Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is more than welcome. It is great to have him in the House. I would like to acknowledge the budget proposed in the other House this afternoon. It is an important document and I want to acknowledge the amount of work that has gone into making sure it has been put before the Houses. It is a significant document and it is to be hoped it will do what it is required.

The budget is about trying to make sure that we put more money into the basic things that are required, namely building more homes, improving home ownership, a really important principle, and making sure that we help the families of Ireland who need support. The cost of living is huge issue. The amount of money that we put into things like child benefit, in particular, are important and mean families will have secure finances over the next few months. That will benefit everyone.

There has been an increase in supports for the farming community, in particular. I would like to mention the €2 billion for the farming community encompassing a range of packages. It is important that the House acknowledges that. We are seeing unprecedented money being put into farming communities to help roll out changes, which is important for society as well as those communities. Change involves making sure that schemes are put in place that will benefit these communities. I refer to environmental schemes, as well as an increase in welfare payments for sheep and the dairy beef proposal, which is significant. These measures are positive because they help to build momentum, energy and confidence in the sector.

I want to mention the tillage sector, which got a boost of €100 per hectare, a significant sum of money to help the industry. It had a very bad spring and quite a good autumn at the end of the year, but it is important that the industry is helped because we need to make sure that the number of acres, or hectares, depending on when one was born, under tillage in Ireland is increased. There has been little, if any growth, in the sector in terms of hectares over the past few years. The measures introduced have been beneficial for the agricultural community.

The roll-over of reliefs is important, in terms of making sure that we can encourage generational change, an important part of this. We need to try to make sure we get younger and female farmers into the system.

The changes in education are quite amazing. Where we are going with special needs has been a game changer, in terms of the amount of money put into that side of the house, something I want to acknowledge. We know there is a gap and a huge need for services. Sums of money I have never seen in my life in politics have now been allocated to that, which is very beneficial.

I would also like to mention the money put into school transport. The sum of money involved is important, but other issues in respect of school transport need to be examined. Over the past four or five months, a measure has been rolled out by the Minister which is helpful, but the major issue is getting people to drive the buses. As much as we are trying to ensure that we put money into education, we need to make sure transport services are in place. We need to look at Bus Éireann, in particular, in terms of how it administers the school transport scheme. I always mention the 70-year-olds. For some reason, Bus Éireann is the only organisation that wants to discriminate against 70-year-olds driving buses. Private operators have the opportunity to employ such people. We need to ensure we have an age-friendly environment when it comes to making sure the school transport system works.

We have put money into the system. The practical issues on the ground are quite clear. We do not have drivers. Bus Éireann, for some daft reason, has decided that a 70-year-old cannot drive a bus while private operators believe they can. The money is welcome, but the Department now needs to make sure that the issue of who drives the buses is sorted out, otherwise the money will go nowhere in terms of buying the services that are required.

This has been a well-received budget. It is important that we put it measures in place, in particular across agriculture and education, which are so important to us. It is to be hoped they will be an important platform to make sure that society will benefit.