Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this opportunity to speak on this motion. In other years, attempts were made to dispose of this matter without debate and I am pleased the Government has not tried to go down that road this time around. I also accept that there will be occasions when money will remain unspent. However, some of the areas where spending has not occurred are inexcusable. I have many concerns about the 2021 Revised Estimates for the public services.

I am concerned that we underspent in our current and capital spending on housing last year. We are also planning a €721 million reduction in the Estimates in current spending on housing this year, which is a 23% reduction. We are in the middle of a housing crisis and we should be increasing our spending in this area, and not reducing it. I note that there is an increase in capital spending, but it is nowhere near enough. Only small, single digit, increases are proposed for our defence capital and current spending. We must pay the personnel of our Defence Forces more and ensure that they have up-to-date equipment. The members of the Defence Forces have stood up to the plate during the pandemic and it is time to start reversing the years of underfunding and neglect.

There is also a pittance of an increase in current spending of 1.2% for An Garda Síochána, which comes at a time when there have been two attacks on elderly people in their homes in south Kildare in as many weeks. Garda visibility is at an all-time low. I do not blame the Garda for this situation, because the force can only work with what we give it. We can and must do more. Remaining in the justice area, there is a 10% reduction in capital spending in respect of An Garda Síochána, a 24% decrease in spending on the Courts Service and a 21% decrease in spending on the Prison Service. What kind of message is this sending to criminals? It is an absolute disgrace.

There is a 9%, or €34 million, reduction in spending in the area of rural and community development. We must repurpose many empty buildings in our towns and villages to provide employment opportunities, as well as homes, and give people a reason to stay in rural Ireland. It seems as if this Government could not care less if the last person leaving rural Ireland switched off the lights. The Government forgets that the country does not end at the ball in Naas.

While I welcome the increased spending in the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, we must ensure that there is a just transition. It cannot all just be about carbon taxes, which affect our older people disproportionately. Microgeneration must be at the heart of our policy. Subsidising foreign-owned wind farms is not working. We must fast-track the ability in respect of microgeneration for retail customers. They must also be able to sell power back to the national grid and we must make it more economical for them to invest in renewable energy.

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