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

I welcome the budget, the increases across the various Departments and the introduction of other headings under which a great deal of money will be spent. However, not enough time is afforded by the House to discuss how money is spent, whether it is spent well and whether we get value for it. In the lead-up to budgets, we hear various Departments making plays for the amounts they want. There should be a zero-sum budget where Departments have to provide proof of having achieved value for the money they have already spent. Above all, they would have to give clear explanations as to why money was spent poorly, misspent or not spent at all. How much more could we do if we still had all of the money that had been squandered down the years or was lost the previous year? I suggest that the Comptroller and Auditor General be given full power to investigate all State bodies, including local government and the HSE. We should be spending a great deal of money on beefing up the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General and ensuring that it has qualified people and he has sufficient legislative strength and resources to engage and be prepared to examine any line of funding he believes needs to be audited. If that were to happen and all of those who drew down taxpayers' money from the State were aware of their obligations, I have no doubt that we would see greater efficiency in how that money was spent.

I will point to the school bus system as an example. That system is a disgrace and should be put out to public tender. We should get an analysis of what Bus Éireann is providing and how much it actually costs. We should also analyse the service that is not being delivered in certain areas so that we can understand why that is the case. We can then adjust the plan to ensure that local communities are accommodated. For example, 40 students who travel through Mullinavat to the education and training board, ETB, in Waterford are not being accommodated. I have mentioned this case to the Minister for Education. Immediate steps must be taken to provide a bus for that route. This may seem parochial, but it is what we are supposed to be spending the money on. It is not being spent efficiently or properly at the moment. I will not stop making representations for that community until such time as the bus service is provided. The same can be said of those travelling from the Gowran area to Kilkenny city. It is high time that the Minister insisted that the school bus scheme be put out to tender and reorganised and that every student be accommodated, where possible.

I wish to make the case for how the various business supports are accessed. It needs to be simplified and every step needs to be taken to ensure that small businesses can access supports without too much difficulty. Cutting access off at a particular level is wrong, as we need to look beyond the businesses being supported to those small community enterprises that need the Government's direct support but do not have the resources to employ someone to get through the red tape. Many of our small pubs would be affected, as would many other small businesses. The latter is my background, and I am still involved to an extent. I see the serious difficulties that small businesses have in making applications and covering the cost of doing business.

We have increased the hourly rate of the minimum wage. We have increased the cost of diesel and other fuels. One cannot buy a diesel van or truck at an economic price. They are not efficient and do not go far enough in terms of mileage. As such, they are a serious cost. That cost will be passed on by the commercial operation to the consumer. Therefore, we are adding to the cost. I often think it is bizarre that with so much money around, there seems to be so little common sense in government as regards the struggles and difficulties faced by businesses. We need to address the matter.

This may be considered a criticism of the Government, and so be it. The system of speaking time in the Chamber in terms of the parliamentary party structure no longer operates the way it should. Parliamentary parties do not function in the way they did in the past and we as backbenchers do not get sufficient time to contribute. I have often appealed to the Ceann Comhairle to try to ensure that we get time, do not rely on the political parties and instead consider the individuals who want to contribute. It creates a big hole in democracy to have all of that input taken out of it. We have almost reached the point where it does not feel like democracy anymore. It does not feel that all of us, either in opposition or on the back benches like myself, can have a direct input. Everything is left to the three amigos to settle and talk about over the weekend. The backbenchers have a great deal to offer and should be listened to. I appeal to the Government to consider this point.

Have I gone over time?

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