Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

At what point do we being the cycle of trying to save for the challenges we could have in future? I absolutely understand the position, as does the Deputy, because I represent constituents who are dealing with anxiety and trauma in respect of their homes, lack of homes and difficulties in accessing the healthcare services that we all want them to have. That is why, for this year, we have increased investment in capital. "Capital" is a technical word for our hospitals, schools and public transport. We have increased it in this year by €800 million. The key feature of budget 2019 is that for next year we will increase investment in our homes, universities and schools by an additional €1.4 billion.

The Deputy has, on other occasions, pointed to the dangers of how high our debt is and to the dangers of being over-reliant on any particular tax stream. All I am trying to do is get the balance right between getting ourselves ready for the future and dealing with the level of social need that I know to be present today.

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