Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have had an interesting discussion. I support the motion as it is a very serious response to a grave crisis. It struck me when my good friend, Senator Boylan, was speaking that I thought I was listening to an extract from An Béal Bochtby Myles na gCopaleen in the first chunk of her speech. To deliver the list of suggestions she had, we might need to add buttons to the calculator to get the figures all combined together.

We have a very serious set of important propositions here. I wish to address a couple of them and commend them to the House as worthy of particular attention. The tax cuts to assist the squeezed middle - those on low incomes from, say, €20,000 to €60,000 - are proposed because if people in this bracket, who are under awful pressure, get a small pay increase under Building Momentum or under the current agreements, they will end up paying income tax, USC and PRSI to the extent that they will erode their wages. Hence the logic of the tax cuts for these people. They are targeted at people who need them. Welfare increases for pensioners are very important. These are people who suffer particularly from fuel poverty and they need attention. The idea of a lower cost of education through reducing student contributions and increasing eligibility for student grants is very important. A lot of parents suffer here and it is about equality of opportunity.

Reducing the cost of healthcare is another commendable suggestion. We have made massive strides in this area but much more needs to be done. The motion is extraordinarily well crafted in that we have the increase in the cost rental and affordable housing schemes. That is an initiative that is very badly needed. Making the reductions in transport costs permanent is also very important. In Virginia, County Cavan, the N3 route to Dublin is very well used. Buses on the hour are packed. People who use that route tell me that the reduced fare has meant so much to them. Those are practical solutions that can be implemented.

I agree with the Leader of the House on an immediate intervention in the area of fuel. This is an issue in the constituency I share with the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. I commend her on her recent initiative on access to pensions and on the carer's allowance being made available to a wider range of people. In the area we represent, there is effectively no public transport for people who work in factories and low-paid jobs around those counties. They do not have the rail network or buses. They need to have cars and fuel is a major prohibition there. It is a great motion. I hope that it will get the unanimous and fulsome support of the House and that people will see it as a good start to solving a very difficult crisis.