Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the budget today. As we are all well aware, the financial and economic constraints facing this State and our people are monumental. The Covid-19 crisis has resulted in a severe economic change for Ireland. We know from the Parliamentary Budget Office's analysis that the Department of Finance in its own economic forecast underpinning budget 2021 estimates that GDP will fall by 2.5% in 2020 before increasing by 1.4% in 2021. The Department also estimates that the unemployment rate will be 10.7% in 2021 but will increase further if more severe public health restrictions need to be imposed.

I acknowledge that the Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform appear to have genuinely and sincerely attempted to arrive at set of financial measures that will have the maximum benefit across a range of sectors but I am concerned about broadband and the lack of ambition concerning the roll out of same in rural communities. The midlands in particular has been very adversely affected by what I call the unjust transition. In that context, the roll out of broadband should be prioritised in terms of trying to bring investment into the regions, and into the midland region in particular. The midlands is very much disadvantaged by the lack of proper broadband. I had a Zoom meeting last week with IBEC and midlands companies were saying that they were having problems with telephones and computers which is causing difficulties for staff who are trying to work from home. The lack of decent broadband is a major obstacle that must be overcome if we are serious about investment in the midlands.

I welcome the much-anticipated commitments around the education sector. Education is the engine of progress, both socially and economically, and we need to ensure there is continued investment in that sector across all age groups and categories. I note the Department of Education and Skills currently spends approximately €1.9 billion, or almost 20% of its total education budget annually, on making additional provision for children with special needs. We need to ensure this budget is securely ring-fenced. I am aware the Minister of State with responsibility for special education and inclusion recently announced a series of priorities, including measures aimed at improving initial teacher training, to ensure that teachers and special needs assistants are supported to receive training and ongoing guidance in the area of special educational needs provision.

What I want to see emerge in very practical terms from this budget is a commitment to provide a wraparound support service in schools for young people, including occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, behavioural practitioners and crisis supports in schools. In Laois-Offaly alone, there are currently 1,118 children waiting in excess of 12 months for occupational therapy, while 159 children are waiting in excess of 12 months for speech therapy. It is also vital that sufficient budgetary provision is made to improve long-term planning for the provision of special school and special class places so that no child misses out and that every effort is made by school leaders and boards of management to include children who may not come from a particular catchment but desperately need a place in a school.

On agriculture, the Minister will be aware that farming organisations have called for full compensation for any further losses during the transition period arising from Brexit uncertainty, Sterling volatility and Covid-19 impact across all sectors. I and my rural colleagues will be taking the time in the next few days to digest the exact detail of the budgetary supports provided to the agriculture sector. However, I am aware from reports that today's budgetary approach to the Department's various schemes and taxation measures remains essentially unchanged from last year's budget. Although I had hoped at a minimum to see a further strengthening of the Government's Brexit contingency fund which allocated €110 million to agriculture, I understand the need to refocus this allocation to strengthen existing supports.

Young farmers need urgent supports if we are to encourage young people to take up farming. I fully support the Macra na Feirme submission on this budget, and I support its call for a dedicated debt mediation service to be set up for farmers and for tax exemptions on the leasing of farmland to family members under the age of 30. The Government needs to listen more to the voice of young farmers, who are very well represented by Macra na Feirme.

What is also desperately needed is a commitment to finally bring forward the reforms around the fair deal and the Nursing Homes Support Scheme (Amendment) Bill 2019. We have to make financial provision for these reforms, which must include measures around farm land leased to third parties in line with other Government policy on inheritance under agricultural relief.

I want to highlight several other issues with respect to agriculture. I welcome the Department’s prioritising of the retention of schemes until a new CAP is in place. From what I understand, no income volatility scheme is expected to be put in place, and I believe we need to re-examine this. I also welcome the new measures aimed at increasing funding for new market developments, which will be vital in the months and years that lie ahead. I ask for more detail on the introduction of the new rural environment protection scheme, REPS. As I understand it, only a pilot project is being put in place. We will be also looking closely at the proposal within REPS to link a reduction in the national suckler herd to access to the scheme, which I would find outrageous. We had this with the beef exceptional aid measure, BEAM, last year, where farmers could not take up the scheme because they were not willing to reduce their herd by 5%, rightly so. We have to stop scapegoating and blaming farmers for climate change. We have to be fair. It is a sector we depend upon in rural Ireland and it is the backbone of the rural economy.

It is vital that more support is provided to farm forestry and the forestry sector generally. This is an area of significant employment in rural counties and it needs adequate supports, such as the requested €4 million to restore the farmer premium and the introduction of a harvesting plan grant to assist forest owners.

I conclude by asking that, whatever happens with respect to Covid, the Government remains open and engaged with regard to the many and various concerns and the various sectors that make up Irish life and the Irish economy.

See this speech in context