Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Reference was made to issue of excise. I welcome the fact that there has not been an increase in excise duties. Many Senators and many Members of the other House raised the need to support one's local. We have talked about economic development outside of Dublin, the role of the pub, particularly the rural pub. In many communities it is more than just a pub, it is a tourism facility or a source of employment. Such pubs have obviously seen significant excise rises over the years of difficulty, so it is important that there is not one today.

There is a reference to the additional 400 Garda cars and ongoing Garda recruitment announced today. We are not just announcing that we are hiring an additional number of gardaí, we are announcing that it is a process we believe we can continue and never return to a situation where there would be no more recruitment or a freeze on recruitment of gardaí.

Many people raised issues about disability and the delivery of health services. The ending of the blanket moratorium is an important moment for this country. Senator Craughwell referenced management in schools. We must put the power back in the hands of people at the front line at a management level. They are paid to manage and are well able to manage. We must present them with an employment budget and tell them to manage it as they see fit. In my own county, services like speech and language therapy and occupational therapy are at crisis point. We must see investment in them, and that involves resources on the ground. The ending of the blanket moratorium will give people that ability.

I found some of the criticism of the budget fair, while some was quite political, and I have tried to avoid this tendency. However, most of the criticism I heard was "You didn't do this" or "You didn't do that" or "You didn't go as far as we would have liked". Much of that is fair. There is probably not a Member on the Government side of this House who would not have liked to see more investment in education, or more investment in health, or further tax reductions on hard-pressed families. Today's budget sends out a message to Irish people that the economic crisis is over. We are not getting complacent - there is much more to do - but we are finished firefighting and we can now talk about how we can work together to grow the economy by 3% into the future and deliver the services we all want. I commend the budget and I look forward to continued debate.