John Gilroy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have an opportunity to contribute to this important debate. We will have plenty of opportunity in the next couple of days and weeks to flesh out the meaning of this budget. With that in mind, I want to speak in general terms about what we are trying to achieve here.
We have had seven budgets in six years which could be described as austerity budgets. This is the first one that falls outside that description. It attempts to do four things, namely, create jobs, help hard-pressed families, invest in public services and pay down some of Ireland's debt. These four items will be generally achieved with this budget. It is a decent budget in that it is a modest budget. Even if we call it modest, it still is significant. A year or so ago, we were talking about making a correction to take another €1.4 billion out of the economy in order to reach the agreed targets of 3% by 2015. However, due to the resilience, hard work and fortitude of the Irish people, we find ourselves in a position where we do not require to do that. The remarkable economic growth last year and, particularly, this year has allowed us to put an additional €1.6 billion or thereabouts into the economy. That is a significant turnaround in our fortunes. It is a turnaround of €3 billion which this time last year would have been considered inconceivable.
I remember having a series of meetings over the last three years, since 2011, with various Ministers about budgets and about the state of the economy in general. At that time, even the gloomiest of gloomy predictions were not sufficiently gloomy. In 2011 when we came into government, the country's future was on a knife edge and could have goneeither way. There was even talk in 2011 that the schools might not be in a position to open in September. That is not hyperbole or exaggeration or retrospective thinking. These are the sorts of things that were current in conversational topics in political circles at that time.
This budget is a small step. We still have a very long way to go. However, the change in circumstances now allows the Government to be in a place it thought a couple of years ago it could never be. In the three years it has been in this Government, the Labour Party has supported reductions and cuts in services that any Government, in particular a Labour Party Government, would think inconceivable in normal circumstances. We could not even countenance these things. It is not that we are taking credit for these things. These things affected the Irish people and it is due - I have to say it again - to the hard work and resilience of the Irish people that we now find ourselves in this position.
The Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, stated in a speech about two years ago that if we got our policies right, the Irish economy could become a little bit like a loaded spring ready to take off. I think that is the analogy he used. At the time, people looked at him and wondered what he was talking about. However, we have seen growth in the region of 4.3% this year. We will see growth of 3.9%, 3.4% and 3.9% in the following years. These are our projections. This is a cumulative value of 16% or 17% growth in our economy. These figures are tremendous if they materialise. On the back of those figures, the Government - and even more so the next Government - will be able to take advantage of the difficult decisions it has made and the hard work of the Irish people over the last number of years. These things need to be remembered. We see that the levels of dangerous debt and our debt to GDP ratio have fallen. That will allow investment in public services, jobs and in our people. It is just a start. It is a very small step. It is a good step forward and we hope we can see the progress next year and in future years.
Senators O'Brien and van Turnhout made reference to mental health services. It is my No. 1 priority area in politics and I note a €35 million investment in this area has been announced. I have previously said that I do not believe the problems in mental health services are solely related to the availability of resources. Senator van Turnhout referred to service delivery. Service delivery is key. Senators O'Brien and Power mentioned guidance counsellors in schools. I would have been very happy if I could have seen some reversal on the measures previously taken in that area. Perhaps in the coming days, we might see some reversal when the details of the budget are fleshed out.
I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House and giving his typically insightful contribution. He is one of the better performing Ministers when he comes here. We appreciate that.