Nessa Cosgrove (Labour)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I thank her for providing her opening address. We all saw on "Prime Time" last night some of the real-life stories of some of the families impacted by this budget. Some are saying they are worse off.

Today, I will talk about the minimum wage and the failure of the Government to move to a living wage. The delay in replacing the national minimum wage with a living wage will cost the country's lowest paid workers €600 a year. People who are struggling as it is will be less well-off by €600. Yesterday, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, confirmed that the minimum wage will increase by 65 cent in January, a rise of just under 5%, taking it from €13.50 to €14.65. This new rate will mean that over a 39-hour week, people's pay will go from €526 to €551.85, or an annual salary of €28,696.

Up to 200,000 people earn the minimum wage in Ireland, a group disproportionately made up of women, younger people and people with disabilities. Many of them work in the retail, hospitality and service industries. It is very hard for us to accept that minimum wage workers are being short-changed by up to €600 by the Government at a time when the labour market is thriving. It is great that the Government can brag about the fact that the labour market and the general economic environment have never been stronger. The National Youth Council of Ireland has criticised the lack of movement on the sub-minimum rates paid to younger people. I support that. The increase was also recommended by the Low Pay Commission.

I know the VAT cut to the hospitality sector has been widely criticised. As a party, we were one of the first ones to criticise it. The argument has always related to the amount of work provided by employers in small towns and villages. That is true, but we could have given targeted support to small cafés and restaurants by cutting commercial rates and introducing energy supports. That would be a lot better than giving a blanket reduction in the VAT rate to companies like Burger King and McDonald's, which definitely do not need it.

There are some very welcome elements regarding housing in the budget. As a party, we have been calling for years for the derelict sites levy to be collected by Revenue. That change is brilliant and long overdue. The Government is finally putting some teeth into the scheme.

I am delighted the living city initiative has been extended to my town, Sligo. That is really welcome. It will bring a lot of derelict properties back into use, which is absolutely fantastic. However, there was nothing in the budget for owners of defective homes. There was no change to the defective blocks scheme and there is still not 100% redress. If anyone takes a trip to Donegal, they will see the devastating crisis that exists there. It is extending to every other county as well.

I will speak briefly about childcare. During the election campaign, the Government parties were tripping over themselves to say there would be a big change in childcare. Senator Tully spoke about the building blocks scheme, which is a really good scheme but it has not been implemented or delivered. In my area, like every area across the country, people are crying out for it to be delivered but it has not been delivered. There are too many stumbling blocks in the way. It is notoriously difficult to maintain. I do not know how anyone who wants to add an extension onto an existing business could do it. They would nearly need to employ consultants to be eligible for the grant.

A mark of a country is how it treats its most vulnerable. Very welcome steps have been taken to address the acute shortage of beds in the north west. There has been a commitment to opening two surgical hubs, in Letterkenny University Hospital and Sligo University Hospital. However, there is a lack of step-down facilities in the north west. It emerged last week that a patient who was medically discharged from Sligo University Hospital had been there for two years because there were no community services for him.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, has hit out regarding the hospitality sector, saying the Government failed to heed the advice of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council. It said 11,400 additional nurses could have been employed.

I have no doubt Senator Noonan will speak about the basic income for artists scheme. It is so welcome but there was a cut to the arts budget. Will there be a play-off whereby artists will get a basic income, on the one hand, and money will be taken from other arts organisations, on the other?