Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House and commend him on the excellent work he is doing in the Department of Finance. I am taking the place of my colleague, Senator Horkan, who is unfortunately unavailable to contribute to the debate on this Stage. The Senator looks forward to doing so on the other Stages of the Bill, however.

As the Minister stated, the Finance Bill 2018 seeks to place many of the announcements made on budget day on a legal footing. In accordance with the confidence and supply agreement, the Fianna Fáil Party will abstain in the vote on the Bill. As the Minister is aware, my party committed to providing stability during the Brexit talks and we will continue to do so during this crucial period. This is an especially crucial time for the Government of the United Kingdom. We will continue to act in good faith in the crucial weeks ahead. We are all hopeful of a conclusion to the Brexit negotiations that will be in the interests of the whole island of Ireland.

Fianna Fáil sought during the budget negotiations to provide stability and to address some serious policy issues, with a particular emphasis on housing and health. As a result of our participation in the negotiations, we have gained a new affordable housing scheme, an increase in the social housing budget, an expansion of the National Treatment Purchase Fund, an increase in homecare packages and higher capitation rates for schools. This budget is another step in the right direction. My party also secured an increase of €5 in social welfare payments. The total increase to pension payments, carer's allowance and unemployment assistance under the confidence and supply arrangement now stands at €15.

We have also secured an increase in the social housing budget and a €310 million package for an affordable housing scheme over the next three years. This includes a subsidy of up to €50,000 for building costs on State-owned land. This will make homes available at around €200,000 for those who qualify. In health, I am pleased to note we have expanded the National Treatment Purchase Fund and homecare packages.

Other parties have shown a complete inability to deal in economic reality. They issued pre-budget proposals which misrepresented the Government figures by up to €700 million in some cases. Their budget proposals broke European Union fiscal rules, potentially leaving Ireland open to major fines. They made no allocation for the potential costs of a no-deal Brexit or a trade war with the United States. Those other parties have no credibility on economic matters. My party has taken the more difficult path of responsible politics and worked to keep faith with our pre-election promises.

For Fianna Fáil, the two measures in the Bill that stand out are changes to the betting tax and the VAT rebate for car hire. The budget announced a 100% increase in the turnover tax for betting companies. While we understand that decisions have to be made to raise revenues, the 100% increase in turnover tax will hurt local and independent bookmakers first and most. They will be put under severe pressure while larger companies will simply divert resources from bricks and mortar to their online outlets. I urge the Minister to consider the independent bookmakers' proposal to shift some of the cost to a transaction tax that could alleviate some of the worst effects of this measure.

We also urge the Minister to reconsider section 37, which removes a VAT rebate for VRT paid on cars used by the car hire industry. This was announced recently and only became apparent when the Bill was published. It is difficult to understand why this provision was included as it will reduce the number of vehicles in the car hire sector, thus making Ireland a less competitive location for tourism. When visiting Ireland, 32% of holidaymakers hire a car. It could now cost between €5 and €23 more per day to hire a car, depending on vehicle type. Tourists who wish to travel outside cities and around the country or hire a car for a golfing trip could be subjected to an extra charge of €230. This will hurt peripheral areas and rural Ireland most. As we all know, these areas have already suffered enough in many respects.

I pay tribute to my party's spokespersons on finance, Deputy Michael McGrath, and public expenditure and reform, Deputy Cowen, for their important input into this budget. I thank the Minister. It is good to see him in this House again.