Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as an méid a dúirt sé ansin. Tuigimid ar fad gur in amantaí eisceachtúla a táimid mar gheall ar an bpaindéim. Bhí dea-scéal mar gheall ar an bpaindéim inniu le daoine ag fáil an vacsaín don chéad uair. Tá súil againn ar fad go gciallóidh sé sin go mbeidh deireadh ag am éigin leis an bpaindéim seo.

This motion authorises the Minister for Finance, in accordance with section 6(1) of the National Surplus (Reserve Fund for Exceptional Contingencies) Act 2019, not to pay the prescribed amount of €500 million into the national surplus reserve fund for 2020. This relates to the much-vaunted rainy day fund that was established by Fine Gael to burnish its image as a prudent manager of the public finances. It was also championed by Fianna Fáil in an attempt to restore trust in its ability to manage the public finances after it torpedoed the economy a decade ago. Despite being established in June 2019, three years after it was promised in the programme for Government, it still has not got off the ground and no money has been transferred from the Exchequer to the fund since it was established. Indeed, this same motion was brought before the Dáil on 17 December last year.

The only resource that has been transferred to the fund is the €1.5 billion, as the Minister indicated, that was transferred from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund. This was a case of simply reshuffling resources from one account into another. That €1.5 billion has since been drawn down in response to the Covid-19 crisis, which was the right thing to do. The motion before us proposing not to transfer €500 million to the national surplus reserve fund is also the right thing to do. For that reason, Sinn Féin will support the motion.

Over the past year, the Covid crisis has brought unprecedented challenges to our health service, to our economy, as well as to the jobs and incomes of our people. It hardly goes without saying that 2020 will go down as an exceptional year in the history books. Not since the Spanish flu has the world been gripped by a global pandemic of this kind. It is only right and proper that the State brings all financial resources to bear as we combat this virus, attempt to regrow the economy, assist those who have been left without work since March, along with those businesses struggling as a result of this pandemic.

Today we glimpsed the light at the end of the tunnel with the roll-out of the vaccine in the North. It is a day of great hope and relief to see vaccines being rolled out. Today, Irishwoman Margaret Keenan, a grandmother of 90 years who lives in Coventry, became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer Covid-19 jab following its clinical approval. I certainly am looking forward to the opportunity to take the vaccine and to return to normal life, hopefully, as soon as possible. I hope we see the timely, efficient and equitable roll-out of the vaccines with appropriate staffing levels in the centres for dispersing them. I also hope these centres will be accessible for both rural and urban dwellers alike. We must continue, however, to put resources into contact tracing if problems were to arise. It is important we ensure all information about the vaccine is conveyed to the public in as a clear, concise and comprehensive way as possible.

Since the beginning of this crisis, Sinn Féin has said the Government must act fast and do whatever it takes to save lives, protect incomes and support our economy. Only by taking radical action can any long-term damage to our economy be avoided. Sinn Féin took issue with the provisions of the legislation which established the national surplus reserve fund. Section 9 of the legislation allowed for the fund to be used to transfer Exchequer resources to the banking sector, a provision we opposed at the time. We submitted amendments to ensure the fund would be invested in infrastructure, housing and capital infrastructure in our health service. Those amendments were rejected at the time.

The Minister referred to the importance of capital investment in these times. Today, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, IFAC, referred to the importance of capital investment in order for us to build our way out of this crisis. This crisis has really laid bare the weaknesses in our health system, our childcare sector and our social safety net. The best response to crisis is a preventive response, ensuring resilience in order that our economy and society are well placed to respond to challenges when they arise. For Sinn Féin, our resilience is undermined by the deficiency in our health service and the serious failures of our housing system. These failures have been exacerbated by the impact of Covid-19. These challenges must be addressed to enhance the resilience of economy and society, ach, mar a dúirt mé ag an tús, táimid chun tacú leis an rún seo. Tuigimid go bhfuil sé fíorthábhachtach go mbeidh aon airgead atá ar fáil don Stát in úsáid chun déileáil leis an bpaindéim seo agus chun cinntiú go mbeidh tacaíocht ag gnólachtaí agus ag daoine ar fud fad na tíre.

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