Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I very much support the call by Deputy Michael Collins for a compensation package to be put in place for fishermen. I have been contacted by many fishermen from around the coast who have been affected adversely in recent weeks. The tools of their trade have been destroyed. Quite simply, they do not have the money to replace them. They were not expecting this to happen. They are not covered by insurance and are in really dire financial circumstances. I hope and expect that the Minister will seriously consider putting in place a compensation package for the fishermen who are genuinely affected and hurt. Not a lot of money is required in each case. However, putting no package in place would be enough to place the fishermen at a considerable disadvantage.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Finance Bill because it gives us an opportunity to catch up on developments that have just transpired. When a budget is first introduced, one does not really see the detail. It is only in the following days, when one studies it and everybody gets an opportunity to go through it, that one sees exactly what is in it and, more importantly, what is not. In this case, I was hoping people who are less well-off would be taken care of. People who were struggling through the economic downturn got nothing in this budget that is of any consequence or importance.

Since I became a Member, I have always said it should pay people to work. Young families who have a mortgage, are struggling, trying to pay for child care and working are really finding it difficult to make ends meet at present. The Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy, knows the kinds of people about whom I am talking. They are individuals who are out working every day of the week, who may have a loan for a car and who have a mortgage. They have to pay for child care and they have many other bills, including for health care. All they see is that they are getting hit continuously.

Of course, we must also talk about the elderly and disabled. I agree with the sentiments of Deputy Michael Collins, who stated the Government is boasting about an increase of €5 per week but not giving it to people until March. As a rule, it has always been the way of Governments and Departments of Finance to apply increases at midnight but not give out any benefits for about six months. That is wrong and the practice should stop. When the Government says it is giving people something, it should give it to them immediately.

I am not happy about the increase in the rate of stamp duty for farmers. When I look through the exemptions and other provisions, I am still worried about transactions relating to land. We must always ensure that people who are changing ownership of land are catered for. In many cases, the farmer is just the custodian of the land. He does not have it for its monetary value and is only holding on to it for the next generation and trying to improve it. That must always be borne in mind when people are dealing with finances and budgets.

With regard to the vast amount of money that is being made available for electric cars, in the region of €10 million, I am totally opposed to it. I consider it a waste of money.

In recent days, I was dealing with a couple of awful cases involving people who providing care for individuals who are, unfortunately, terminally ill and who are seeking carer's allowance. I raised this matter yesterday and want to raise it again today because I want to drive home this point. I appreciate the reaction that I got from the Minister, Deputy Coveney. He saw merit in my case and believed it deserved a hearing. When the person being assessed for the carer's allowance is terminally ill, he or she does not have four or six months in which to have the claim processed. The application process should be streamlined. Once the medical evidence is submitted to the Department and once it is medically proven that, unfortunately, a case is terminal, there should be absolutely no delay. No individual or party in this House will disagree that when a person is terminally ill and somebody is seeking to care for him or her, that person should immediately be put on the carer's allowance. It is only right, proper and respectful. I want that to be driven home today, as was the case yesterday.

As I stated, when one studies the budget and goes through all the ins and outs, one realises that it will mean very little improvement in the lot of people in rural areas. Earlier this morning, I saw the cranes against the skies here in Dublin. This city and the remainder of the country are absolutely unrelated to each other at this stage. I refer to the price of property, the rents that are being charged and the work that is taking place here. I do not begrudge the people of Dublin the work but they should not believe it is being replicated throughout the country.

Consider the case of someone working on a community employment scheme in south Kerry. He or she may be glad and lucky to be on it. Here in the Dáil, I have raised the number of people the authorities are trying to remove from schemes. It does not make sense to me. When people are on schemes, that is all they have. They want to remain on them for as long as possible. They certainly do not want to be called in and asked questions about what they have at home or what they have under the bed. That is happening in Kerry at present. Is the rest of the country being treated in the same way? The percentage of people being called in is extraordinarily high, and I cannot make sense of it. I would like answers on this.

When it comes to budgets and finance, we have to take care of everybody.

We have to ensure that those who are less well-off will be taken care of and that every opportunity is taken to provide work, schemes, or other money-making avenues, be they for small farmers or for people living in housing estates or whatever else. We must always remember that there are two worlds in today's Ireland: Dublin and the rest of the country.

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