Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I welcome the Minister to the House and echo the words of Senator Maurice Hayes. I congratulate the Minister on the budget, a sentiment I expressed on budget night. I particularly welcome the move he made on an issue I raised with him last year, namely, the importance of taking the minimum wage out of the tax net — it was done — and on the issue of child care, which I also raised with him. I recognise the advances that have been made in those two difficult areas. There are many other aspects of the Bill on which I could dwell but it is moving in the right direction. There are areas in which I would like to see more advances. There are aspects with which I am not completely happy and there are suggestions I would like the Minister to take on board.

I want to make a few points which I know have been dealt with in the other House. I am hardly the person the Minister would expect to be making a case for private hospitals but I examined closely the various submissions sent to us and from a business point of view and in view of this, lengthening the capital allowance period from ten to 15 years in section 5 makes it difficult for those institutions to make money. In fairness to them, it is a Government decision that it should be included. I am not sure whether it is a good decision generally but if it is to be included it should be left at ten years in terms of a business plan. They need that small support.

I realise the question of the Arts Council has been raised with the Minister in terms of those issues it has raised with many of us on many occasions over the past year, and I am aware the Minister met with members of the council. I met John McGahern after he met with the Minister and he was thankful on a number of fronts for the hearing they got. The issue was dealt with sensitively. On the last occasion we debated the matter in the House I said the issue should be left as it is but the Minister chose to make some changes. I accept they were done in a sensitive manner which has maintained the integrity of what it was intended to do from the outset. However, the proposal the Arts Council made to the Minister to extend the artists' exemption scheme to other areas like choreography should be done. That is something that might be examined.

I know what the Minister's officials will say when I talk about VAT exemption on certain issues. They will say we hear this every year in respect of education and so on but the question of VAT exemption on supply of goods or expertise to non-profit making events of an artistic nature, which have been so defined, should also be included and I ask the Minister to examine that.

I want to make an important point to the Minister. I realise this is something he and I have touched on many times on a one to one basis but I ask him to consider, when speaking to my good friends sitting behind him, that there is chaos in Europe today. There are problems with transport, health, education and local authorities throughout France. The same is the case throughout the United Kingdom. We have already seen similar incidents earlier this year in Italy, Germany and Belgium. The reason they have not happened here — I said this earlier and I am sorry to be repeating myself — is because of social partnership and benchmarking.

Whatever anybody says about benchmarking, it has delivered stability in the public service. A good example of it was when a colleague from the other side of the House highlighted earlier an issue that he felt social partnership did not cover or deal with adequately. I thought to myself that was just one issue out of all the issues dealt with in social partnership. We have the best strike record in Europe and I ask the Minister to keep that in mind as we go forward.

The Minister might read the Charlemagne column in this week's The Economist with a view to altering the viewpoint and attitude of the Department of Finance towards the teaching profession. I believe he will find it very helpful and it will be a pin-up picture for some of my friends sitting behind the Minister in that it will make life very interesting. I ask the Minister to read and enjoy it.

In my contribution to the debate on last year's Finance Bill I asked the reason we could not get back to the issue of grants for eco-friendly changes to houses. I refer here to micro-generators, wind and water generators, solar panels, geothermal heating and so on. I express my appreciation for the announcement made this year on that issue, which is a progressive step.

I wish to mention another announcement which did not get enough debate. Approximately six months ago I had a row in this House with the Minister for Education and Science on the OECD report on third level education. Attempts at depriving the institutes of technology in doctorate research and the awarding of doctorates was a backward step. I was delighted with the budget announcement of the additional resources and investment in the doctoral area and the requirement that it be spread around the third level institutions. That is the way forward in the future because there should be no absolutes or inflexibilities attaching to this area. That announcement was very welcome.

I will leave the Minister with a progressive thought.