Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senators for their comments on the budget, all of which I have listened to carefully. Senator Garvey called out, for example, the payments for HRT and IVF. She also worries that there is not enough money for small businesses, which was also a theme in Senator Keogan's comments.

Senator Craughwell is interested in the Defence Forces and welcomes the 400 new members. He is worried, however, that the pay for higher ranks in the Defence Forces is out of line and that the pay is balanced towards the lower ranks, which may result in a difficulty with the retention of staff. He asks that the working time directive be applied to the Defence Forces and that the post-2013 pension scheme be re-examined for fairness. He also said specifically that we do not have primary radar. I noted that the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, said today that he is funding both primary radar and the monitoring of subsea cables. The Senator also said that there are no evacuation aircraft. My understanding is that we have two Airbus C295 evacuation aircraft, which we purchased last year for €230 million. Another model of evacuation aircraft is coming next year. We are advising citizens in Lebanon to leave immediately and not to rely on evacuation.

Senator Craughwell asked when the one-off cost-of-living payments are coming in. My understanding is that all payments will be paid before year end, apart from one of the electricity credits, which will be paid next year.

Senator Kyne mentioned the importance of investment in infrastructure to get a long-term benefit. He also mentioned the importance of investing in education, which is the best investment we can make. He also referred to the importance of investing in our water infrastructure, which is covered by the various infrastructure funds we have set up.

Senator Sherlock talked about the fact that there is not enough investment in retrofitting and solar energy, and in the skills for those things. We have multiplied by a great amount the money being invested in retrofitting. We are close to €500 million this year. Solar energy has gone from nothing to 1.5 GW this year. We did 1 GW last year and there will be another 1.5 GW next year. We will easily make our 8 GW target for 2030. You can see it everywhere. We are putting solar panels on every school in Ireland. The situation is changing dramatically. We are investing in the necessary skills. The Taoiseach, when he was the Minister for further and higher education, developed the green skills programme to train 3,000 people per year in green skills, such as installing solar panels and so on.

Senator Sherlock also drew attention to the payments we are making to alleviate child poverty. Through the qualified child allowance for people who are living on welfare, an additional payment for their children has been raised. There is also the working family payment for those who are on low wages. We did not increase child benefit, which is a universal payment. Instead, all of the money went into the targeted payments for people on low incomes, whether on welfare or on low wages. That was the right thing to do.

Senator Warfield is worried about emigration. I assure him that according to the data I looked at, more Irish people returned to Ireland in the past three years than left. We have large net inward migration and more babies are being born than there are people dying. Our population overall is growing in all respects. The minimum wage is going up by 80 cent per hour. I welcome the fact that the Senator's party has an alternative budget although I do not agree with it. It proposes the complete abolition of the USC. We have brought down the USC from 4% to 3% this year, following another cut last year. We have also changed the single rate cut-off point and the various personal allowances.

Senator Lombard mentioned tillage schemes, which he welcomes, and the addition of more investment for special education. He also pointed out the difficulty with school buses and forcing drivers to retire early.

Senator Keogan said there is nothing in the budget for small businesses or children with special needs. She will be relieved to hear that there is €170 million for energy subsidy payments targeted specifically at the hospitality and retail sector. That is significant. The Senator will also be relieved to hear that although she believes there is nothing for children with special needs, 768 additional special education teachers and 1,600 special needs assistants are being hired.

Senator O'Hara is experiencing a different type of budget from that he may have experienced in the North. He said that this is an opportunity for shared Ireland infrastructure, which is a good point. We should invest in transport and electricity infrastructure. Those things are going on.

Senator Dolan is happy with the increase in home help hours. That is all a part of the Government strategy to move away from the privatised nursing home model. Most people prefer to live in their homes, as far as possible, and that is what their families prefer too.The Senator also asked about the building block grant and when it is going to happen. I will have to come back with an accurate answer on that.

Senator Ward welcomed the increase in the inheritance threshold, as do I. He also pointed out that the criminal legal aid fees were cut a number of times but were not raised again. Although, of course, the stereotype for barristers is that they are all very rich and well paid, in fact the large majority of them are not on high wages. He has previously advocated for an increase in fees for lawyers and I will go back to-----