Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will set out a few different things in the budget, which I would like to comment on. First, I welcome the tax relief for mortgage holders. However, I cannot understand how somebody with a mortgage of less than €80,000 is getting no relief. That is something we need to look at in the Finance Act. I welcome that additional funding is going into childcare supports. We will wait to see the details of it, but some of it will not come until September 2024, which is an issue. I am disappointed with the help to buy scheme. I accept that it is being extended for first-time buyers of new houses, but I believe we have a cohort of people in this country who are brave enough to go out and buy a secondhand house. They should also be facilitated with access to the help to buy scheme. These people are not relying on the State. They are trying to do something for themselves and we need to encourage them as much as possible. I have an issue with the deferral of the residential zoned land tax. A number of months ago the Taoiseach gave me a commitment in the Dáil that residential zoned land tax will not be applied to functional farms or R2 zoned lands. I will hold him accountable if there is any deviation from that because that is important.

There have been few additional income supports for agriculture in general. While the sheep welfare scheme has been increased, the carbon tax on fuel will affect most farmers again. It is robbing Peter to pay Paul and they will at best end up in a neutral position. I will spend a few minutes talking about infrastructure and the infrastructure fund being proposed with the windfall tax. I personally believe it is a good idea to create a rainy day fund, but not really a rainy day fund. It is a fund that gives us the capacity to plan long term, and not on an annual basis, to deliver infrastructure. I spoke this morning about sewerage scheme. The rail network, including the western rail corridor, needs to be developed. We need to extend the rail line from Athenry, north to Tuam and to Claremorris to open up the west of Ireland for rail connectivity for freight and commuters. We need to do that as a matter of urgency if we are talking seriously about having balanced development in this country and not just pay lip service to it.

We also need to develop our hospital infrastructure. A number of years ago I first heard that the regional hospital in Galway was to be developed into a centre of excellence for the west of Ireland. What does that mean? It certainly does not mean Portakabins. It does not mean labs in old buildings that are not fit for purpose. It does not mean we still have Nightingale wards with a number of beds and a bathroom at the end. We still have that in Galway, a centre of excellence. Investment of approximately €1.5 billion is needed in Galway if we are to provide a proper centre of excellence to help Sligo, Donegal, Mayo, Roscommon, Leitrim and Clare. That needs to be done, not talked about and not going through processes. It needs to be driven. We have the money to do it. We need to put a project team in place to make sure it is delivered quickly and in a way we can see over five or ten years, and that people are accountable if it is not developed.

We need to speed up the process by which houses are being connected to broadband. They fell behind because of Covid. The investment going in now is probably not enough, but we need to make sure the pressure is kept up so we reach our targets.

In the education system, it is important to remember we have set up the technological universities and still have not delivered science, technology, mathematics and engineering, STEM, buildings and other infrastructure required across the region, including in Galway, to make sure these technological universities can deliver what they are supposed to deliver and have the infrastructure and facilities to give the best education to people in the region.

As a member of the Committee on Disability Matters, I will speak about the budget and disabilities. I am saddened that I have not seen any place where transport supports are being put in place for people with disabilities. We removed two schemes more than ten years ago with a promise we would bring in a proper scheme, but it has not happened. We have a primary medical certificate application process which is not fit for purpose, for which the appeals board has resigned and a new appeals board has not yet been set up. People keep talking about this. The Ombudsman, Peter Tyndall, before he retired, said in his report called Grounded that it needed to be dealt with as an emergency. I thought in my heart of hearts that, in this budget, schemes would be put in place to serve people, especially in a rural constituency like Galway East or the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach’s constituency of Mayo, where people with disabilities living in rural areas are grounded. In fact, they are imprisoned in their houses, waiting for somebody or a taxi to come and bring them someplace. It is important we rectify this. We have time to do it. I do not know what is going on in that situation.

I had a call today from a mother who looks after her son, who is now 26. She gave up work when he was born because he was born with a disability. She has brought him everywhere and done everything for him. She has been on carer’s allowance and, lo and behold, the Department of Social Protection contacted her about six months ago with a review of that allowance. It was reduced to about €65 on the basis that her husband had decided to go into business and do a bit of work. That woman brought her child to national school, secondary school and third-level education and is there for him morning, noon and night. What did she get after 26 years? She got what she called today a kick in the arse. Excuse the language but it is disgraceful in this day and age that we treat people like that. There is an onus on all of us as politicians. I have said a number of times in the disability matters committee that I am ashamed of some of the things I see happening to people with disabilities.

I heard the Minister, Deputy Ryan, talking earlier about people with autism. I have put forward an autism Bill that James Reilly introduced to the Dáil. It is in the children’s committee and I hope to God we get that Bill into law before this Dáil falls. If we do not legislate for people, we will end up with budgets upon budgets with all promises but no action. It is time we put the legislation in place to give people with disabilities the rights they are entitled to.

See this speech in context