Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is the day after the budget. This year's budget was a very different budget because it had to be. It had to be a budget that reached out and supported people not just in 2023, but now. Some of the measures announced are extremely welcome and are needed. I acknowledge the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, for the work she did in securing not just increases to the old age pension and welfare payments in general but also for the once-off payments that are needed this month, next month, at Christmas and going forward into next year.

In education, the announcement of free schoolbooks is particularly significant because this country has been an outlier when it comes to access to and availability of books. Parents in most other countries do not have to buy books. In those countries, the books are provided by the state and are the property of the school. I hope the books that will be provided will also be free to people who have print disabilities. I hope that books in Braille will be free and that there will be access to books in digital form, because that is also important.

Some of the transport measures are welcome, particularly the confirmation from the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, that Shannon Airport will be able to apply for the regional airport support fund. This fund has been critical in recent years during Covid.

In health, it is great that there will finally be no hospital charges for anyone. This measure will help the people of middle Ireland - those who do not qualify for medical cards and who fall into the category of the squeezed middle. When they go to hospital, or their child does, they will not have to pay the daily charge of €80. That will help such people. Access to free contraception for ladies under 30 years of age is also important. As the GP visit card situation will be challenging for the medical profession, clarification is needed in terms of what supports will be provided to them.

Overall, it is a budget for these times. It is a budget like no other, but it is a budget that was needed. It will help struggling families.