Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the budget. I will focus on education as I am education spokesperson for my party. On paper, what has been announced sounds fantastic - €1.8 billion in supports, particularly for children with additional needs. It sounds like a great headline but, unfortunately, that is all it is. It is a headline because much of this is not new money and is not for new projects. It is for things we are awaiting from previous budgets. There is a proposal for ten additional NEPS psychologists. Anyone who has ever had to deal with psychologists in the education sector knows exactly how in demand they are.

Most schools must limit their assessments to two each year. That is how scarce the resources are. Sinn Féin's alternative budget called for 20 additional NEPS psychologists, which itself is a drop in the ocean. There is so much demand for children with even slight learning difficulties to be diagnosed to get the help that they need in school. Of the €1.8 billion headline, only €21 million is for new measures for children with additional needs. It is very disingenuous to announce things like that. Many might say that is just the political system but it should not be and we in here should not stand for it.

There is nothing for third level students in the budget. There is nothing to deal with fees or the cost of living, including the enormous rents. It has reached the stage where many students have had to drop out or commute crazy distances, which obviously has an impact on their ability to learn. The proposals in the Sinn Féin budget, namely, to reduce the student contribution charge by €500 this year and €500 every year thereafter, would have been of great benefit to students. It would also be a great help to their parents, many of whom struggle to put their kids through college, often taking out credit union loans and so on to keep them there. It can reach the stage where they cannot keep that up, particularly when there are two or three children in college at the same time. It is not fair and it should not be the case that a person's education is based on how much money is in his or her pocket. Sinn Féin also suggested that the distance requirement in the SUSI grants be reduced. Anyone from a rural area will know that one must be 45 km away to qualify for the full level maintenance grant. We suggested that this be reduced to 24 km, which is much fairer.

I welcome the increase in capitation. I hope it will be of some benefit to students when it comes to the voluntary contribution issue that we deal with every single year. I also welcome the back to school clothing and footwear increase. I must point out, however, that it is only €25 whereas Sinn Féin had suggested it be increased by €50.

What really struck me about yesterday's budget is that it gives no hope whatever to anyone who is struggling. It was clear from the number of messages I have received from people about housing. There is nothing for anyone trying to get a mortgage. There are so many different issues in housing. There are people waiting years on a housing list, or who are in emergency accommodation, or who are trying to get a mortgage, or who stay in overcrowded family situations for years, which puts serious pressure on their families and their own mental health. Today is World Mental Health Day and everyone is talking about how it is okay not to be okay, but for anyone in a very difficult housing situation, it is something that has an impact on their mental health. We need to see genuine measures. The Minister is in cloud cuckoo land on housing. He cannot be living in the real world. It is impossible because from the measures he has proposed, he certainly is not dealing with the cases that all the rest of us are dealing with. There is nothing for renters or anyone looking to put a deposit together to buy a home.

I am conscious of time and will conclude by mentioning childcare. I welcome increased investment in the area but there is nothing for workers in the early years and childcare sector, which is a predominantly woman-led workforce. It is precarious work in which workers often must sign on for social welfare during the summer. There is no job security and the wages are abysmal. In Sinn Féin's pre-budget submission, and I wish the Government had taken on this measure at least, we suggested that there be a wage scale which would begin at the living wage of €11.70 per hour for those workers. There is no point in Deputies here attending briefings by different groups in the audiovisual room and expressing their sympathies when they then come into the Chamber and vote in favour of measures that go against what all those groups are asking for.

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