Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Ar dtús báire, I extend my sympathies to the family and friends of the remarkably courageous Emma Mhic Mhathúna. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam dílis.

Here we are again with the third budget of Fine Gael, the Independent Alliance and Independents. What does the Government have to show for it? All it has to show for it is an ongoing housing and homelessness crisis with 10,000 people homeless, 100,000 people on the social housing list and unaffordable rental and purchase prices in our cities and a higher education sector that is struggling after years of underinvestment. The cost of living is going up in every way for families, older people and students in areas like healthcare, schools and child care, not to mention housing. We have a capital city that grinds to a halt every day gridlocked. On Monday, we saw a terrifying report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that revealed to us how dangerous is our course as a country and as a world This is where we are. Last Monday's report was not a wake-up call; it was a siren - a screeching alarm that the Government cannot ignore - yet all the evidence seems to be that this is exactly what the Government intends to do. It is a stubborn refusal to listen to a reality that is staring it in the face and screaming.

If there is one thing we can say for certain about Fine Gael and the Independent Alliance, it is that they are terrified of real change. They are terrified of system change. Reform is not something for which they have any time. However, the report published on Monday showed that we cannot keep going along the same road and the Government needs to accept that fact. Yet, in his speech yesterday, it took the Minister 55 minutes before he substantively mentioned climate action, in the section right after betting. That states very clearly where this Government’s priorities lie.

There are many terms we associate with how Fine Gael likes to talk about the economy: prudence is one of them. They talk about prudence all the time, and condescendingly criticise Deputies on this side of the House for not being prudent and not dealing with reality. However, this budget does not display prudence, it has populism at its heart. It was very clear after the report on Monday that the ones ignoring reality are the members of the Government themselves.

On housing, the Minister has again proven that the only thing the Government recycles is announcements. Yesterday the Minister announced an increase of 10,000 homes to be built next year, but this increase would only be 2,100 homes, as the other nearly 8,000 houses had already been announced under Rebuilding Ireland. Today the Dublin Inquirerreported that what the Government considered to be an affordable housing scheme, and which they were working on for two years before it was shelved, is a scheme which would have been based on giving cash subsidies to landlords. Remarkably, the Government is still convinced that the private market will fix this crisis. That can be seen in the announcement of €1.25 billion for delivery of 10,000 new social homes in 2019, which seems to include rentals and acquisitions, and therefore, given that the rent assistance programmes cost €950 million in 2018 and are increasing every year by €150 million, it seems very likely that the additional €121 million will just cover rent inflation for current HAP tenancies.

The fact that the HAP programme has been Government’s most successful aspect of Rebuilding Ireland, combined with further tax relief for landlords in yesterday’s budget shows exactly where Fine Gael’s priorities lie, namely, with landlords and not with tenants. They are going back to landlords yet again with more giveaways, in the mistaken belief this is a long-term solution to the housing and rental crisis. This approach has failed for seven straight years. I do not understand why the Government thinks it will work this time. What the Government declares to be a success in terms of the HAP is lost in the reality that every day, 50 new people or families enter into rental distress and need to avail of the scheme. With rents going up and up, often by more than the 4% annual cap, which is not adequately enforced, and no real security of tenure for many renters, it is entirely a landlords’ market. It is because of this that it is tenants who are the ones entering into rental distress in their droves, as the Government refuses to take steps to properly strengthen their rights.

There is still little to no detail on what will be built on the State lands that are being made available, and nothing to convince us that the Government is turning away from the market-led approach to any degree that will see the scale of home building we need.

The announcement of a scheme for houses affected by mica in Donegal, while welcome for those affected, only highlights the Government’s unwillingness to deal with the scope of the issue of legacy defects. Where is the scheme for those who, due to the reckless actions of cowboy builders, have been forced to rectify defects, fire safety and structural defects, that is, those who, through no fault of their own, have been left with dangerous homes and substantial bills? Instead, we get a true Fine Gael way of tackling the problem, by dealing with one small aspect and leaving everyone else out in the cold. The Government cannot pick and choose who it helps based on which Minister lobbies the loudest. It is not fair to the people who the Minister refuses to meet.

Taispeánann an budget seo easpa uaillmhéine an Rialtais i leith phobal na Gaeltachta. Is cúis díomá é nach bhfuil ach €5 milliún sa bhreis a chur leis an nGaeilge agus an nGaeltacht agus muid i mBliain na Gaeilge. Níl aon rud ann faoi ghéarchéim tithíochta na Gaeltachta agus níl ach €1.5 milliún d'Údarás na Gaeltachta i ngaireacht screada asail don mhéid atá ag teastáil chun infreastruchtúr cuí a thógáil sa Ghaeltacht.

On mental health, while it was positive to hear yesterday in the Chamber that there would be an increase of €84 million in mental health investment, after looking at the budget document itself I can only see €55 million in extra spend outlined. Where is the discrepancy of €29 million? We need clarity on this and we need clarity on the breakdown of spend. I note that my colleague on the Joint Committee on the Future of Mental Health Care, Deputy Rabbitte, is in the Chamber. She can confirm how the committee repeatedly has tried to determine where the money allocated to mental services has been spent. It is essential that the money is spent on developing services, increasing staffing and cutting waiting times. We need accountability and clarity, both in the amount allocated and how it is allocated.

In education, there has been an increase in the capitation grant by 5%, but for schools it equates to just 4 cent per student per day, and continues to leave schools well below the capitation grant levels of 2010, leaving the voluntary contribution in place, burdening parents with the increasing costs of not only sending children to school but keeping the schools afloat. The increase in teacher numbers, and particularly the increase in funding for additional special needs assistants, is to be welcomed, but that feeling fades as soon as one realises these increases only just cover the basic needs that exist. This is not an investment for the future or putting a focus on education; this is just barely keeping up.

Things are even worse at third level where the increases there are not even enough to keep up with growing demand. The additional €57 million in current funding is entirely inadequate. We are less than three years away from the Cassells report’s first major benchmark, as an additional €600 million per annum from 2021 will be required to keep the higher education sector afloat. Yet, the Minister for State with responsibility for higher education announced yesterday that this budget will change the landscape of third-level education in Ireland and that the Government listened to all the voices in the sector. I am dumbfounded by how out of touch the Minister is. The Union of Students in Ireland has declared it is extremely disappointed in the budget, saying it does little to nothing for students. The Irish Universities Association stated it was “patent nonsense for the Minister to continue to talk about having the ‘best education system in Europe by 2026’ while presiding over a funding regime that only provides a fraction of the funding per student of those best countries in Europe”, and "It is a serious cause of concern that the government has not prioritised the education of the future workforce of the country.”

The Irish Federation of University Teachers criticised the budget for falling far, far short of the resources needed under the Cassells report. The Teachers Union of Ireland called the investment in higher education in budget 2019 "woefully inadequate". Who exactly did the Minister of State listen to if she did not listen to the universities, the students, or the teachers?

The Government needs to stop seeing education as a cost and to see it is an investment in our future. To truly invest in our children's future, we must value our teachers and ensure that they get equal pay for equal work. However, as with their actions with regard to climate action, the Government seems uninterested in thinking about our future, it is only interested in what is popular right now.

This budget is the indication of a Government that is far off course. The Government continues to insist that we are on the right path when it comes to climate change, but the reality is it does not care, and apathy is more dangerous than denial when it comes to climate change. In the aftermath of Monday’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, this budget was an opportunity to be at the forefront and to lead in the climate action that is needed. Instead, members of the Government should hang their heads in shame as that lack of leadership is putting our children’s future at risk. This will not be remembered as a budget for our society, for equality, for our environment or for our children, but as a missed opportunity and a dangerous step in the wrong direction by a Government blind to the biggest challenge facing all of us.

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