John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Any day this amount of money can be put into the economy is a good day. Reflecting on the amount of money that has been spent in the economy since the start of the pandemic has proven that with the appropriate supports we can pull through in the most extraordinary of times. We must be careful and ensure that the supports remain in place until business can stand on its own two feet and the wage earner or earners in a household are comfortable and safe in the context of their earnings being sufficient to support their families. We must focus on these issues.

There has been much talk about billions of euro for improvements. That is true, but the success or failure of this spend will be judged by local people and how it affects their lives. I want to highlight a number of projects that I believe should be concluded in the course of this investment. For example, in my own constituency - other Members have mentioned their constituencies - the ring road project needs to be completed. Let us fast-track that project, create local jobs and take the pressure off the local economy in terms of people being able to get from A to B in jig time.

Broadband is mentioned, but substantially more money is needed in terms of broadband. If business is to perform in what will be a new economic order, then broadband provision at higher speeds than we have currently is absolutely essential. In Castlecomer, County Kilkenny, a pharmacist who was in touch with me told me that at different times of the day the broadband signal drops, making it impossible to dispense. Likewise, when the signal drops in Carlow, credit card machines stop operating and businesses cannot continue. Broadband is an essential part of the recovery in our economy, just as much as education. I wish the Minister for Higher and Further Education, Research, Innovation and Science well in all the investment his Department is making at third level. What about the legacy issues in those departments? I take this opportunity to appeal to the Minister, Deputy Harris, and the Taoiseach, who are aware of some of the legacy issues in Cork Institute of Technology, to take a step in the right direction and arrange the appropriate discussions to bring to an end the saga in regard to a whistleblower. What is happening is wrong and unfair.

I also want to look at the green agenda. It is proposed to spend a fortune on the green agenda to bring about a new green digital economy. That is fine, but what about what we have now? I raised the issue of quarries in this House with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan. I explained to him that I was doing so because he was a Minister from the Green Party. I asked him to raise the issue with his colleagues in government because otherwise I would be referred to the Minister with responsibility for local government. Guess what? When I informed him, as I promised I would do, he referred the matter to the Minister with responsibility for local government. If we are talking about reform, the first piece is reform of this House. The second is in regard to transparency and accountability in the context of the Comptroller and Auditor General and how we do business that way. If we saved the money that we are continuously losing, it would make a huge difference in terms of the amount of money that we require for the future. These are small things, as mentioned by Deputy Michael Healy-Rae. If we give the power back to the local authorities, ask them to build the houses, cut out the bureaucracy and give them the money, let us see what happens then. I believe it would be far more efficient to do it that way than the way we are doing it now. It would give people pride in their place in the council areas to see it being done. We need to introduce these reforms.

Another example is the commercial rates. There is much talk all of the time about reform of commercial rates. We have a wonderful opportunity to reform commercial rates on the basis of turnover or profitability. We need to move away from the unfair commercial rates system currently in place. If the Government did that, it would give businesses all over the country a chance, a reasonable break to get up on their feet and moving again. Within an economy there is a society and a community. If we support them, we will be supporting reform and progression. For God's sake, look at the villages and towns throughout the country that are dying on their feet because they do not have financial support. It is fine to give the big figures, but the proof of the success of this initiative will be in the number of small businesses that are afforded help and succeed.

See this speech in context