John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I am disappointed, however, that the Minister for Finance did not mention the spiralling in serious crime over the last year. I am particularly disappointed that he did not touch on mental health, as I thought he would, after the dogs' dinner made in the media by the Minister for State with responsibility for that area, Deputy Tim O'Malley. There is the fine print but the Minister could have referred to this area in his remarks.

The old age pension increases are to be welcomed. It is fair to say that the costs pensioners face are significantly higher than they were ten years ago and the vast majority of increases that have come about in the interim have been swallowed by them. There have been 25% increases in the cost of electricity and gas in the last couple of years and pensioners have had pay out for enormous increases. Nonetheless, the provisions today are to be welcomed. The Minister has doubled the fuel allowance in the last two budgets. That is a welcome initiative, but €18 of a fuel allowance is nothing to crow about at a time when fuel costs have increased dramatically. It does not go anywhere near meeting the full costs for pensioners when it comes to providing heat and other energy requirements.

I welcome the changes that were announced on maternity leave. The Minister has made a number of such pronouncements over the last couple of budgets and today's improved provision is to be welcomed. I have raised before the issue of paternity leave, but the Minister did not choose to address this today.

A number of announcements were made regarding small business, referred to by the Minister of State. I broadly welcome them, especially those pertaining to seed funding and business expansion schemes. Nonetheless, it can take a couple of years for such initiatives to impact directly on a particular business. The schemes have been extended for a further seven years, subject to EU approval.

The Minister of State also mentioned bio-fuels and while today's announcements were somewhat tentative, I regard them as a small step in the right direction. Similarly, a significant change was announced today regarding mortgage interest relief. It was interesting that the Minister outlined the possible benefits. His remarks in the Dáil used the example of a couple who could benefit by up to €1,600 from the announced changes. There was great hoopla from the Government benches, despite that a few years ago, the Government removed the first-time buyer's grant in a budget which was of much greater benefit than €1,600 per annum. Obviously, mortgage interest relief accrues over a longer period to first-time buyers.

As I stated, this budget is somewhat like Mother Machree's dog in that it goes a bit of the road with everyone.