Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the Senators for their contributions. I listened to them carefully. Many issues have been raised and different perspectives have been shared. It is important to say that this budget is from a coalition Government of three parties, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party. All have had significant input. We have worked well collaboratively in the preparation of this budget. It is important for the country that it was be done in that spirit.

There are some over-arching themes in the budget that all Senators have touched on in many different ways. These include the protection of public services and the improvement of these services, where we can, with particular emphasis on health, housing, education, climate and so many other areas. Reference was made to the whole area of investment in our economy for the future and investment in infrastructure, which is critical.

We must meet the twin challenges of Covid-19 and Brexit. The truth is that matters are developing rapidly. There will be a Cabinet meeting in less than an hour. The situation in the North is very serious. We are aware of the decisions made by the Northern Ireland Executive. We have serious problems here too. As the first priority, we have to do all that we can to protect the public, protect public health and protect lives. The framing of this budget has been a complex process given the unprecedented level of uncertainty that we face. That is why we have tried to retain as much flexibility as possible in respect of having a recovery fund and a contingency fund for measures that we will need to implement to respond to Covid-19, while at the same time having as certain a pathway for the public finances as we can given all these challenges.

Many issues were raised. In the few minutes available to me I will focus on several of them. The supports provided for business by the previous Government and by the new Government in this budget are particularly significant.The continuation of wage subsidy scheme into next year is of huge comfort and a source of confidence to employers, many of whom are really struggling. That the State is willing to pay a share of the wages of their employees is a demonstration of our commitment to helping them to get through this period. We have provided a rates waiver of €900 million, given local authorities that full allocation back, provided approximately €600 million in restart grants, reduced the two key VAT rates, the standard and the lower rate, and introduced a range of liquidity measures, including a €2 billion credit guarantee scheme, even though the appetite among businesses to take on additional debt is weak at the moment, perhaps for understandable reasons given the level of uncertainty and the anxiety that all of them have to deal with day to day. We have introduced a suite of tax measures that I know the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, will have spoken about earlier, including tax warehousing which is of very significant benefit to businesses.

The new scheme that the Minister for Finance announced yesterday is hugely beneficial for businesses that have to close or whose trading opportunities are significantly impacted by Government-imposed restrictions on health grounds. The Government is willing to pay to keep these businesses alive. We have that duty to businesses that were viable in 2019, pre-Covid. We know they are inherently good businesses. It is not their fault that they cannot trade so this is an innovative scheme through which the Government will help them to meet their fixed costs to get through this period and give them every possible chance of surviving.

A number of Senators touched on the tourism and hospitality area. A range of measures has been in place in that regard. The Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Catherine Martin, has a €55 million envelope for a tourism business support scheme, which will be of real benefit. What we achieved yesterday in the funding allocation for the arts, culture and sport is remarkable. All of this will be delivered. The overall test of the budget is how we deliver it on the ground to the people who need those supports. This will be our focus now. The budget gives us the opportunity to do it in terms of the provision of the resources, and we now must deliver.

Of all the issues that were dealt with yesterday, we can take some pride in the additional funding provision for disability services, which was raised today by many Senators. In addition to the funding for existing services, there is €100 million for new measures, school-leavers, day services, respite services, personal assistant hours and assessments of need for children, which the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and I are determined to tackle. It is not acceptable that young children are waiting a number of years for an assessment and on the other side of that assessment find there are no services for them. We are determined to address this issue. The funding allocation for mental health is the funding sought. Sharing the Vision is being funded and will be implemented in full.

What we are doing in education is transformative. Over 2,000 posts have been created, in the main in the special education area. I welcome this. The bereavement grant and social welfare payments were mentioned. My mum was widowed at a young age. Increasing the widow's grant from €6,000 to €8,000 is the right thing to do despite the real constraints we are operating under. The heritage and biodiversity area was touched on. We have managed to provide significant increases in funding. On the current side, €16 million is provided to protect biodiversity and fund the National Parks and Wildlife Service and on the capital side, there is an increase of €8 million.

Senator Craughwell, as he always does, raised issues relating to the Defence Forces. I have had a number of discussions with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney. I am conscious of the recruitment and retention issues in the Naval Service, particularly around specialist posts. I visited Haulbowline in August, where I received a very detailed briefing. We are keen to address those issues but we need to do it in a manner that is consistent with wider public pay policy because as a Government, it is our objective to negotiate a new public service pay deal in the weeks ahead, if it is possible to do so.

I again thank Senators for their contributions. I will always engage with people directly if they want to come to me on individual issues. It has not been possible to respond to every issue raised, although I would have liked to do so. The budget we brought forward will make a real difference. I have no doubt about that. It is an unprecedented budget for an unprecedented set of circumstances. We will now go about the work of translating that immediately, including the €50 million in immediate funding for hospices, voluntary disability service providers and community organisations. This is 2020 money All of these measures will make a real difference. I look forward to working with Senators in the future and I hope to come back to this House on many occasions.