Vincent P Martin (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

There is one certainty about where we are, namely, that it is uncertain. Considering the complete uncertainty of the situation, the challenge the Government faced was mammoth.In a record spend of €17.75 billion, there are a number of headline figures to which my colleagues have already alluded. There is so much to be welcomed about the €4 billion on health. Ill winds blow good fortune and some of that investment, leaving aside the Covid-19 part of it, might remain with us in the long term.

The record €5.2 billion spend on housing has got to be welcomed.

At the heart of the Government's budget is that it boosts business, although it invests heavily in public services also. It was a war footing budget and business was at the heart of it. Not so long ago, there was criticism of budgets in which the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, may have been involved to the effect that there was something for everyone in the audience or a little bit for everyone. This is the complete opposite. We will not have that argument from yesteryear. This budget did not go down the populist route. It went down a macro visionary route whereby the Government has recognised that business will drive the economy and protect individuals' jobs. Support of up to €5,000 per week for businesses is a lifeline. A number of business owners have been in touch with me since it was announced and they were emotional about that. With a bit of luck they can survive, thanks to the initiative of the Minister and the Government.

This budget is very different. It is not seen through the lens of the welfare State. It is not a case of one for everyone in the audience. It is a visionary budget. I accept it will not please all the people.

I do not wish to be critical but, with respect, some of the Opposition responses to the budget yesterday struck me as being scripted. I felt some of them were stumped because of the record spend in this budget. There is such a thing as constructive opposition but a test of any budget is not necessarily about the Minister for Finance or the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. We should listen to the stakeholders, who have welcomed it, albeit with a qualified welcome. There is a lot more positivity today than before the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, took to his feet in the Dáil yesterday.

I welcome the €1.8 billion investment in sustainable transport and the DART+ programme. Unfortunately, it stops in Maynooth and does not go on to Kilcock. It stops in Leixlip also and does not go on to the capital town of Naas but that is a conversation for another day.

Staying with "The Late Late Show" theme, it might not have the popular viewings of yesteryear but at the time of the caretaker Government the Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, threw down an invitation during a live conversation with Ryan Tubridy. He said that if the Green Party really wanted its agenda implemented this was an incredibly opportune moment to tie down Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in that regard. There will always be an Opposition but he said that if Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, the two big bastions of democracy in Ireland, were on the Green Party's side in communicating its message to the country, it was an opportunity it could not give up. We did not give it up.

The €7.50 increase on fossil fuels brings that to a total of €33.50 per tonne of carbon. Crucially, that will reach €100 per tonne of carbon by 2030. Carbon tax, which the Green Party has been fighting for over years, is now guaranteed to increase each year. The Government has done that by taking politics out of it. I know there is broad agreement in the Oireachtas but the die is cast in respect of the tax on carbon and the issue is now outside of party politics.

There is a major redesign of motor tax and vehicle registration tax, which is to be welcomed. It got off to a poor start the last time the Green Party was in government. At the heart of this way of doing it is just transition. We must protect the most vulnerable. My party leader, Deputy Eamon Ryan, tweeted a graph yesterday showing that the lower income households in the bottom four deciles, according to an analysis done by the Department of Finance SWITCH model, are the most protected in this budget.

The living alone allowance will be increased by €5 and the fuel allowance will be increased by €3.50 per week. In terms of targeting child poverty, the €5 increase for children over the age of 12 and the €2 increase for children under the age of 12 is to be welcomed - the increase for a qualified child.

Every party loves the arts but the arts and heritage are particularly cherished in the Green Party. Those two sectors have been given a huge boost in the budget. For the first time, live entertainment has been recognised. It was centre stage in the Minister's speech.

In terms of overseas aid, we are very proud of what Ireland has done. In tough times we saw the bigger picture and increased that aid to approximately €30 million.

I listened to the interview with the Minister and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy McGrath, this morning. It was harmonious, uplifting and represented a new beginning for this Government. I believe this Government has found its mojo. It was unfortunate in that it had a difficult start but it is pulling for Ireland in a harmonious and united way. I wish it well as we go through more difficult times. I am concerned about how the money will be repaid. Eventually, in the next budget or budgets 3 or 4, taxation measures will have to be introduced but these first steps are to be welcomed.

I am a Senator from a Government party but if I was to be objective about this budget, I would have to welcome it. Senator Casey outlined in great detail many of the wins in this Government's budget. The Green Party welcomes and supports it.