Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We also will be supporting the Bill. Deputy Calleary outlined the importance of it. It gives authorisation in law for all of the expenditure covered by the Estimates which were dealt with in May of this year and also the Supplementary Estimates which were dealt with on 7 December. The Bill is coming before the House now because it could not be brought before the Supplementary Estimates are in. Deputy Calleary's point about looking at how we approach this is valid, because if a general election had been called the week before last this is one of the Bills that would not have been able to proceed, along with the Finance Bill and the Social Welfare Bill.

The Minister of State spoke about record spending and mentioned health and housing as areas of priority. Unfortunately the issue of housing has dominated the political agenda again this year, in particular homelessness. We have had a number of deaths this year. It is really not a matter of spending, but a matter of policy. The quicker Government realises that the policies which are articulated and put forward are not working the better everyone will be. We cannot have a situation where, despite all of the policy proposals put forward to deal with housing, the number of people who are entering homelessness is on the increase. The number of young people under 25 entering homelessness has gone up again this year and very sadly and tragically the number of people who have died on our streets this year is greater than it was last year. That is a very damning indictment of Government policy.

The Bill also allows for certain expenditure in 2018 to be able to happen because of the way the new year and bank holidays are falling. Certain social welfare payments must be made, as the Minister of State outlined. For that reason this Bill is important. If this Bill was not passed child benefit and social welfare payments would not be paid at the start of the year because they would not have been authorised in law. While it is a very technical Bill it is very important legislation and we will be supporting it.

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