Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As many have outlined, the budget has been framed in the context of the worst possible outcome of Brexit, a no-deal Brexit. This is a prudent and sensible approach. While we are all working to deliver a Brexit deal, we must prepare for the worst. To do anything else, as Opposition parties appear to have suggested, would be irresponsible and foolish in the current climate.

Budget 2020 builds on earlier budgets by making more than €1 billion available to be spent in the event of a no-deal Brexit. This significant funding is targeted at where assistance will be needed most. It includes €650 million to support agriculture, enterprise and tourism and assist the workers and regions which will be most affected. In my constituency in Meath East, where we are developing a fantastic agrifood and tourism sector, this funding will be very welcome. Some €220 million will be immediately deployed in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Some €110 million will consist of agriculture supports and €110 million of enterprise supports. This will help companies to become more competitive, transition, restructure and look to new markets.

Farmers and fisheries will be able to access immediate supports. They will include €85 million for beef farmers, something I know that will be welcomed, on top of the €120 million in additional funding that was made available this year, as well as €85 million separate from the Brexit fund for beef farmers. Some €14 million will be made available for fisheries, with €6 million for other livestock farmers. Some €40 million will be available to the tourism sector to support the areas that will be most adversely affected. It will also assist in creating new marketing initiatives, while maintaining the very close links we have with our UK visitors. Some €365 million is being provided for extra social protection expenditure, with €45 million to support businesses and workers in difficulty.

This does not include the €185 million we have already committed to ensure compliance conditions will be met and trade disruption wll be minimised at ports and airports. It also does not include the further supports which we know that the European Commission will provide in the event of a no-deal Brexit. While we are doing everything to mitigate the potential impacts of Brexit, we cannot and will not lose sight of the importance of our membership of the European Union and overall commitments. With an overall budget of €270 million for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, we will continue to work with member states, international organisations and local organisations such as European Movement Ireland, the Irish Institute for International and European Affairs, IIEA, and the Wheel. We will continue to invest in initiatives such as Communicating Europe to make sure we reinforce our place at the heart of Europe among citizens. Budget 2020 will keep us focused on doing just that.

While a no-deal Brexit has framed the budget, we have not lost sight of the bigger picture at home. We are spending €70 billion in total, which represents an increase of €3.3 billion on the figure for last year. Many of my constituents are young couples and young families. While the provision of free GP care extended to children under the age of eight years and free dental care for children under the age of six years may seem small, these changes will help families in County Meath and around the country. They will be provided in conjunction with and supported by GPs and dentists.

We are extending the help-to-buy scheme for young first-time buyers to assist them in the purchase of their first home. The dream of owning a home should not be out the reach of young people. The Government knows this and we are committed to assisting them. We will also see more affordable childcare services, the expansion of paternity leave, hot school dinners for more than 30,000 children and a pilot programme to provide free school books for primary school students. These are just some of the measures which, in combination, will help to make the cost of living more affordable, particularly for young families.

As the Minister for Health has just outlined, budget 2020 will see further improvements in the delivery of health services. Next year we will see an additional 1,000 front-line staff hired to care for patients in the community. That is what people want. We will see an additional 1 million home care hours that will see families and carers supported in the provision of care for their loved ones. That is extremely important. As the Minister outlined, it will not see us merely chasing demand; we will actually get ahead of it. As somebody with two elderly grandmothers, both of whom live at home, I know that it is extremely important that we allow people to remain at home for as long as possible.

In respect of respite care services, a massive issue in my county, I am pleased to see an increase in the budget for next year. I will continue to work with the Minister for Health and the Minister of State with special responsibility for disability issues, Deputy Finian McGrath, to ensure respite care services in County Meath are improved and increased as soon as possible. I hope the budget will support us in doing this. As a former Minister of State with responsibility for mental health services and older people, I am delighted that, as promised, the budget has increased by €35 million, which brings the total mental health budget to more than €1 billion. This represents an increase of 40% since 2012 and very clearly underlines the Government's commitment to the provision of these vital services.

We have already mentioned pyrite this evening. For many of my young constituents, the dream of owning their own home turned into a nightmare when they discovered that their homes had pyrite. The remediation scheme has been extremely successful in remediating many people's homes. I am pleased that my county colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Damien English, has secured a further €40 million in the budget for next year to ensure the scheme can continue, with funding for the mica scheme. It will mean that the homes approved for the remediation scheme will have access to funding.

I will refer to climate issues. I attended the United Nations General Assembly, at which Ms Greta Thunberg spoke and ensured this issue was front and centre on the desks of policy-makers from around the globe. We are absolutely committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 by reaching our 2030 targets. This must be met by action. The budget announced yesterday is the start of that action. However, we want to bring about these changes in a fair and timely manner in order that people, farmers, businesses and industries, will have time to adjust. At the same time, we must address this urgent issue. I am pleased that we have outlined a trajectory which shows how we can do it in the next ten years.

We are in a unique situation. We are taking measures to protect our society and country from an outcome of a decision for which not one person in this country voted but which has the potential to fundamentally change the country. A no-deal Brexit will never be Ireland's or the European Union's choice, but we must nevertheless prepare for such an outcome. The measures the Government has put in place in the budget underline the significant steps we are trying to take to grow the economy, make it a fairer place for everyone and shield it from the potential economic consequences of a no-deal Brexit.

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