Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the statements on the budget. Like others, I recognise that this is the first of five budgets in this cycle. The key premise and most important thing about this budget is that it is about safeguarding the economy and protecting jobs. That is central to us having the most high-functioning economy in the whole of Europe. That had to underpin any decisions that were made.

Previous speakers mentioned the carer's allowance disregard, which was increased to €1,000 for a single person and €2,000 for a couple. That will make a huge difference and will bring a huge number of people into the band of carers. That must be welcomed. I make no apologies for lobbying as hard as I possibly could to get the income disregard increased as much as possible, with a view to getting to a stage where we do not have any means-testing on carers. This is a really positive step in the right direction and it has been welcomed by people right around the country, particularly in my constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny.

One massive positive in the budget on the services side was the investment in education. I am not just talking about the infrastructural investment in our roads, education and facilities but real-life investment. For example, the additional 1,717 new SNAs will bring the total number of SNAs in the scheme to approximately 25,000 nationally. That is a record. When I was chairman of Kilkenny-Carlow ETB, I saw at first hand the impact and positive contributions made by SNAs at every school across the country. The work they do is fantastic and I am delighted that additional SNAs will come into the system in 2026, along with an additional 1,000 teachers and 860 new special education teachers. This Government has made a priority of ensuring that those who most need help will get it and that is to be welcomed.

Huge investment of €7 billion was announced in the budget for housing. There are two particular grants that are enormously popular and that have been increased by €130 million. Those are the housing adaptation grant and the housing aid for older people grant. These grants make a difference to vulnerable people, older people and those who need help. Anything that the Government can do to increase that number must continue to be done in the coming years. This is step one of a five-step process. Those grants make a difference. They have made a difference and will continue to make a difference. I will continue to lobby as hard as possible to get that funding increased in the coming years.

I will stick to discussing funding on the infrastructure side. Some €12.2 billion has been set aside for water and wastewater infrastructure. That is vital to improving the housing situation. There are blockages right around the country. In my constituency, towns and villages cannot grow because the infrastructure is not there. They are completely strangled. While there are other towns and villages where the infrastructure is in place and which have the ability to prosper, thrive and grow, others cannot. More funding has been made available. I will be calling for the infrastructure of towns and villages, including the likes of Inistioge, Graiguenamanagh, Bennettsbridge and Piltown, to be prioritised to enable them to grow and prosper into the future.

Everybody deserves to feel safe in their communities and homes. I acknowledge the impact that the Minister for justice, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, has had since he took up the mantle. I absolutely welcome the appointment of 1,000 additional members to be allocated to the Garda force in 2026. That will be huge in terms of building up the numbers. Everybody wants to see gardaí on the beat because that is what makes them feel safe. This is a step in the right direction. I acknowledge the work of the Minister. I appeal to him and the Garda Commissioner to ensure that as many of the new gardaí as possible are spread outside of Dublin city centre, Cork and Limerick. We want them in rural areas, such as Thomastown, Graiguenamanagh, Borris, Goresbridge and other areas in Kilkenny and Carlow. That is important. We need additional gardaí in rural areas as much as our city counterparts need them.

On higher education, I acknowledge there was a series of one-off measures over the past two years, including the €1,000 college fees. That was welcome respite at the time. However, those were temporary measures. I reiterate this is the first budget in a five-step process. We are moving into a fiscal space where we can reduce the fees on an annual basis, going forward. For a €500 reduction this time to bring the fees down to €2,500 is a positive and permanent step. These are the types of measures the Government needs to take; not the one-off measures that were put in over recent years. We need these permanent measures that will give families reassurance and confidence that they will know where things are at on a year-on-year basis.

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