Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

We have also kept the VAT on electricity and gas at 9%. That is a help to people. If it went back up, it would be a significant burden on people. We have chosen to invest strongly in public services, which will benefit everybody. There are five budgets to come. We did a lot on taxation during the previous three years and we will do more in the budgets to come as well in respect of taxation. Given what is happening in the world and the United States, with tariffs and so on, we need to protect the jobs we have now and into the future and we need to invest in infrastructure because the population is increasing significantly.

On the carbon tax, we must look at the overall scheme of things. If we had allowed VAT to go to 13.5%, that would be big for people's gas and electricity bills. Equally, the revenue from carbon tax helps those in fuel poverty, helps us to have the biggest retrofitting programme for housing ever, which benefits workers and middle-income families. That is a very important retrofitting programme. It could not be financed otherwise on any sustainable basis. It also helps farmers through environmental farming schemes. If you took that funding away now, it would leave an enormous hole in the budget that would not fund what is desirable. The Deputy might disagree with me. I think climate is an issue that needs to be addressed. I genuinely do. We cannot ignore it and that is why I support it. We have to agree to disagree on that.

In terms of working families, and particularly low-income working families, this budget does a lot. It cannot do everything in one budget but on the core issues of infrastructure, disability and child poverty, it makes very serious inroads and, in education and health, it does likewise.

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