for the local improvement scheme is being maintained at €10 million and there is an increased focus on rural recreation projects, town and village regeneration and EU schemes such as Leader and PEACE.

We have already taken a number of actions to mitigate some of the economic risks arising from Brexit. However, challenges arise from the fact that we still do not know what will be the outcome of the Brexit negotiations. Therefore, we need robust and comprehensive plans across a range of scenarios to ensure we are ready for whatever ultimately emerges.

We are already experiencing currency fluctuations which are having an adverse impact on businesses, particularly in sectors which are heavily exposed owing to their levels of trade with the United Kingdom. Our enterprise agencies are continuing to work directly with businesses, offering advice and support to help them adapt to these challenges. We have provided resources in the budget to double the number of Brexit-related staff in State agencies. The investment of an additional €3 million will enable the recruitment of a further 50 staff, doubling the additional Brexit-related posts to 100 in 2018 to ensure a joined-up response to Brexit. This is also further evidence of the implementation of the Government's plan to double Ireland's global footprint and it is something we should do even if there was no Brexit.

Importantly, the budget provides for a €300 million loan scheme to give cheaper credit to small and medium enterprises, SMEs, and the agrifood sector. This will provide affordable financing to businesses that are or will be impacted by Brexit. The new scheme is open to all trading SMEs and large firms employing fewer than 500 people. The scheme will result in a sizeable reduction in interest rates charged for lending to approximately 4%. It will be delivered by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, SBCI, through commercial lenders to get much needed low cost working capital into businesses. We are also delivering targeted investments in agrifood, tourism and other sectors to help them respond to the challenge.

It is likely that our enterprise policy, Enterprise 2025, will need to be reorientated in certain areas to reflect changes in the external environment which are likely to be ongoing rather than transient. We are anticipating changes in the external environment and we are swift to respond to new circumstances. These changes are part of the reason I announced on my recent visit to Canada the Government's intention to double the team Ireland footprint overseas by 2025, with new and augmented diplomatic missions, as well as significantly increased resources for our investment, tourism, cultural and food agencies overseas.

The Global Footprint initiative includes new and augmented diplomatic missions and an increased agency presence overseas. It will enable us to effectively promote our interests and values on the international stage and aid our efforts to diversify and grow trade, tourism and inward investment. Budget 2018 includes provisions for relevant Departments and agencies to allow them to begin the work of expanding our global footprint. When I announced this initiative a few weeks ago it as dismissed as spin, as is always the case. I am now setting out the facts and the way in which it is taking place. This budget provisions include an increased allocation to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of €23 million for next year, which includes a provision to raise staffing levels overseas, and provision of €112 million to the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport to further enhance Ireland's tourism offering and market the country abroad. I expect that these increased allocations will start to take effect quickly. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Coveney, has announced that Ireland will open new embassies in Santiago, Chile, Bogota, Colombia, Amman, Jordan, and new consulate offices in Vancouver and Mumbai. Other developments include the commitment to develop a new Ireland house in Tokyo and developing our links with China on foot of the Tánaiste's recent successful visit to the region.

In addition to these announcements, relevant Departments and agencies are preparing a comprehensive plan for consideration by government by the end of the year. The plan will identify further opportunities to expand our global footprint in the short and medium term. This is more than simply an investment in embassies; it represents an investment in the agencies that work hard to promote this country and whose work is integral to our future. There are, therefore, also increases for Bord Bia, Tourism Ireland, Culture Ireland, the Irish Film Board, IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland. This is an investment in Ireland abroad to ensure we are secure at home. It takes a long-term view of the challenges to this island and offers a global solution to immediate dangers.

The problem with the values and policies of the far left is that they want to sacrifice the economy to pay for improvements in society, without understanding how quickly it becomes unsustainable. Venezuela is just the most recent example of this - a promising start is ending in bankruptcy, poverty and oppression. There are many other examples in history of exactly this. The far left wants to do everything based on nothing andwants everything to be free and paid for by someone else. This is an unsustainable model which can only fail. The same problem occurs in reverse with the values of the far right.

We believe in the politics of the centre, where we have a strong opportunity orientated society underpinned by a strong, competitive economy. The two form a virtuous circle rather than being in conflict. We are thinking not just about next year, but the next ten years and beyond, about an economy that creates opportunity and a society that flourishes precisely because our economy is based on strong foundations.

This is the seventh budget since Fine Gael came to office and the second we have put together with the Independent Alliance and Independent Ministers. Working first with the Labour Party and now with the Independent Alliance and Independent Ministers, we have made remarkable progress in bringing the country back from the brink and giving us all hope and options for the future. This budget contains something new. It lays the foundation stone for our ambitious plans for the years ahead. Having rebuilt the Republic, we are now able to build something new, a republic of opportunity for all our citizens, free from the boom and bust cycles of the past.

One of the old Irish jokes with which many of us are familiar is the story of the tourist who stops on a country road and asks for directions and the answer he is given is: "Well I would not have started from here." This was true of where we stood in 2011, when the then Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael Noonan and Deputy Brendan Howlin, respectively, faced incredible challenges in rescuing the economy and had to do so from a starting position neither would have chosen. Things are different now in 2017. Having done the hard work and made the policy decisions and the Irish people having endured enormous sacrifice, we are now where we want to be. We are starting from a good position, we know where we want to go and we know how to get there. This is the budget where we begin.

Last week in the House, Members paid tribute to one of my forebearers, Liam Cosgrave. In his first budget as Taoiseach in 1973, Mr. Cosgrave took pride in the fact that it was people centred to reflect its greater values. By putting stability first, it was able to put people first. This budget attempts to do the same. We honour Liam Cosgrave's memory again in our words and actions and we honour his legacy by continuing his work for Ireland. It is the only vision for our country and the one that offers long-term prosperity.

In budget 2018, the Government is establishing a rainy day fund in line with the confidence and supply agreement with Fianna Fáil. As a first step, we are allocating €1.5 billion from the Irish Strategic Investment Fund and €500 million per annum from 2019 onwards. This is a long-term project to build some protection for future macroeconomic shocks. We will not do this on our own, but rather after consultation with the Dáil and Seanad. We want Members' input, which we will use to help shape our approach. The Minister for Finance has, therefore, published a consultation paper on the fund and the Government looks forward to hearing the views of the Oireachtas on its operation.

For Ireland to succeed, we need to think long term, which means planning for a country that will be home to almost 6 million people in 2040. For this reason, budget 2018 prioritises investment in capital infrastructure. We are investing in the future. Central to this is the new national development plan the Government will approve before the end of the year. The ten-year framework will also help to ensure a phased approach with sequencing, which avoids overheating or the development of imbalances in the economy, as occurred in the past. In doing so, we will ensure investment in education and higher education, roads and public transport is timed and targeted appropriately into the future. The same is true for housing, health care, broadband and investment in sport and culture. This approach is essential to ensure all parts of the country share in the recovery and our growing prosperity. To achieve this, the Government has ring-fenced an additional €4.1 billion for allocation over the period until 2021. This is in addition to the existing capital plan and the extra €2.2 billion already committed to housing. This will increase capital expenditure by more than 70% over the next four years to almost €7.8 billion by 2021. As a result, public investment in Ireland will moving from relatively low levels to being among the highest in the European Union.

We are confident about what we can achieve because it is grounded in recent experience. I know people are sceptical about ten-year plans but they should think for a moment about what was done in the past five years when we had little money. Luas cross-city is complete and will open to passengers in December. Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork is open, as is the National Gallery extension. The national sports campus is a reality. Greenways have been open across the country. After decades of talk, the new national children's hospital is under construction.

Consider Newlands Cross, the Gort-Tuam motorway, the N11, New Ross and Enniscorthy, 50 primary care centres and 200 new schools all over the country. That is what was done in the past five years when we had very little money for capital investment. Imagine what we can do in the next ten when we will have a lot more.

On these benches, we are not going to take lessons in accounts or accountability from some parties in this Chamber, least of all from Sinn Féin. I was interested to see that Sinn Féin's budget submission this year was called "On Your Side". I like it as a title. It was familiar to me because it is actually the slogan that we used in our local election campaign in 2004.

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