Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on budget 2018, the main thrust of which is to make life easier for families, help people who need it most, improve the lives of older people and invest in our rural communities. I welcome the prudent approach adopted as we need to learn lessons from the reckless financial management of the past which brought us to the brink of bankruptcy. To that end, I welcome the establishment of the rainy day fund with an investment of €1.5 billion. I also welcome the capital plan which is crucial to the delivery of key priority projects in social housing, roads and schools and will be critical as we move to develop our 2040 planning framework. I greatly look forward to contributing to that process and to proposing investment and connectivity to Offaly through access to our county town of Tullamore via a link from the N6 at Kilbeggan.

I welcome the increase in HAP funding which will be very helpful for people looking to accommodate themselves in their local areas. I welcome also the investment next year in new social housing. There are very many working people who simply cannot provide a house for themselves. The one thing we can do is to ensure people can get a roof over their heads as that is where they can make a great start in life.

The increase in stamp duty from 2% to 6% has been a cause of concern for many, in particular those who are midway through transactions and have budgeted for the lower rate. I hope it will be clarified that if contracts have been signed and deposits have been paid over, people will pay the 2% which they understood they had to budget for rather than the 6% rate. I appreciate that it is 6% for new transactions. A number of farming families have also contacted me on the age for transfers, which they feel is too low at 67. I hope we will be able to increase it.

Last year, I welcomed the investment of €5 million through budget 2017 to establish the Healthy Ireland fund.

I welcome the additional investment of €5 million, which underpins the commitment to the Healthy Ireland framework. However, it is only a drop in the ocean in terms of what is needed. I would like to see that funding increased year-on-year rather than remain at €5 million because the Healthy Ireland framework is essential in preventing physical and mental illness. Prevention should be our objective.

I also welcome the introduction of the sugar tax, which was flagged last year. However, I would prefer if it had been hypothecated to be targeted specifically at tackling the challenges of obesity, be that in relation to people in need of bariatric surgery, investment in our secondary schools and colleges or ourselves to improve our own quality of life. I appeal to the Department of Finance to reconsider its proposed use of the yield from this tax. Prevention is not spoken about enough in relation to this area. I welcome the investment in An Garda Síochána and the recruitment of an additional 800 Garda and 500 civilian staff. I also welcome all of the other services that are being rolled out through the Department of Justice and Equality, including the additional funding for CCTV systems and community text alert schemes.

Brexit is the greatest challenge to our country and economy in recent times. Our SMEs, which are the backbone of our communities, having access to the Brexit loan scheme at low interest rates is to be welcomed, as is the retention of the 9% VAT rate to support the hospitality sector, which I believe really needs assistance. While this sector is booming in particular areas, the 9% VAT rate is vital to counties like Offaly that are still developing their fantastic tourism product.

I welcome the additional funding for the cultural sector, including the Arts Council, the Irish Film Board, Culture Ireland, the national cultural institutions and the creative children initiative, Waterways Ireland and many other agencies associated with our built and natural heritage. However, as I have said time and again the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht does not get enough money. The Minister and her officials can only do so much with the money they are given. In Irish society, we are achieving enormously in the arts. We should be investing more in this area by way of a capital funding programme for the arts, similar to the sports capital programme. We are not only achieving at national level but at international level in terms of our writers, singers and actors. We need to do more for them.

As stated by the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, climate change is the global challenge of our generation. It was fantastic to hear a Minister for Finance acknowledging this because as a society, and individually, we are answerable to our children and grandchildren for our actions or, more important, inactions in terms of reducing our carbon footprint. There is an onus on us to ensure a reduction in energy use in all public-owned buildings. I welcome the allocation to facilitate energy efficiency programmes because a reduction in energy use in public buildings, commercial buildings and the residential sector will make a huge difference. I also welcome the allocation of €17 million for the renewable heat incentive. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, grant, the VRT relief and new 0% rate of benefit-in-kind will incentivise the uptake of electric vehicles. However, if we are serious about moving to electric vehicles then we must address the issue of distances and the lack of charging points. If I had an electric car, the only place I could charge it is on the far side of Merrion Square. That is the only charging point around here. This issue needs to be addressed in the context of new housing and commercial developments. We need more charging points in public places. People will not make the move to electric cars if there are not sufficient charging points.

I welcome the changes in the social welfare area, including the €5 per week increase in all weekly social welfare payments, the telephone support allowance, about which I know many of us have received representations, the increase in family income supplement, FIS, and the €2 per week increase in the qualified child payment. There are also other changes in terms of prescription charges and so on which I believe will be of real benefit to families and individuals.

Taxation is a matter that exercises us all, particularly the workers who kept the show on the road when the country was in austerity and striving to manage. They went to work every day and paid USC, the pension levy and their taxes. It was wrong that people moved to the high rate of tax on reaching €33,800. I welcome that the threshold in this regard has been increased to €34,500. In terms of attracting home our emigrants who left in times of austerity this is a really good move in the right direction. It will ensure that take home pay is attractive to them. The reduction in the USC rates from 2.5% to 2% and 5% to 4.75% is also welcome and will be vital in that regard.

I referred to SMEs earlier. We need to focus on them more and to acknowledge what they are doing in their communities, regardless of whether they employ one, two, five or ten people. It is incumbent on us as public representatives to recognise the fantastic work they do in providing services in our communities and employing people. There is often a great deal of focus on foreign direct investment and what US companies are considering locating in our towns and so on. We need to focus on the businesses already operating in our towns. For example, Grant Engineering in Birr and Glenisk Limited, which produces dairy products such as yoghurt, are fabulous local companies in my area which employ local people and will not up and leave when tax breaks run out. These businesses are invested in our communities and we need to focus more on them. The increase in earned income credit of €200 which brings the overall threshold to €1,150 is very welcome. It sends out the strong message to vital people in our communities that we appreciate them.

I welcome the rural social scheme and the increase in placements on the scheme to 250. The scheme is providing a fantastic service on a number of levels, socially and economically, for people in our communities. It is important people are able to learn new skills and to meet and connect with new people. All of this contributes to the mental and physical health and wellbeing of our people, which is the objective of the Healthy Ireland framework.

The increase in the number of SNAs to 11,000 is very welcome. It is important that all children are taught in mainstream schools. To do this successfully, we need suitably qualified people to help them. We cannot expect principals and teachers to handle all of that.

The 50 cent increase on a pack of cigarettes is welcome. I believe taxation can be used as an instrument for behavioural change. An important element of the national cancer strategy and our tobacco strategy is a tobacco-free Ireland by 2025. People should avail of the opportunity to give up smoking as it is now a very expensive habit. I plead with people not to take up smoking and I encourage those who do smoke but want to quit to avail of the many fantastic services available to them free of charge, including the HSE service quit.ie.

I welcome the budget, although there are many other areas I would like to have seen addressed in it. That said, it is a prudent budget and I support it. I thank the Taoiseach, the Minister for Finance and the staff involved in preparing it. I also acknowledge the role of Fianna Fáil in the budget in terms of its advocation for certain elements and themes therein.

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