Pat Casey (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House this evening. Today is further evidence that this historic coalition Government of three distinct political traditions has managed the Irish economy to serve the needs of all the people of Ireland in a manner that is prudent and sustainable and rewards work and ambition. Today, our Fianna Fáil Minister, Deputy Jack Chambers, has delivered a budget that is unprecedented in its targeting of significant finances towards the key investment priorities in housing, health, water and energy, while ensuring working people have more in their pockets to meet the cost-of-living crisis caused by ongoing global uncertainty.

Senator Craughwell has just left the Chamber but this is second consecutive year in which we have cut the USC, along with an increase in the income tax standard rate cut-off point and an increase in the personal tax credit, which will be of benefit to all who work and are key to continuing the success of the Irish economy. Our investment of nearly €2 billion in water and energy infrastructure is a clear indicator to both employers and those involved in the delivery of housing that the essential upgrades will be made to allow for the modernisation of this high-tech, highly educated and outward-looking economic model.

In housing, there is the largest investment package to further increase the rapid increase in the construction of high-quality, A-rated housing. The help-to-buy scheme has been extended until 2029, and I might revert to that scheme later. The rent tax credit has been increased, mortgage interest relief extended for a further year, the tax relief for pre-letting expenses extended until December 2027, the rate of stamp duty on bulk acquisitions for housing increased, and the vacant home tax increased to seven times the property's local property tax charge.

Strategic targeting and approval of capital spending, as any business will acknowledge, is essential for the sustainable growth of our enterprise. Today's wise investment of €1.25 billion in the Land Development Agency, €1 billion in Irish Water and €700 million in energy grid infrastructure enables key building blocks to be in place for the continued growth in housing delivery and economic expansion.

Ireland is a society where we all must be valued and cherished, and today's investment in health, mental health, social protection and pensions ensures that those who are in need have access to the additional financial supports and services funded by the successful Irish tax base. The return to school and the onset of autumn and winter puts much pressure on those families and older people with additional costs to bear, and it is a welcome and right thing to do to provide an additional bonus week along with the traditional Christmas bonus, and the new energy supports will be of help for people in need.

I said I would return to the help-to-buy scheme. I raised this issue last year and I will raise it again this year because it is important. The help-to-buy scheme has proved essential for home ownership and is a key component in allowing people to own their own homes. I have an issue with the loan-to-value ratio of 70%. I have explained this a couple of times and I will give the Minister of State a few examples of it. Take a young people who cannot get a 70% mortgage and are down at 67% but can get the first home scheme and, with the little deposit they have, are in a position to buy that house. As they are at 67%, however, they are excluded from the help-to-buy scheme and lose that potential of a deposit. The other cohort of people I have experienced on my travels are people who thought the aspiration of owning their own home was gone. These are people in, maybe, their late 30s or early 40s who cannot get a full mortgage. Their mortgage is maybe down at 60% to 65% but with the first home scheme, they can actually buy their home. Again, however, the catch is that the help-to-buy scheme is not there for them because the loan-to-value ratio is below 70%. This is the cohort of people who need the help-to-buy scheme more than anyone, more than people who probably do not actually need it. There is no dead weight associated with this cohort of people. I can give the Minister of State an example of a single mother in Wicklow whose mother worked in the council. When she finished in the council she got a lump sum. She was able to give that to her daughter but the daughter was only able to get a mortgage of 68% and she lost the help-to-buy scheme. These are the genuine people we could look at a bit closer with regard to loan-to-value. I have mentioned it in all my speeches so far in respect of the budget.

With regard to business, it would be wrong of me to be critical in this aspect because I know what the Government has done to sustain business during Covid and make sure we were in a position to survive when we came out of Covid. I welcome the supports that have been provided and, equally I welcome the €4,000 support today but it is a rather blunt instrument. It does not take into account the full complexities, especially for the small family businesses that are really struggling and do not fit under that €30,000 in commercial rates to the council and therefore do not qualify for the grant. While I am in hospitality, and the Minister of State knows the issue we have, it is reflected in all small family businesses. When you look at the input costs, staff costs have gone up significantly with the roll-out of the minimum wage, with increases three years in succession, holiday pay and pension auto-enrolment - although we have deferred that further - these are all huge additional costs. There are insurance costs, and even though we have tried, as a Government, to do as much as we can to reduce them, they are still a high input cost. There are energy costs and, for hospitality, there is the food input cost. There are four very big ongoing input costs. I know the complexity of trying to devise a scheme that targets the people or businesses most in need, whereas some people are getting the €4,000 and probably do not need it all. I do welcome it, however, and I appreciate it, but we could look into it a bit more and see what other schemes we could bring in because I am afraid for family businesses in this country. They are struggling. The bureaucracy is just killing them. The energy is going out of a lot of family businesses. It is just being sucked out of them and the only option they see is an exit door, rather than changing. They have been the heart of our communities and economy and I would like to see if we could do something more for them, while appreciating everything that has been done for businesses to date.

Some people will, of course, accuse this Government and the budget of being an attempt at electioneering but that is an old and trite statement. This Government has lasted nearly its full term and it has done so because the Irish people and our economic framework demand stability and coherence in an uncertain world. We only have to look at the framing of the budget that the new UK Government is preparing to see the results that populist, blow-in-the-wind political and financial instability bring. The political and economic chaos caused by populist governments is all too clear in the long road that our nearest neighbour must take to rebuild its society and economy. In the next few weeks or months the Irish people will get their democratic right to choose who will govern and in what manner. The choice is now clear. The partnership Government in which Fianna Fáil has had a distinct role has governed in a responsible, professional and targeted manner.Opposition Members promise vast spending packages while never explaining where the extra taxes will come from. They throw out figures on housing delivery that have no credibility to anyone with knowledge of the reality of the construction process and costs.

The Government is proving itself on the field; it is not on the sidelines. The increased provision in housing is just one of the facts the Government will be putting forward to the Irish people, along with full employment, rising wages, strategic investment in infrastructure and improved supports for all those in need.