Noel Rock (Dublin North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday's budget was a welcome step towards the society we want to become, a welcome step towards a recovery for society and a welcome step back towards a just society. As T.K. Whitaker put it "the door to happiness opens outwards." This budget truly embraces that principle. My constituency predecessor, Declan Costello, was the author and architect of the original "Towards a Just Society" document. It was "a rights-based, forward-looking commitment to justice and to the common good of all in Ireland" in the words of Mark FitzGerald. The principles and spirit of that philosophy are woven throughout this budget. As Dr. Ciara Meehan put it in reference to this document "the central message remains important." Social reform and progress are not luxuries which we must wait for until after economic development has reached a certain point. There is never a bad time to invest in the future or to consider social mobility. The Minister, the Minister for Finance and this Government understand this implicitly.

This budget is incrementalist. That could be seen as a criticism in some senses but I see it as a positive aspect because it clearly builds on last year's budget so that we can see over the two budgets how issues are incrementally progressing. Pensioners are €520 better off over the two budgets. Some people phrase this as €5 per week or €260 in this budget but it is €520 better off over the two years and we are building on last year's progress again this year. The minimum wage has increased again to €9.80. Only eight years ago Fianna Fáil reduced it for the first time in the history of the State. This Government has now increased it five times since 2011 and this will be the third time since 2016. The higher rate tax band at which people enter the higher rate of tax has now increased by €1,500 over the two budgets, again illustrating that incremental progress. There was a €750 change last year and a €750 change again this year. We would like to do more on all of those fronts but it is incremental and we are clearly forging a path towards progress, equality and fairness there.

An accusation was made in the Chamber earlier that I bombarded constituents with information on local developments and investments. I make no apologies for representing and communicating with my constituents regularly. On the Luas project to Finglas, as outlined under Project Ireland 2040, I made sure that it was included in the final plan after being excluded from the draft plan. I called a meeting with the National Transport Authority, NTA, through the Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport and got a solid, public commitment that it will move to design and land procurement for this project next year on conclusion of the MetroLink design. Unlike what Deputy Micheál Martin said earlier, this plan is real and it is happening.

Sometimes with budgets, not everything can necessarily be measured. We can obviously measure the outputs, inputs, taxation and finance but on all sides of this House we are sometimes guilty of focussing too much on numbers such as GDP numbers, bond yields, poll ratings, first preference votes and which groups got how much in the budget and which groups might have missed out. However, it is often how the changes make people's lives better that matters, and how people feel about the budget. It is the security of knowing that a new hot school meals programme will be trialled across DEIS schools next year with a view to rolling it out thereafter, something that my constituency would take a lot from and which would mean a lot to many of my constituents.

It is the safety of knowing that next year we are allocating €2.3 billion to housing, including the delivery of 10,000 new social homes and a truly affordable housing scheme, on which my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy English, is doing great work and about which he will talk in some detail. It is the comfort of knowing that while we invest in society, our citizens can reap the benefits of a strong economy with more people at work than ever before in the history of the State. The measures to look after workers are strong. Everything that should be up is up. Everything that should be down is down. Employment is up. USC is down. Home carer credits are up. Child poverty will be down. The minimum wage is up. The entry point for the higher rate of tax is down. This is important.

Does the budget do everything I want it to do? No. There is more to be done, such as a further increase in capitation, a reduction of the pupil-teacher ratios in DEIS schools, ensuring we get primary care facilities everywhere we need them right across the country and ensuring those who rent get a fairer deal than they do now. We can do all these things and more but it will take further budgets and further incremental progress.

Time is both our friend and our enemy in this House. It gives us opportunities and challenges. Brexit is one such issue. It is both a challenge and an opportunity. This budget insulates us from the former and embraces the latter allowing us to embrace opportunities and insulates us from challenges. The negotiation - or review as some call it - of the confidence and supply agreement is also a challenge and an opportunity. Many tonight have commented on that political aspect of it. It is well-trodden ground but ultimately this budget embraces the principle of opportunity by showing we can work together on all sides of the House and set out a reasonable, positive and balanced budget which will allow our citizens to live their lives in a healthy economy and a compassionate society.

I will hand over to my colleagues, the Ministers of State, Deputies Cannon and English.

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