Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

To follow on from what the Minister of State said, this is a significant budget that involves expenditure of almost €117 billion and an additional package of €9.4 billion. Those are significant figures. It is about securing our future. Investment in key infrastructure is central to the budget, particularly infrastructure that will enable a continued supply of housing to be activated and progressed. That is critical. Also, we are securing our future by continuing to invest in two long-term funds, namely the Future Ireland Fund and the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund, which are critical.

Specifically on housing, this is an area in which I, as spokesperson for my party, have a great interest in. Again, there is record funding going into housing as part of budget 2026. There is a 20% increase overall, and a budget of more than €7 billion that is broken down between €5 billion in capital expenditure and more than €2 billion in current expenditure. There is significant additional money of €200 million for Home Building Finance Ireland. Again, this is very important. The VAT measure in relation to new-build apartments is significant, and I welcome it. This has been characterised as a tax break for developers by the Opposition. Nothing could be further form the truth. As we know, VAT is paid by the purchaser of something. If apartments are not being built, there will not be any VAT collected. This is about ensuring we get the building of apartments under way at the scale we need for housing delivery. That is critically important. I welcome that, as well as the corporation tax change that is involved in this regard.

There is additional funding for the housing activation office of more than €200 million to ensure that it can do its work in unblocking some of the barriers in terms of housing supply. That is also something I very much welcome. There is also the urban regeneration and development fund, URDF, funding of over €300 million. The new derelict sites tax is very important, although I would like to see it come in sooner. That is something I hope we can discuss further in the future. Changes to the living city initiative will be very important in terms of stimulating activity in our key urban areas. Measures such as the continuation of the renter's tax credit, mortgage interest relief and the recruitment of an additional 1,000 gardaí and 200 civilian staff to support them in their work are very important.

On the social welfare side, I welcome the increase in the income disregards for carer’s allowance. That increase is significant. As we know, the programme for Government clearly states that we will get to a point where the means test relating to the carer’s allowance will be removed, which is significant. I very much welcome the step taken in this regard by the Minister in Tuesday's budget. In the educational sphere the additional 1,700 SNAs as well as the additional staff in that sector is very important and something to be welcomed.

The one matter I am disappointed about is the fact that there is no measure in the budget to support workers on the personal taxation side. It is stated in the programme for Government that the Government will:

Implement progressive changes in taxation if the economy remains strong, including indexing credits and bands to prevent an increase in the real burden of income taxation.

It is fair to say the economy has remained strong and this budget did not provide some relief for workers in terms of their taxation or put some money back in their pockets. That is unfortunate and disappointing. The Minister indicated that this is something he will revisit at a future date. I would welcome that. Obviously, it is something we need to do as soon as possible because workers need a break. They are the backbone of our economy, and we need to support them. There is disappointment out there that there was not something for them in this budget. We know there has been a significant increase in the cost of living, so this is the one element of the budget that is disappointing for many people. Again, it is something we have to try to work on to ensure we can bring about improvements in this area as soon as possible.

All in all, this is a budget for securing our future and for investing in key infrastructure in a range of sectors, including the energy grid, water, wastewater, the transportation system and, of course, housing, which is our number one priority as a Government. The funding is being provided. We have to ensure that we get value for money and that we reform how we do our business in order that we can ensure large capital projects come in on time and on budget. It is critical that we get value for money and delivery. It is about delivery now. The Government is providing the funding, but we need to ensure that in the economy we have, which has high levels of activity and is performing strongly, inflation is beginning to creep up again. That is a concern. As well as providing funding, it is critically important to ensure that projects are managed properly, that delivery happens on time and that we get good value. All in all, this is a strong budget that will secure the future of our country.

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