Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Deputy Leader to arrange for the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to come to the House for an early debate in light of the vote on Croke Park II. It is imperative that the choices being made by Government are fair. Previously I raised the issue of housing grants for the elderly, the disabled and mobility grants, all of which have been cut. My own County Wexford has had a cut of 55% in its allocation for this year. This means that those who had been waiting three and four years for these grants are saving the Exchequer a considerable sum of money. Without these grant aids they would be in State care much earlier which is very expensive. There is a compelling reason for reinstating the level of allocation. Wexford and other countries were very dependent on the construction industry for employment and due to the collapse of the industry there is considerable unemployment. These small schemes were the ideal projects which many Members on all sides spoke of for getting people back to work. There are people who are unemployed who could be usefully engaged doing good work to assist people to remain in their own homes. This is a false economy. I ask the Deputy Leader to arrange for the Minister to come to the House for a debate on the difficult fiscal position, which nobody denies. Hard choices have to be made but, unfortunately, the choices being made are wrong. We need an informed debate and given the decision taken this week it is imperative that debate takes place sooner rather than later.