Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

What has been announced today for the health service does not provide for any measures to increase capacity or improve services: it simply allows it to stand still. The capital budget outlined in the statement leaves the budget short by €1.5 billion, based on the targets of the national development plan, in terms of the 5% of GNI*.

Sinn Féin wanted to see a change of course on housing in response to the Housing Commission's report. The report called for a radical reset of housing policy, yet we do not see any additional capital there. I know the summer economic statement just provides the parameters for the budget. I accept that €8.3 billion overall sounds like a lot but less has been allocated for new measures. In last year's statement it was €2 billion compared with €1.8 billion this year. When we look at the size of the budget, a modest €12 increase to pensions cost more than €500 million. In the summer economic statement, the Government claims that it has been successful in addressing the impact of inflation in public infrastructure. I do not believe that to be the case.

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