John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for the work he and the Minister, Deputy Chambers, have done over recent weeks and months in relation to this budget but also the work the Minister has done since 2017 when he took office in the Department of Finance. The certainty he has brought to the country and to the economy cannot be taken for granted. I am very conscious that when it comes to budget time, there are no easy decisions and budgets are about choices.

At a time of such geopolitical uncertainty, we cannot simply take our economy for granted. With some of the commentary I hear in debates in this Chamber, I feel like there is a money tree or an open chequebook. The prudence the Minister has brought to our budgets is welcome and necessary. As we go forward in year one of this new Government, his focus on infrastructure and on those in society who are hard pressed is welcome.

There is a regular emphasis in this Chamber on housing, energy and water, but we cannot forget about civic society in terms of the wraparound services in education, healthcare, recreational amenities and so on. It is very important in any conversation we frame that we talk about the billions of euro around housing, wastewater, the energy grid and so on, but we need to ensure that we are also having a conversation about increasing the pace of delivery around all those other services and that we continue to control the controllables, which the Minister has done. I acknowledge the difficult decision he has taken in relation to the Future Ireland Fund and the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund. The easiest thing is to spend money, but he has proven, as per his reputation, that when we have had shocks we have been ready for them. Looking at what happened in relation to the Covid pandemic, we invested €48 billion in our country, in our workers and in our businesses to ensure we could spring forward. It is very important that this does not come from current spending. We have seen this happen in other jurisdictions. We have to get the message out there that we need to be prepared for such future challenges rather than just going straight to the profit and loss of the country or to the Exchequer to support them.

In terms of those who are hard pressed, I welcome the measures the Minister has taken in relation to the fuel allowance and the VAT rate of 9% on energy bills. They are both targeted and will support those who are most hard pressed. I would say there is not a Member of this House who did not meet a schoolteacher or a principal in the lead-up to the budget or during the election campaign who did not talk about capitation in schools. We have delivered on that and we need to build on it over the years ahead.

Carers play such an important role in our society. They are priceless in many regards, and increasing eligibility to ensure that more people can apply must be continued in the budgets ahead. We must continue on that trajectory also in relation to school meals, the clothing and footwear allowance and schoolbooks, again providing support where it is needed most.

When I listen to some of the commentary that this was a budget for the rich or the elite, I really wonder where some people are living. The Minister brought in a VAT rate of 9% for hospitality and hairdressers. I come from a pub in a small rural village. I have heard some of the commentary that this will close down, it will be a wipe out and so on. I do not necessarily agree. I think it will lead to difficult decisions. People in the industry are looking forward to July 2026, when they will get a level of respite. There is concern about the cost of labour and auto-enrolment, which will come into force in January, but I do not think they will close. I do think they will make difficult decisions. They might leave one shift off the roster, work later into the evening themselves or cut their own wages. It is important that we and the Government ensure that measures around energy, insurance and labour are continually monitored. I do not think the fact that we have just delivered on the VAT rate of 9% is the end of it now; we have to continue to engage with these sectors. I know the likes of small pubs will have lobbied considerably for something around excise, but we need to look at this now on a case-by-case basis as to how we can tailor some sort of initiative for sectors. I fully appreciate, in relation to the likes of the increased cost of business grant, that this had to be done on a broad level rather than bringing the knife down somewhere, with people on the right side and people on the wrong side of a decision, which provides uncertainty at a time when we need predictability.

There is so much on deposit. Deputy Currie has touched on this. Between overseas and household savings, we are looking at in excess of €200 billion. I welcome the Minister's announcement in the budget about an action plan to reform Ireland's tax regime for interest, but we need to figure out whether we can tap into this by some means.

As regards green investment or green bonds, it is fair to say that not everybody is convinced that renewables are the way forward. Maybe we need to look at some sort of initiative whereby we can give people buy-in to what is essentially a future. I talked at the outset about grid infrastructure. We have to expedite delivery in that area. We talk about energy bills and the cost of energy. The reality is an overreliance on gas. We have the opportunity to overcome that through onshore wind, offshore wind, solar and battery storage, but it also needs investment in our grid. It is important that we look at ways and means we can provide to tap into those savings. It would essentially be cheap capital for the State, a secure investment for households and, possibly, a guaranteed return. I ask the Minister to explore that.

Just transition has been very difficult in my county. We lost Shannonbridge power station essentially overnight, with a grant to compensate for the loss of associated commercial rates to the amount of €1.7 million for the local authority annually. I ask that the Minister commit to that again for 2026 and that we can start exploratory talks about how to continue it, not necessarily for 2027, 2028 and 2029, but we need to figure out how we can phase it out rather than going from €1.7 million to zero over the years ahead.

Overall, I welcome the budget. I appreciate the work the Ministers, Deputies Donohoe and Chambers, have done. For anyone who debates this with me, we need to be mindful that this is the first budget of five. It is the first chapter of a five-chapter book. It is important in the years ahead that we continue that delivery around infrastructure, housing and all those important elements but also that we look after workers. It is essential that in the budgets ahead there be an element of recognition from an income tax perspective. I have had many discussions with the Minister on that. I am sure he is committed to it, but I just wanted to put that on the record.

See this speech in context