Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Minister of State on his appointment to his new post. Today is undoubtedly a very proud day for him and his family. Some people have commented on his age and queried if it should exclude him from the role. While I am glad not to be the only one patronised because of their age, it goes without saying that I do not think the Minister of State's age is an issue. We need more young people in politics. We also need more women in politics and more people from under-represented communities sitting at the Cabinet table, but we will have to wait for the next Government for that to, hopefully, happen.

While I wish the Minister of State well in his new position, will anyone outside here really notice the difference? Will anything change other than a face at the Cabinet table? Will people struggling with the cost of living finally get the support they need? Will the hundreds of thousands of people locked out of homeownership finally get secure roofs over their heads? Will disabled people finally have access to the essential services they desperately need? Will parents struggling with the cost of childcare finally get relief? Will children living in poverty finally be a priority? Will carers finally get access to respite and sufficient financial support? Will our schools finally be properly resourced to provide quality education to all our children, including those with additional needs? Will our small and medium businesses finally get the help they need to keep their doors open? Will our climate targets finally be met or will they continue costing us in fines for not reaching them?

I could continue all day to list the areas that desperately need investment. There are so many people struggling and so many areas we need to target with support. The good news is that the Minister of State has a lot of money at his disposal in his new role. The Government had a surplus of €8 billion last year and expects to have a similar surplus this year. Ireland is undoubtedly a rich country and the Minister of State now will have a huge opportunity in his new role as the Minister for Finance to make a real and substantial difference in people's lives. The question is whether he will take this opportunity. I genuinely believe a better Ireland is not just possible but eminently achievable. Regrettably, an increasing number of people out there have lost hope of any possibility of this happening. They feel like the country is no longer working for them and the Government either does not understand or does not care about them.

I think this disillusioned feeling comes from a really profound sense of disconnect between where we are as a country and where we could or should be. It is a disconnect between the GDP per capita that makes us one of the richest countries in the world and 4,000 children growing up in emergency accommodation. It is a disconnect between full employment and 500,000 adults living in their childhood bedrooms. It is a disconnect between an €8 billion surplus and more than 600,000 people living in poverty. Is it any wonder that people feel disillusioned? Too many people are being left behind and they cannot see a way out that is not via the departure lounges in Cork, Shannon or Dublin airports. This Government is running out of time to make a difference.

The reality is that Deputy Chambers's tenure as Minister of Finance is likely to last mere months, so I wonder how he intends to use this time. Will his sole concern be with developing a short-term giveaway budget in advance of the general election in the hope of buying people's votes by giving them back a few euro of their own money or will he, instead, make structural changes and the critical investment we need to lift people out of poverty, put roofs over people's heads, support struggling families and target support to the most vulnerable in our society? "Show me your budget and I will show you your priorities" is a truism for a good reason. The way the Government spends its money tells us a lot about its focus. For example, last year's allocation to disability services was not just miserly but pathetic, a one-off payment to people who are disabled 365 days of the year. The new investment of just €65 million was a fraction of what the Government's own capacity review said was required to meet the unmet needs of disabled people. Tax breaks were given that favoured higher-income workers over those who have had to make choices between heating their homes and feeding their children. There was a failure to even spend the capital housing budget despite the enormous and growing housing disaster we are dealing with. Does Deputy Chambers want to be remembered as just the youngest Minister for Finance in 100 years or as the Minister who made the biggest difference in the shortest time possible to people's lives? This is the choice facing him, and I hope he will choose the latter option.

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