Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Listening to the Minister for Finance allocate various amounts to different Departments and areas yesterday, one could be forgiven for believing that great inroads were being made. Increases in allocations are always welcome, especially as too many budgets in recent years moved in the opposite direction. However, the big question is whether the budget will make a difference and, if so, for whom.

I hope the funding provided to address the housing crisis will have an impact but I doubt it will given the scale of the challenge. Additional funding for the housing assistance payment, HAP, scheme may help recipients of the payment to meet rental costs but tenants are finding it difficult to find landlords who will take the HAP. Moreover, the scheme will not provide the additional housing that is needed.

Various housing reports recommended using a special purpose vehicle which would meet EUROSTAT conditions for an acceptable off-balance sheet initiative. Home Building Finance Ireland, HBFI, is a welcome initiative for smaller developments but where does social housing fit into it? The alarm bells ring when one learns that HBFI will draw on the skills and expertise of the National Asset Management Agency given what happened to some of NAMA's projects and the vulture funds.

I indicated previously that the proposals in respect of a vacant site levy were inadequate and the levy was not being introduced soon enough. Landlords and owners of vacant sites have been sitting on them for years. While the budgetary provisions on a vacant site levy are welcome, I wish they would come into force sooner. Many landlords and owners are sitting on vacant houses and apartments. A levy should have been imposed on houses and apartments that have been left idle for a specific period without a valid reason.

The scale of the housing challenge is vast but the budget did not set out the radical measures needed to address it. The shortage of social housing and the requirement for affordable housing will not be met by the marketplace. Planning and special status for social and affordable housing must be fast-tracked and treated with the same urgency as student accommodation when it was fast-tracked in Dublin city.

High standards are needed for social housing and front-line staff working with people in supported accommodation who have a mental health issue and others in recovery from substance abuse. No one wants the recovery of such persons to be jeopardised by having them placed in unsuitable or harmful accommodation.

The Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, announced an additional €250,000 funding for evidence-based community plans for alcohol and harm awareness promotions. I hope the Minister of State will consider projects that support people in recovery from alcohol abuse and for which there is evidence that they work. One project which comes to mind that is not in my Dublin Central constituency is the Áit Linn programme in Ballymun which, despite making a difference and saving thousands of euro through its support for people in recovery, is struggling to survive as it does not know from where its funding will come.

The additional funding provided for the new drugs strategy is very welcome after many years of cuts to drugs projects and services. The increase in social welfare payments also moves in the right direction, as does the increase in the Christmas bonus to 85% of the value of the relevant payment. I hope the Christmas bonus will be restored in full next year.

The Taoiseach referred to giving something back to everyone. My preference, as I outlined during Leaders' Questions before the summer recess, would be to focus on a particular group rather than trying to give a small amount to many people. In my view, we should focus on people with a disability. Deputies are aware of the levels of exclusion and poverty experienced by disabled people. Their poverty is often caused by the additional costs they incur as a result of their disability. The minor but positive measures in the budget are not, as Senator John Dolan stated, the "game changer" that was needed. I do not believe many of those who gained through yesterday's tax measures would begrudge more money being provided for those who have a disability. They need an amount that would make a real difference and enable them to live independently and with dignity. I refer in particular to adults with an intellectual or physical disability who are being cared for by ageing parents who also have health issues. A republic of opportunity must ensure opportunities for those who have a disability.

The tax measures announced in the budget will deliver larger gains for those on higher incomes compared with those on lower incomes. Like previous speakers, I read Social Justice Ireland's budget analysis which showed that Ireland's tax take is still significantly below the European Union average. Effective tax rates have been declining in recent years. A low overall tax rate is not compatible with real socioeconomic progress.

I note the European Anti-Poverty Network, EAPN, Ireland welcomed the investment in welfare and services on the basis that it will help partially to repair the damage done in the past.

However, EAPN Ireland is also critical of the tax cuts and will seek a more ambitious plan next year.

Next Tuesday, 17 October, is the UN day for the eradication of poverty. Ladies from the SAOL Project will be in the audiovisual room at 4 p.m. to discuss their involvement in a project called Object Poverty. It would be interesting to see what difference the budget has made to those who know what real poverty is about.

As for the Minister's comments on corporation tax, I cannot agree that our system is "internationally recognised as one of the most transparent in the world." We have a 12.5% rate on paper but we still do not have clarity on the effective rate. While we are committed to the base erosion and profiting shifting, BEPS, initiative and country-by-country reporting, we will not support public country-by-country reporting except in respect of the European banking sector.

Our transfer pricing regime needs to be extended beyond trading activities, given the indications that the level of profit shifting into Ireland is high. We must go beyond the Coffey report. I hope that proposals and ideas like these will be raised during the public consultation meeting the Minister has suggested. Corporate tax avoidance drives global inequality. Taxes lost through avoidance deprive countries of the finances to provide services.

In recent years, we have had a magic figure of €35 million for mental health services. We never know whether it has been fully used but now there is to be a further €35 million. I hope that we will see real movement on this matter. The amount is not enough and exactly where it is going must be shown.

Stay-at-home parents felt discriminated against in this budget. They are seeking a more flexible child care allowance in order that they can decide for themselves what is best. I hope that the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Zappone, will meet them and discuss this issue. The additional funding for the area-based childhood programme has been welcomed by those involved.

Parents and families in disadvantaged areas are dependent on community-based, not-for-profit child care. They are working with vulnerable people, dysfunctional families and our new communities. Some of them are facing a crisis in attracting and retaining staff, though, particularly if they are reliant on the community employment, CE, scheme. We are seeing the effects of that. Due to such difficulties, one child care project I know of - the Community After Schools Project, or CASPr - must cut services that are badly needed. People cannot afford to have them cut.

Regarding the 50 cent increase in the tax on cigarettes, I would be delighted to support a complete ban on cigarettes for health reasons. However, I take the point made by Retailers Against Smuggling that the increase on a packet only fuels the illicit cigarette business. The extra 50 cent will not go directly into anti-smoking campaigns.

The hospitality sector will be delighted with the VAT rate on tourism but I must make the point that Dublin and other cities are doing well. We know the cost of hotel beds in Dublin and we know how well the restaurants are doing. In fairness to rural areas, they need to be considered because it looks like all of the benefits are going to the cities, as the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, knows.

The Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, is present, so I will welcome the small increase of €23 million in our overseas development aid, ODA, budget and a commitment to continue that in an upward direction. Some €13 million or so is going to Irish Aid, whose focus is on poverty and hunger, but my question is on the remainder. We have EU commitments but there are concerns about how the European Development Co-operation, EDC, budget is being spent, particularly in light of the increasing securitisation agenda. I would prefer to see the whole amount going to Irish Aid.

The Minister announced new consulates and embassies. There will be disappointment in some countries. Developing new trade markets will be explored because of Brexit. The report on business and human rights is coming, though, so I hope that when we consider trading partners, we will be committed to decent work and living conditions.

The climate change provision is very disappointing. It only scratches the surface and is not ambitious. It is disappointing that we will be one of five EU countries that will miss their 2020 targets. There is nothing in the budget to indicate that we have a chance of meeting those targets.

The increase in the arts and culture budget is welcome but I hope that the Minister will adopt a policy of positive discrimination towards community arts and culture. There is much going on in all of our constituencies for people who do not have access to the big cultural events. It is important that we do this.

Dúirt an tAire, an Teachta Donohoe, go bhfuil sé ag tacú leis an straitéis don Ghaeilge agus tá fáilte roimh an mhéadú airgid don Ghaeilge agus don Ghaeltacht. Ní dóigh liom, áfach, go ndéanfaidh sé aon difríocht ó thaobh na rudaí atá riachtanach don teanga.

Budgets cannot just be about economics. They must also include philosophy and ethics. The first philosophical and ethical question to be asked is on what kind of society we want, with budgets then based on the principles of justice, fairness and equality. We want an equal society but the unfortunate reality is that we are becoming a more unequal one.

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