Pat Casey (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is a potential conflict of interest in this budget. It is partly a negative one, so I had better declare it as a negative one as well as a positive one.

Today’s budget is further evidence that the number one priority of the Government is to protect all the people and families facing an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis caused by the continuing plague of populist politics, in particular the illegal invasion of Ukraine by the Putin regime. Populism has the easy answers. There is always an enemy of the people who exists in plain sight but who is never specified. Trump, those behind Brexit, and Putin, along with many other populists of the hard left and far right, always point the finger but never pull up their sleeves and get down to work on the solutions to the problems that nearly every sector of our society will face this winter. Older people trying to heat their homes, families trying to feed their children and make ends meet, and businesses trying to keep their doors open and retain jobs do not need fantasy policies that have wrecked other economies. Rather, targeted funding and tax measures are needed to ensure all homes remain warm, families can cherish their children and Irish businesses can face what will be a difficult winter given the rising costs of energy, food and supply chain goods.

The Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy McGrath, come from very different political traditions but have ensured the interests of our nation and all its people and communities are supported through these unprecedented economic challenges. The scale of the global economic challenge is being felt in every country, but because of the Ministers’ responsibility and patriotic management of the economy, the Government has a budget package of more than €10 billion to deliver targeted help to all the people in need of supports. Facts matter. Policies and choices facing the Government must be based on facts. The Irish people deserve to know the facts. Our economic management through Covid, and now in the post-Covid world, is one of the greatest success stories in the world. Respected UN data prove time and again the massive success of the Irish economy and the political management of our redistribution under progressive budgetary policies.

A successful economy creates the tax yield that must be spent wisely and that supports society to ensure the values of our Republic are given real and practical purpose. The two Ministers have consistently been practical politicians who have avoided the showboating and negative populism of others to concentrate on doing the job the people want and elected them to do. I thank them for the seriousness with which they take their patriotic duty.

In the time left, I will outline just some of the measures announced today that will ensure we can deliver to the people at this time of need. We had a double payment of welfare in October in addition to the normal double payment at Christmas. We have an energy credit of €600 per family. Childcare fees will drop by more than €2,100 per year, on average. The increase to the higher tax band will give back up to €790 per person. There is a tax credit for renters of €500. There is a €500 grant for carers of those with disabilities. There is a €12 increase to all core welfare payments. There are free school books at primary level, and college fees have been reduced by €1,000 for all students. The Student Universal Support Ireland payment has been doubled. There are energy supports for SMEs of up to €10,000 per month, which is critical to keep jobs in the economy and family incomes intact. There is funding for more than 1,000 gardaí. An IVF scheme is publicly funded for the first time. The GP card scheme has been expanded, with more than half the population now eligible. There is free contraception for women up to 30.

I am delighted the first-time buyer’s grant will be kept for another year. We look forward to some tweaking of it in further budgets. This is one of the key components and pathways to homeownership. It was pointed out today that in excess of 35,000 families have availed of it. In my constituency, Wicklow, 1,354 families are now living in their homes because of the grant.

I listened to the Opposition debate in the Lower House. I normally do not get dragged down into the politics of it but I believe facts matter. Fantasy policies and the figures coming from Sinn Féin need to be called out at this stage. According to Sinn Féin’s housing budget, the party is to deliver an additional 2,900 houses, but it has based its figure on pre-pandemic prices. It takes no account of inflation and the supply chain issues. Only a few weeks ago, it called for a crisis intervention plan to slow down the disorderly exit of private landlords from the rental market. Its spokesman said all options must be on the table for consideration, including tax reform in the private rental sector. However, what would the party do in its budget? It would add €400 to the cost of a landlord who wishes to rent a property. Just over a year ago, Deputy Ó Broin was lambasting the State for the use of the private sector in respect of the purchase of turnkey developments, saying turnkey developments built by private developers and brought to the State comprise the single most expensive way to provide social housing. Lo and behold, in the housing budget of 2023 there is a reference to 1,000 turnkey social homes at a cost of €256,000 each.

Sinn Féin does not believe in homeownership. It actually detests homeownership. In its budget, it is removing the three key planks of homeownership: the first-time buyer's grant, the first home shared equity scheme and Croí Cónaithe, which allows people to spend €50,000 purchasing a vacant property so they can build their own home.

In the minute I have left, I want to speak about my own sector and my disappointment today over the position on VAT. I hope this will be open for debate. I hope the decision was not based on the gouging that has been done by some hotels within this country, because the people gouging will gouge one way or another regardless of the VAT rate.Is this based on other statistics or figures?

One of the key issues at this point is the decoupling of food and accommodation because they are two completely different products. As the Minister pointed out, food has a huge cost input. All those costs have gone up in the past number of years. Food works on a tight margin. Regarding accommodation, from a Government point of view delivering budget hotels is complex, difficult and challenging. When the State takes nearly 20% of the budget accommodation out of the system, that causes problems. Airbnb is also an issue. Its business model is taking up hotel accommodation. People should be in hotels and homeless families should be in homes. Dublin has a shortage of approximately 20,000 bed spaces. Budget hotels are very hard to deliver and need a lower VAT rate. We need an open and frank discussion on VAT in the hospitality sector. The issue needs to be publicly debated because there are genuine concerns.