Tom Shehan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. I am substituting today for my colleague, Senator D'Arcy. There are a few points in the Finance Bill I wish to address. I have spoken to the Minister about these matters prior to the budget. No more than my colleague on the other side of the House, Senator White, and others, I have hobby horses. I recall how long it took the Minister to deliver the budget on budget day and the number of pages in his statement. Despite this, many people said to me the following day that they took only one line from the budget, the line implying there was an extra week's wages in it for everyone. Subsequently, the ESRI said there were three weeks' wages in the budget for everyone. I do not know whether the Minister was underestimating himself in that regard.

Budgets and finance Bills in recent years have been to get the country back on track. Everybody on both sides of the House understands that. Senators understand all the holes cannot be filled in one budget. In the most recent Budget Statement, it was specified that the universal social charge benefits were directed primarily towards people on low incomes or those the media call "the coping classes". This was the right decision in the interest of a fairer society. However, the sector that contributed a lot to the economy comprises older people. I was disappointed, therefore, that the telephone allowance was not reinstated for them. This could have been achieved at a nominal cost to the State, and it would have meant so much to them. I would not write off the fact that the Minister will keep this in mind. He might be able to reinstate the allowance at another stage.

Another issue for which I will continue to fight concerns that the fact that Down's syndrome ought to be included in the qualifying criteria for a primary medical certificate. I hate using the word "burden" but there is a burden on the parents of children with Down's syndrome. They have to bring them everywhere. There are great services now and I hope we will never again treat people with disabilities and the disadvantaged as we did years ago but it should be acknowledged that children with Down's syndrome are the whole life of their parents for all their lives. I have four children and hope they will be reared and independent in the next ten to 15 years but parents of a child with Down's syndrome must focus on their child all their life. I hope that in the future the Minister will be in a position to include Down's syndrome among the conditions that qualify for a primary medical certificate.

I congratulate the Minister on the way he has brought the country back from where it was. I acknowledge that there is a good bit to go. Having spoken to people in the business community, I have learned there are many more people back working. We are going the right way although we are not there yet. I hope the people in the sectors of society that have not yet benefited will get their just reward for the sacrifices they made after the financial meltdown. As the saying goes, "A rising tide lifts all boats."