Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is welcome to the House on what is a good day overall in light of all the difficult, challenging and worrying days people are facing. We know the costs of electricity and energy are the big-ticket items. What we do not know is what the small, hidden costs will be. These are the costs people face as they go about their daily lives, such as when they go into the supermarket to buy a tin of fruit and discover it is almost double the price it was. I refer to own-label goods, not any fancy brands. The budget had to reflect and respond to that reality and cushion, as best as possible, the ordinary, decent people who have made this country what it is, especially in the winter months and the Christmas period.

With regard to tax breaks, it is long overdue that anybody earning up to €40,000 a year should be on the standard rate of tax. The bands should have been changed years ago. This is a welcome development that will immediately put money into the pockets of people in the squeezed middle. We all know who those people are because they come into our offices all the time. We are fully aware of the challenge they face.

We also know the challenges that face people who are on the fringes. They include pensioners, in particular, who need more heat in their homes, people on welfare, those in receipt of the fuel allowance and so on. The measures that have been announced are significant because of the size of the interventions but also because they will happen between now and Christmas. Pensioners will know there is money coming to fill the oil tank and pay the bills, which is important.

Regarding education, there are thousand of families in this country that include college students who do not qualify for Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grants. College fees have risen incrementally year on year. We now have a situation where €1,000 will be taken off that cost, with a €500 reduction next year. This is welcome, given that the cost of accommodation for students is spiralling.

The provision of free schoolbooks is something that should have happened last year. We were an outlier internationally in this regard, with schools in most countries providing books. The school owns the books but they are provided to students. I have spoken to the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, to ensure there are no unintended consequences to this provision, that Braille books for the blind are also free and there is no cost for Brailling them, and that digitally accessible books will likewise be free. Books are books, irrespective of the format in which they come. I have been given assurance that all books, including the ones to which I referred, will be free.

On healthcare, it is welcome that we are in a situation in which we can now offer free contraceptives to every woman aged under 30. It is only last August that this was offered to women under 25. It is great that we are in a position within a few months to extend the provision to those aged under 30.

Last week, it was announced that hospital charges would be eliminated for everyone aged under 16. We are now in a position where that can be offered to everybody, which is great. Hospital charges do not make sense. They hit those in the squeezed middle and can leave people facing a cost of €80 per day. This measure is welcome and will have an impact.

There is great news on medical cards. GPs are not happy about it, however, and something will have to be done to accommodate, facilitate and support them to deal with the queues they inevitably will see in their practices. The only way to deal with that is to create more places in medicine. It will probably take a few years for that to happen but it must be done. That is an absolute certainty.

I have spoken many times in this House about the cost of public transport. I am delighted the reductions in fares will continue but we need standardisation of prices and I am disappointed there is no reference to that in the budget. The distance from Ennis to Limerick is more or less the same as the distance from Maynooth to Dublin. However, a student or young professional making the first journey to college or work pays 30% to 35% more than a student or young professional making the second journey. That does not make sense in a small country. Fares should be calculated per kilometre and not depend on whether someone is in a rural or urban area. That is a disappointment.