Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the budget. Fine Gael has listened to the people and has invested in areas that need it the most. We made a step in the right direction to tackle the homeless crisis. There will be a total investment of €1.83 billion for housing in 2018 with 3,800 new social houses to be built next year by local authorities and approved housing bodies. The social housing current expenditure programme will deliver an extra 4,000 extra social housing units next year. The housing needs of 25,500 households will be met in 2018. Every day next year, 98 households will have their housing needs met. The housing assistance payment has been increased by €149 million and it will enable 17,000 extra households to be supported and accommodated in 2018. Funding for homeless services will be increased to over €116 million.

On coming into office, the Government has increased investment in the Garda. The budget will provide resources to allow for the recruitment of an additional 800 Garda students, along with another 500 civilian Garda personnel. I welcome this investment as my constituency, Louth, knows only too well the importance of having gardaí on the beat.

We need to help families. The budget reduced the universal social charge from 2.5% to 2% and from 5% to 4.75%, increased the earnings disregard for the one parent family payment and the jobseeker's transitional scheme by €20 per week and decreased the threshold for receipt of family income supplement by €10 per week. Some 1,300 additional teaching posts are to be provided in 2018, while the pupil-teacher ratio at primary school level will be reduced and there will be more breakfast clubs for DEIS schools. It also provided a €5 per week increase in social welfare payments, which include disability allowance, carer's allowance and jobseeker's allowance and benefit. A Christmas bonus of 85% will again be paid to all social welfare recipients in 2017. A Brexit loan scheme was launched that will make up to €300 million available at a competitive rate to help businesses with their short-term working capital needs. The retention of the special 9% VAT rate for the tourism sector is particularly important in the context of Brexit and will help Border towns such as my home town of Dundalk.

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