Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

All of these factors have been overlooked on the other side of the House. I particularly welcome the decision not to impose any cuts on the budget for services for homeless people.

I also welcome the inclusion of incentives for the construction sector. We have gone from an economy in which 20% of GNP came from that sector to a situation where the figure is now between 6% and 7%. One in four people formerly working in the construction sector is on the dole. In that context, the incentives to which I referred represent some of the most progressive measures included in the budget.

I very much welcome the commitment to engage with private investment in the area of the provision of services for the homeless. I also welcome the initiative on VAT credit, which will be available to people who engage in home improvements. This budget recognises, for the first time, that we are facing a housing supply issue. The commitment that NAMA will find 4,500 additional units in the Dublin region, which is on the cusp of a serious housing crisis, is welcome.

As a social democrat, there are issues I would like to see addressed in the next budget. I am concerned, for example, that the levels of capital gains tax and capital acquisitions tax were not raised. It is very unfair that somebody who works an additional hour in a supermarket pays a higher rate of tax than a person who inherits wealth, for instance, or profits through speculation on the stock exchange. The tax system must be more progressive and I look forward to measures in that regard in future budgets.

A measure that seems to have gone largely unnoticed is the provision relating to survivors of the Magdalen laundries. The decision by the Government not to tax the payments to those women will be welcomed by all.