Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to contribute to this debate. The Finance Bill is always introduced after the budget and is a key component of the budgetary process. This year's budget is akin to a wartime budget. The deadly Covid virus has had a huge impact on how the economy functions and how people go about their daily lives. Its impact on businesses and on people trying to do their jobs has been immense.

I want to touch on a number of key points in my contribution. As a Deputy for the Limerick City constituency, I see the issues that affect my constituents in their daily lives. The Finance Bill includes provision for the introduction of the Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS. It is extremely important that sufficient consideration is given to the different elements of this scheme and the provisions it needs to include. Many business people are saying they will be excluded from it. I hope that these issues will form part of the consideration of the Bill on Committee Stage.

Finance Bills are typically used to give effect to provisions that have huge significance.

The Minister of State will be well aware of the recent Supreme Court ruling on primary medical certificates. That is causing considerable difficulty where the HSE locally is not able to process these applications. I ask that consideration be given to expediting the amending of the relevant legislation in the Finance Bill itself to enable the processing of the primary medical certificates. It is hugely important.

In a Georgian Limerick context, the living city initiative has come up for review on a number of occasions. It is a welcome scheme but a body of work needs to be done around it. This is something I have called for. Limerick city has the largest footprint of Georgian buildings in the country. It runs all the way from Nicholas Street down as far as Barrington Street, encompassing virtually the entire footprint of the city centre. I believe it should be the catalyst to enable the people to start living in the city. It needs to be looked at again to see how it is working. It is a tax-based scheme. It would be hugely important.

I welcome the fact that €10 million was given towards Shannon and Cork airports in the budget. Shannon is vital for the region. I also welcome that funding has been provided for transport initiatives and it would be hugely important that we get it right. A draft transportation strategy for the Limerick-Shannon region was published recently. Public submissions were made up to 30 October. I held a virtual public meeting a week ago in which 70 to 80 people took part. I have asked that the National Transport Authority, NTA, would pause, revisit and revise the scheme. We want something that works and that enables Limerick city to do what it is being asked to do under Project Ireland 2040, which is have an increase in population of over 50% by 2040. To enable it to do that, the road system is very much endorsed within the plan: the northern distributor road, the N20, the Adare bypass and the upgrade of the N69 to Foynes. The fact that we are linking both Limerick city and Shannon Airport is hugely significant and I welcome that funding. However, we have to get it right whereby we have a rail network that effectively uses the existing rail network around the city and where we link up the likes of the Parkway and link into Moyross and then onwards to Cratloe from where we can complete a spur to Shannon Airport. These are all hugely important.

I will put in context what I believe a budget should do. A budget should be fair. A budget is basically the overarching financial roadmap for the following year that the Government lays down. I want to see the details of the economic plan. That will be hugely important. When does the Minister of State expect that plan to be announced? It must be, in essence, a mini-national development plan for the next year. I would like to see it in terms of Shannon Airport and the cities.

On Covid, we are now in level 5 and the number of virus cases is coming down. Come 1 December, I want us to be able to move into a level where people can function over Christmas and where people can fly home. I brought the latter point up at the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications Networks, which I chair, with Dr. Tony Holohan recently and the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, all public health permitting. Covid has been very difficult for business people. We must ensure we support them. That is why the business support must be strong enough to ensure businesses can come through level 5, that they can retain their employees and that we get the economy back up and running.

As a Deputy representing the constituency of Limerick City, which includes Birdhill and Ballinahinch in north Tipperary, I believe it is hugely important that we come through this crisis. The key will be the Finance Bill. In the context of the Finance Bill, the primary medical certificates need to be looked at. Does the Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS, cover everyone? We need to look at how the living city initiative in Limerick city can be reviewed in order that we can make it the real gateway to get people back into living in the city.

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