Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will pick up some of the points made directly. Perhaps I will start with housing. I have always worked very constructively with Senator Warfield on a number of different committees and I am glad to hear him speak about the importance of homeownership because, along with people who want to buy their own homes but are living in their parents, it is not something I hear often from Sinn Féin. As Senator McGahon said, it is important but it is not something that Sinn Féin makes any provision for in its alternative budget.

In fact, Sinn Féin would abolish the help-to-buy scheme and makes no reference to the funding of housing any kind other than social and affordable housing. Indeed, it has put aside €3 billion in its 2024 figures, whereas the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform has a figure of €5 billion in capital expenditure, Housing Finance Agency, HFA, lending, which, of course, goes to developers to deliver private homes, and LDA housing investment. There is €5 billion versus €3 billion and homeownership versus no homeownership. It is very clear where somebody needs to go if he or she wants to buy a home.

I hate doing this, but Senator Warfield referred to homelessness and rising house prices and rents. He will be, of course, aware that house prices have gone up by 10% in Northern Ireland in 2022, rents went up 9.2% last year and there were, very unfortunately, more than 4,000 children in temporary accommodation as of January 2023, an increase of nearly 500 children last year. That is a significant challenge. It is the highest rate in the UK. There are very significant housing pressures faced by every developing economy at this time. Post Covid, there are significant supply chain pressures. It is important to always set out the complete facts.

This is a Government that is delivering homes. I can see that right across my constituency and everybody else can see it. We would like to do it faster. Thankfully, Sinn Féin said it knows it takes time to build homes. It is good that Sinn Féin aware of that fact. Perhaps that shows a sense of being responsible for it in the period to come.

I will address some of the benefits Senators have raised in different ways. I acknowledge Senator Lombard detailing the agriculture reliefs as I did not have an opportunity to do so during my contribution. Senator Cummins is correct. We are the envy of Europe regarding our current budgetary position. I was in London last week and was asked by City A.M.whether we were the envy of Europe because we were the only country with a budget surplus of this kind. Of course, I tried to down play it because we have been through tough times before, but I had to acknowledge the significant and positive situation we are in. That is best reflected in the additional childcare cuts of 25% this year on top of last year's 25% cut, which will make a huge difference to families, and the tax cuts which benefit people earning €45,000, €55,000 and €65,000 more than anywhere else.

These figures are clearly outlined in the budgetary document should anybody wish to go through it. It is absolutely clear that the biggest possible benefit is there, in addition to working family support extensions, double child benefit, energy grants, child poverty supports, free book scheme and hot meal extensions, the extension of the reduced excise rate and dealing with all of the pressures of life caused by the cost of living today. By far the most significant thing that happened to date was, as Senators Cummins, Byrne and others referenced, the establishment of the two new funds.

I came to work in Leinster House in January 2008 while the Mahon tribunal was still going on and before the banking crash. I have worked through every budget since the USC was created, increased and cut and there were the cuts to the most vulnerable that had to be done to try to rebalance the books and get things back to a place where we could recover our sovereignty, get to a balanced budget and then to budget surpluses, notwithstanding the pandemic, the challenge of Brexit and everything else we faced. Today, in 2023, not 15 years after I came into Leinster House and having gone through all of the period, we will create two new funds. In additional to the national development plan, one fund will address infrastructure, climate and nature and give us the opportunity to have targeted spending in each of those areas, as may be the case and applied for by different Ministers with specific funds.

By far the most significant thing that happened today was the creation of the future Ireland fund, which will be put on a statutory basis. We will put 0.8% of our GDP into the fund every year. We are starting with €4 billion from the soon to be dissolved reserve fund, or rainy day fund, as it is called. The intention is not to touch it, but rather to grow it. With contributions and returns from investments over the long-term horizon, we expect the fund to get to €100 billion by 2035, if we have the discipline and sense not to touch it. At that stage, we will be able to take the return from the fund, invest it in what we need to do on an annual basis and maintain the resilience and sustainability in our public finances that would see us through another crash, because it will mean a very different economic position.When I was briefed on the detail of the fund, I could not help but think about the Economic Management Council of the Government of 2011. I thought of the people who were there at that time and who did the hard yards, including former Deputies Enda Kenny, Eamon Gilmore, Michael Noonan and Brendan Howlin, and their support team, comprising Mr. Colm O'Riordan and Mr. Andrew McDowell. I thought of what they went through and what they did. The establishment of this future Ireland fund is testament to their work and that of everybody who worked with them in the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, the Taoiseach's office and the Tánaiste's office. Every single difficult decision that had to be made at that time has, through the work of the Ministers, Deputies Pascal Donohoe and Michael McGrath, brought us to the point where we can create a future Ireland fund. This is the most important thing for young people in the budget this year. It is the difference that is going to give us our independence, resilience and sustainability, along with the energy and return we will get from offshore wind. This is the significant thing that happened today. As Senators have acknowledged, it is a bit like the Land Development Agency in that it is not today or tomorrow we will see the benefit of it. We will see that benefit in ten, 20 and 30 years. It is hugely important. I thank Senators for their time.