Shane Cassells (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to address the Chamber this evening on budget 2022. I thank the Minister of State for his work, along with his Department and his colleagues, the Ministers for Finance and for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputies Donohoe and Michael McGrath, for this budget. I listened to both Ministers that afternoon and I recalled George W. Bush's famous quote on receipt of his first budget when he said, "It's clearly a budget. It's got a lot of numbers in it." The budget this afternoon clearly has a lot of numbers, some €88 billion. I thought about that and when, as a kid in the 1980s and the 1990s, my parents could never have imagined such an amount of money in public expenditure. We should not forget that as the debate ranges here this evening, including those who want to bemoan it.

Sometimes, the importance of budgets like today's can get lost in the swathe of huge figures and what those figures really mean for people and their lives and how it will impact them when they come home this evening and reflect on that. The fact that there was not a screed of a protester at the gates here this afternoon is indicative that people know this budget provides stability. It provides improvements in a range of key areas, including housing. On the subject of housing, when they are talking in here, Members forget that 12,000 social homes will be provided next year. The budget also provides for improvements in health, including real things such as dental care and GP care, which will make a difference in people's lives, and improvements in education and energy costs also.

I will start on the issue of childcare. Last year people were bemoaning its omission from the budget, and rightly so. The sector gets plenty of plaudits from politicians of all hues, but I wonder if politicians really know what they are talking about when they address the topic. My wife of 21 years has worked in this sector for all her life as the county childcare co-ordinator in Meath. She holds a doctorate in this topic. I am privy to better daily briefings than the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, receives.

The childcare sector and the particular issues involved are varied and many-layered. When the Department of Children was created, and really strengthened under the stewardship of the late Brian Lenihan 20 years ago, the sector as a regulated entity was in its embryonic and formative stage. People forget that 20 years ago there really was no childcare sector in the State. We were grappling with seeing its establishment. It coincided with a huge population surge, urbanisation and the demand for good, high-quality childcare. A lot has been done in that 20 years but, critically, a lot was done badly in the formative times. We looked primarily towards the private sector to provide this crucial education, which is the first rung in the education ladder. There were flawed policies in the past when cash was thrown at parents rather than looking at the fundamentals of the actual system. It must be remembered that we expect all childcare providers to implement government policy and HSE standards in these private settings, with staff working on a minimum wage. I really welcome the intervention of the State today and look towards the payment of staff properly under the implementation of the joint labour committee report. As the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, has said, this is a turning point in the approach towards the early years sector, with €716 million in funding and €78 million in additional core funding.

Senator Gavan made a political charge that Fianna Fáil only represents the elite of this country. When we see the €68 million in additional investment in higher education today and a total spend of €3.7 billion, with €35 million in new supports a new supports for students who need assistance to cover the costs to get to higher education, is this looking after the elite? Consider the free GP care for six and seven-year-old children, who can always be at the doctors and need that assistance the most and whose parents had to fork out the €60 fee. Is that looking after the elite? There are an extra 1,200 special needs assistant posts for the most vulnerable children in our society. Is that looking after the elite? There is provision for 800 extra gardaí, to take the scum and the drug lords off the street in this country and to deal with antisocial behaviour. Is that looking after the elite? I think boys need to have a hard look at themselves and wonder who are the elite and who are the ordinary people. The ordinary people were always looked after in Fianna Fáil. Those who will benefit from the widening of the tax bands and who will have extra money in their pocket are the ordinary people. That is what this budget does.

I want to touch on one technical point and I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, to raise this with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe. This afternoon, the Minister announced tax credit relief for the digital gaming sector at a rate of 32% of expenditure of up to €25 million on the design, production and testing of games. This sector deals primarily with games targeted at teenagers but the gambling industry has sought to rebrand itself under the gaming sector title. Casino products and so on want to be branded as gaming. When this tax credit relief is detailed in the Finance Bill I ask that the Minister of State and the Minister for Finance look at this in order that we do not allow a loophole for the companies that provide gaming casino platforms for online gambling. I ask that they not be allowed to avail of a loophole that would provide tax relief for something that actually fuels addiction to gambling in the State. The Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, announced funding today for a gambling regulatory authority. It would be a travesty if with the one hand we do that and with the other, we might provide assistance for those who want to get people addicted to gambling. I thank the Minister of State.