Seanad debates

Wednesday, 6 May 2015

Spring Economic Statement: Statements

 

2:30 pm

Photo of Terry BrennanTerry Brennan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat a Leas-Chathaoirligh agus cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Seanad. The Government's spring economic statement shows a real vision to spread the recovery to all corners of this country. There is no doubt that the economic recovery is gaining momentum and this Government has a plan to spread its benefits to everyone throughout the land. After years of hardship caused by the economic crisis and the disastrous policies of the last Government, it is time for better living standards and improved public services for all the people of the land. It is time to give our young emigrants the opportunity to come home. The Government has a plan to achieve this vision and the spring economic statement shows that the plan is already working.

I will give the Minister an example of my own in the form of a meeting I had with two young professional people.I have to say that one of them is from my own parish. I did not know her and never saw her in my life before, but I met her in New York City. Her husband is from Galway. Both of them are living and working in the tax exile of Bermuda. Both are highly qualified professional people working for one of the biggest companies in the world. Having gained great experience, they are coming home to this country to rear a family. They realise the opportunities that are in this country now. They are not coming home to apply for social welfare. This is a true statement and I am sure there are other people doing the same.

The national deficit has been significantly reduced from €15 billion to €4.5 billion. These are true facts and figures that cannot be denied. Our national debt is now moving closer to the European average. We are being commended on our efforts not only in Europe but also in the United States. I have heard and witnessed such commendations myself. I did not read them, I heard them.

This was achieved, thankfully, albeit with major sacrifices by people from all walks of life. It was also achieved with fewer tax increases and more expenditure cuts than anyone thought possible. We ensured that core social welfare rates were maintained to protect the most vulnerable. While getting the economy back on track, we built more schools in the midst of the economic recovery than were built in the previous Government's term during what were called the boom years. These facts and figures speak for themselves.

In what is the first step towards universal free GP care, 300,000 children and senior citizens who must currently pay to see their GP, will no longer have to do so from this summer. We do not often advertise or claim these achievements but we must recognise them. We will achieve the promised 100,000 jobs this year, which is a year earlier than planned. By 2018, the jobs lost during the crash will have been recovered.

Ireland has established its reputation as the Internet capital of Europe and continues as such, but do we realise that? This week, our reputation was enhanced with the decision of the online fashion company Zalando to open a research and development centre in the Dublin docklands. This German company will create 200 jobs over the next couple of years, although it faced opposition from its own country.

Ireland continues to attract global companies to its shores and the Government will continue its work in this regard for many years to come. We are now focused on improving the lot of the so-called squeezed middle - the people who feel they have been paying for everything since the economic crash. Many of these people now find themselves struggling with mortgage arrears, but the Government will make an announcement on this in the coming weeks.

The Minister for Finance plans to meet with the six main lenders in Irish banking this month to discuss their plans for reducing interest rates. The main priority of this Government's plan is to grow the economy and improve living standards. It is putting more money back into people's pockets through further reductions in income tax and the universal service charge. This is being done in a sensible, responsible way and will not jeopardise our recovery.

In his spring economic statement to the Lower House, the Minister, Deputy Noonan, said we would not return to the "If I have it, I'll spend it" ways of the previous government. That approach, which was aimed at buying elections, would represent the single biggest threat to our economic growth.

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