Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to speak on the Finance Bill and on the budget the Minister introduced on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Ryan. I will first talk about the 9% rate of VAT. As a representative of the tourism capital of the western world, Killarney in County Kerry, I believe it is wrong for the Minister to allow uncertainty on this matter until February of next year. Having met with hoteliers last weekend, I know they are certainly not happy with what the Minister is doing or, as should I say, what he is not doing. With regard to the benefit-in-kind scheme, I also met with representatives of a number of businesses last weekend and they are extremely upset at what the Minister has done to that scheme.

With regard to the temporary business energy support scheme, which is very important, I welcome the extra relief to be given to dentists, doctors, solicitors, accountants and others in non-incorporated enterprises. That is very important because they were being left out.

With regard to the concrete levy, I was the first person to stand up in this House on behalf of the concrete providers in Kerry and those who export concrete products into the North and abroad who were extremely upset at what the Minister was doing. The Minister has created uncertainty and upset the system. He has upset the tendering process and shot our local authorities in his own foot in doing what he did. The half of a U-turn he has done shows he made a mistake. If he had not made a mistake, he would not have done what he has now done. All he has proved is that we were right to say he was wrong in the first instance.

With regard to the retrofitting scheme, of the 65,000 houses the Minister, Deputy Ryan, was blowing about being retrofitted, 80 have been completed, including fewer than eight in County Kerry. I do not know whether Deputy Ryan or the Minister for Finance are proud of that fact. They can blow all they like about retrofitting but the proof of the pudding is in the eating and only 80 of 65,000 have been completed.

With regard to solar panels, what did the Minister do in the budget to encourage people to install them? Nothing. The mantra among businesses that want to install solar panels is not to apply for the grant because the assistance available is difficult to apply for and will amount to nothing at the end of the day. Anybody in business who is going ahead with solar panels is doing so without the grant. So much for what the Government is doing for those people.

The small businesses that are being affected by the massive increase in costs, the microenterprises that employ up to nine people, employ more than 400,000 people, nearly half a million. The people running such businesses in County Kerry and who are really struggling with the increased cost of electricity, diesel, fuel and everything else are saying the budget did nothing for them.

This budget failed to give our farmers a break from the crippling cost of inputs. For example, the hiking of the carbon tax represents a major blow to hard-pressed farm families. To take the people now putting cattle in for the winter, for example, they endured the cost of feed and the costs accrued during the year to grow the grass to make silage for the winter, including fertiliser costs. These people are really worried. This is going to affect the beef sector after Christmas because there will be no profit to be made because of the high input costs that are putting people under tremendous pressure. I have a lot more to say but I cannot say it in the time I have.

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