Pat O'Neill (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Simon Harris.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the opportunity to speak in the Seanad and to contribute to this debate on budget 2015. Earlier today, the Ministers, Deputies Michael Noonan and Brendan Howlin, presented to Dáil Éireann the Government's fourth budget and the first since Ireland regained its economic sovereignty following the successful exit from the EU-IMF programme at the end of last year.

This budget is not just another big step towards stabilising the public finances; it also places the economy firmly on the road to sustainable, job-rich growth, which will support business and provide for investing in our future while, at the same time, helping to build a fairer Ireland by supporting our citizens of all ages. Taking account of all the measures announced today, budget 2015 is expected to add 0.3 percentage points to GDP growth next year, as rising household income feeds through to higher employment and consumption.

This is something I know Senators will all welcome.

We are seeing the successful result of the great effort made in the past three years to repair the public finances and put them on the path to recovery. This success is clearly illustrated by the over-achievement of the general Government deficit target for this year and by the achievement for the first time since 2007 of a primary budget surplus for 2014. The size of this surplus is projected to increase in 2015 and to keep on increasing over the following three years. Achieving a primary surplus is an important milestone along the road to recovery, because it means that once debt servicing costs are excluded, we are now taking in more tax than we are spending and we can start to reduce the volume of our national debt.

While meeting our commitments to stabilise the public finances is the Government's central priority, budget 2015 is not just about that and will do a lot more than that. Accordingly, it contains measures to add impetus to the economic recovery that is clearly under way as well as measures to ensure this impetus will spread as widely as possible throughout the economy. It will also provide practical support for large numbers of those worst affected by the downturn - the unemployed and especially the long-term unemployed - and will help set about enabling them to get jobs, despite the serious constraints imposed on the public finances by our commitments. This is an ambitious budget, but it is an ambition that is based on favourable current developments and realistic expectations for the year ahead. I wish, therefore, to outline to the House the economic developments and fiscal arithmetic that underpin the budget, before dealing with the specific provisions.

David Norris (Independent)
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If I might be allowed to rudely interrupt the Minister of State, could I ask if we will be getting copies of the speech?

Pat O'Neill (Fine Gael)
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We will arrange for that to happen.

David Norris (Independent)
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I would be very grateful.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Last year saw a welcome return to economic growth. There were clear indications that this would accelerate in 2014 and that domestic demand was stabilising and about to return to modest growth. Nevertheless, in the first half of this year the pace of real economic activity surprised on the upside. Exports performed strongly, even when account is taken of the impact of so-called contract production, partly due to a rebound after the pharma-led weakness of the past two years. There was also a better than expected recovery in domestic demand, and this concerns people throughout the country. This trend is projected to continue for the remainder of the year and into 2015. As a result, real GDP growth of 4.7% is projected by the Department for 2014.

The budget arithmetic is based on a further strong increase in GDP of 3.9% in 2015. This is based on an expected continuing strong export performance and on strong domestic demand in both investment and personal consumption. The particularly strong export growth in the first half of 2014 took place against a background of mixed economic developments in Ireland's main trading partners. Growth in the UK and the US was relatively robust, while the euro area continues to underperform. The latest indicators point to a momentum of US and UK economies remaining strong in 2015. As a result of the weakness in its three largest economies, Germany, France and Italy, growth in the euro area looks set to remain subdued, although somewhat better than this year.

For most, proof of economic growth is best seen in proof of employment growth. Proof of this has been evident for well over a year. The total number at work has risen for seven consecutive quarters and the latest available quarterly national household survey data indicate a year-on-year increase in employment of 37,000 for the first half of 2014 - real people in real jobs. Even better, the bulk of jobs growth has been in full-time employment rather than the gains in part-time employment which had characterised earlier recovery trends. Employment growth has also been broadly based and has taken place in ten of the 14 economic sectors. The recovery in the labour market reflects the shift in the composition of economic activity to more domestic sources which, by their nature, are typically more labour intensive. The rate of employment growth for 2014 as a whole is expected to be 1.8% and is to accelerate to 2.4% in 2015. This represents a net increase during the period of 46,000 jobs. Average unemployment for 2014 is expected to be 11.4% and is expected to fall to 10.2% in 2015. While still unacceptably high, the latest figures show that unemployment is now below the euro area average, and in the absence of an adverse shock to the economy, unemployment should continue falling over the forecast horizon.

Inflationary pressures remain subdued, both domestically and in the wider euro area. As measured by the harmonised index of consumer prices, inflation averaged 0.4% in the first nine months of this year and is expected to be 0.5% for 2014 as a whole.

This moderate rate of growth is mainly due to the fall in the price of goods, in particular non-energy industrial goods and to a lesser extent unprocessed food but price inflation in services continue to rise. As a result inflationary pressures are expected to pick up slightly next year to an average of 1.1%. The inflationary impact of the budget is small and is estimated to add only 0.1% to inflation next year.

Over the medium-term, that is out to 2018, GDP is forecast to grow broadly in line with the economy's potential at around 3.5% per cent per annum, characterised by more balanced contributions from net exports and domestic demand. Employment growth is set to continue with unemployment falling to just over 8% by the end of 2018.

At this point, I should remind the House that the forecasts by the Department of Finance underpinning budget 2015 were endorsed, as is required, by the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council. The endorsed forecasts were based on the technical assumption of a neutral budget and therefore a detailed reconciliation table and qualitative explanation of how any modifications impact the post-endorsement forecasts are set out in the budget documents, which Members should have.

Let us turn to the budgetary position. Today's statement confirms that after successfully exiting the EU-IMF programme at the end of last year, Ireland remains on track to meet its obligations under the excessive deficit procedure with the underlying general Government deficit for 2014 forecast to be 3.7% of GDP. It is worth repeating that this is a considerable over-performance against the target of 5.1% under the excessive deficit procedure and the forecast of 4.8% in April's stability programme update. For 2015 the forecast is for an underlying deficit of 2.7% of GDP, which as Members will be aware, is lower than the required target.

This target is based on a total package of €1.05 billion of fiscal leeway in 2015, consisting of new measures to reduce tax revenue in net terms by €420 million in 2015 and new measures to increase expenditure in a targeted and necessary way in net terms by €630 million. In summary for the first time since the crisis began this budget does not require further consolidation through either overall tax increases or expenditure reductions. This is an important milestone on the road back to full recovery.

Ireland's gross debt-to-GDP ratio peaked last year at just over 123% of GDP. This ratio is now on a downward path and is expected to fall to under 111% of GDP by the end of this year and to under 100% of GDP by the end of 2018. It is also important to bear in mind that when account is taken of cash balances and other financial assets, the net debt position is expected to be just below 91% of GDP at the end of 2014. These ratios are approaching the euro area average. The markets have played close attention to our progress in dealing with our public finances and economy with the result that Ireland's debt is now regarded as investment grade by all the main credit rating agencies and two of them have now moved Ireland into the A grades. This time last year the yield on Irish ten year bond rates was just over 3.5%, which was considerably lower than its peak value. Now it is less than half of what it was a year ago and is lower than the rates for Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal and even lower than the rates for the UK and the USA. This favourable position was hard earned by all of us, by every Irish citizen and cannot be taken for granted, which means that we must stick to our ongoing commitment to repair the public finances.

Let me outline the specific tax and spending measures contained in budget 2015. As I indicated, this budget is not just about continuing to stabilise the public finances but also about the goals of achieving sustainable growth, supporting all families and citizens, business and jobs and investing in our future. These goals are not altogether new because since taking office this Government has done whatever it could do in difficult circumstances to enhance growth where it was taking place and to enable recovery to take place where it stalled while all the time seeking to protect the vulnerable and ensure fairness.

Ireland's competitive corporate tax system plays a central role in our economic development. The international environment for corporation tax is changing. Every Member of this House is aware of that and Ireland must, to secure sustainable economic development for the decades ahead, respond to this change. Accordingly, today's announcement by the Minister for Finance of a roadmap to secure Ireland's place as the destination for the best and most successful companies in the world is timely and strategically important. The main elements of the roadmap are based on the Minister's three principles when it comes to corporation tax - rate, reputation and regime. These will improve Ireland's research and development support by fully phasing out the research and development base year from 1 January 2015. It will make Ireland an even more attractive location for companies to develop intellectual property by enhancing Ireland's existing intangible asset tax provisions and will improve the special assignee relief programme, commonly known as SARP.

In addition, the three-year corporation tax relief for start-up companies and the accelerated capital allowances scheme for energy-efficient equipment are also being extended for a further three years.

In recognition of the need for Ireland’s economy to be innovative if it is to prosper, the Minister for Finance has announced that he intends to put in place a "knowledge development box", along the lines of the patent and innovation boxes which have existed for many years in countries that compete directly with us for foreign direct investment. To address criticisms relating to multinational companies being facilitated in aggressive tax planning, legislation will be enacted to ensure that from January of next year, new companies will no longer to avail of the "double Irish" mechanism. Specifically, our residency rules will be changed to require all companies registered in Ireland to be tax-resident in Ireland as well. For existing companies, provision will be made for a transition period until the end of 2020.

The increase in the higher tax income threshold and the reduction in the higher tax rates from 41% to 40%, combined with the overall reductions in the universal social charge, give a clear message that the Government supports job creation and work and wants to ease the burden on workers and others in receipt of an income. The commitment to allow for tax relief of up to €500 per annum on water charges represents an important support to many hard-pressed working families and a recognition of the need to invest in our water infrastructure. The agri-taxation review measures represent the outcome of a serious and thorough examination of the appropriateness of the tax framework of our largest indigenous sector and a determination to ensure agricultural land will be used as productively as possible for the foreseeable future. I am sure many Senators will welcome the decision to end the 0.6% pension levy by the end of this year and to end the additional 0.15% levy at the end of 2015.

It is evident that action must be taken now to ensure the private and social housing market meets the needs of our citizens. No Member of either House is unaware of the huge demand for private and social housing in this country. Action is being taken under the Construction 2020 strategy to get things moving, and this process will be accelerated by the tax measures in the budget. The extension of the home renovation incentive to rental properties, the owners of which are liable to income tax, is one such measure. This will ensure rental properties are kept at a decent standard and will enable landlords to have such work carried out in an efficient manner.

With effect from 1 January next, the 80% windfall tax applying to chargeable gains on the disposal or development of land which are attributable to planning decisions made since October 2009 will be removed and the normal 33% rate of capital gains tax will then apply. A refund for deposit interest retention tax on savings used to purchase first homes will apply from tonight and will run until the end of 2017 in respect of savings up to a maximum of 20% of the purchase price. I am sure Senators on all sides of the House will agree that this provides welcome support to many young people who are saving to buy their first home. In addition, the Ireland strategic investment fund, under the auspices of the National Treasury Management Agency, will explore new ways to support financing projects that will enhance the supply of housing.

The corporation tax reforms outlined in this budget will also support our international financial services sector. In my role as Minister for State with specific responsibility for this sector, last month the Government assigned me the task of preparing a new national strategy for international financial services. The international financial services sector makes an important contribution to the economy. It employs over 33,000 people in Dublin and in towns throughout the country. My appointment to this task is timely. The current strategy for this sector was prepared in very difficult times in early 2011. The IFSC has slipped considerably in the global ratings, from tenth place in 2009 to 70th out of 83 centres in the most recent rankings issued last month. There is no shortage of ideas to develop this sector, in which many stakeholders are involved. One of my key tasks is to ensure a co-ordinated approach is agreed to drawing up a strategy that can be presented to the Government for approval and publication in the first quarter of next year. I am determined that this will be a public sector strategy and will be action-based. It will have clear deliverables, timelines and responsibilities as part of an effort to ensure our financial services sector is competitive, is fit for purpose, grows and creates more jobs in communities throughout the country.

A total gross increase in expenditure of €639 million, by comparison with the 2014 Estimates, is being provided for in budget 2015. The increase of €429 million for current expenditure will bring the total to just over €50 billion. The comparable increase for capital expenditure is €210 million, bringing the total allocation for investment in 2015 to €3.5 billion.

These increases were made possible because of the improving economic position as well as the fall in the numbers of the unemployed and the efficiencies achieved in the public service. This money will be used in a targeted way to help support our citizens and families, in particular, in the areas of social housing, social protection, education, health, justice and transport, and to support business and jobs.

As part of the Government's commitment to supporting our citizens and their families, an overall capital investment of more than €2.2 billion is being provided for social housing for the next three years. This will involve an innovative three-strand approach consisting of more than €1.5 billion to be directly invested from the Exchequer by 2017, using public private partnerships to invest a further €300 million in social housing units by 2017 and an off-balance sheet financial vehicle to provide at least €400 million from 2015 on to the approved housing bodies.

More than 7,500 new homes will be provided under a range of social housing initiatives in 2015 - these are 7,500 badly needed new homes in communities throughout the country. Up to 8,000 low-income families will be assisted to secure suitable accommodation under the housing assistance payment. The housing needs of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in society will be prioritised in several ways, including the provision of some 7,600 housing adaptation grants to assist older people and people with disabilities remain at home and in the community for longer. In addition, the number of leased housing units will be increased by 8,700. A new social housing strategy will be published by my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, that will outline a range of actions to increase housing supply, including through the maximisation of existing social housing stock and harnessing new funding streams to underpin additional investment in social housing.

The reduction in the number of people out of work has allowed the Government to reprioritise social welfare spending and to introduce several important measures to improve the welfare of families and the less well-off. The first of these, as announced by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, is an increase in child benefit of €5 per child per month. A water subsidy payment of €100 per annum will be given to recipients of the household benefits package and this will be extended to all those in receipt of the fuel allowance who do not already qualify for household benefits payments. The living alone allowance will be increased to €9 per week which will help nearly 180,000 elderly and vulnerable people. A back to work family dividend will be introduced to incentivise the move from welfare to work. This will allow families to retain the full qualified child increase of €29.80 per week for 12 months after returning to work and half of that amount for a further 12 months.

The allocation of €13.1 billion to health will allow the health services to begin to address the long-standing deficits and continue to provide its core services, including the roll-out of universal GP services in respect of children under six years and persons over 70 and, above all, to enable delivery of the Government commitments to improve the health of all of our citizens. My colleague, the Minister for Health, will announce further details on this later today.

The allocation of €8.3 billion in current expenditure to education will, among other things, enable some 1,700 new full-time posts to be provided within the education sector and class sizes to be maintained. That means more special needs assistants in our classrooms and more mainstream teachers and more resource teachers. I welcome Senator Gerard P. Craughwell, who has an interest in education, to the House. He has come on a very good day.

The budget includes measures to help the long-term unemployed get back to work. The number of positions in JobsPlus is to be doubled to 6,000. The JobPath service will provide case management services to all long-term unemployed during the next four years. Also, €1.6 billion has been allocated to the Pathways to Work strategy which will provide almost 300,000 work and training places. It will provide help for those who are long-term unemployed in getting access to work, getting access to training and being work ready.

Through its capital allocation of €50 million, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation will be able to continue to provide strong support for job creation and enterprise. The allocation to Enterprise Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland of more than €260 million will provide a strong impetus to the development of Ireland as an innovative economy.

Although the recovery is most evident in Dublin and in some other large urban centres, many rural areas are still struggling with the aftermath of a deep and difficult recession. For this reason, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine will use more than €1 billion to support initiatives such as the rural development programme and the Food Harvest 2020 plan. In addition, the increase in the Structural Funds available to Ireland for the period 2014 to 2020 will help to share the benefits of our recovery right across the country and not just in its urban centres.

The Minister for Justice and Equality will outline her plans to increase the number of gardaí and the number of Garda vehicles, an issue of importance in every town and village in Ireland.

The cost savings delivered through the Government's reform programme are being used to fund priority front-line services.

There will be no further reductions in public service numbers and additional education workers and gardaí will be recruited. From 2015 onwards numbers will be allowed to increase provided this is done within set payroll limits. This will increase flexibility and allow public service managers, who are best placed to manage their work force and to target recruitment and employment in the areas it is most needed, take charge. We have come a long way and suffered a lot to bring us to where we are today, where recovery is well-established, employment is growing and the public finances are improving at a rapid pace.

Budget 2015 does not just involve fixing the public finances but also putting the economy firmly on the road to sustainable employment growth while supporting business, providing for the future through investment and using the leeway that we have in public expenditure to make targeted investment that will help our young people, our businesses and the vulnerable in society. If we continue with the discipline and commitment that has been demonstrated since this Government came into office, we can all look forward to a bright future of high employment, low unemployment and increasing prosperity. I look forward to this debate and I commend the budget.

Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State to the House. He spoke like a future Minister for Finance. He believes what he is saying. The DIRT exemption for first-time buyers is a very welcome step but we need more detail. Do the accounts of those already saving have to be converted to special accounts? The Minister for Finance said he expects the banks to follow on with new products. We will need to consider those already saving and examine the draft guidelines which the Central Bank has issued for discussion and on which there is public consultation.

This is probably the budget that will tip me over the edge and ensure that I give up cigarettes.

Marie Moloney (Labour)
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It is an ill wind.

Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)
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I used to say that when the price reached €5 I would give them up but I persevered. Another 40 cent on a packet of 20 bringing it up to €10 is heavy duty in real terms. If I was one of those who pay for most things, the "squeezed middle" Ireland, I would be very disappointed with this budget. I could be proved wrong. Those who are just above the social welfare threshold, who are in the €35,000 to €50,000 income bracket, will not benefit at all when the additional charges are taken into account. Many of them are families with two people at work. I am very surprised that there is no child care tax credit. I welcome the €5 increase in child benefit but this Government reduced it by €10 two years ago and by more from the third and subsequent children.

It is true that the number of teachers and special needs assistants will be increased but there is no reduction in the pupil-teacher ratio. The increase may only just keep up with the demand created by an increased population. I recently met with the Irish National Teachers Organisation, INTO, and other teachers’ organisations and know they will be disappointed that there has been no move to reduce the pupil-teacher ratio.

The budget shows our priorities. The €9 increase in the living alone allowance is welcome but has to be seen in the context of the savage, disproportionate cuts this Government imposed on the elderly, senior citizens and those dependent on State pensions and household benefits. The household benefits package has been filleted over the past two years. Anything that goes back into it is welcome.

Those people should not have been targeted in the first place. I hope that when the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protect brings in the social welfare and pensions Bill, she will look at reversing probably the worst cut the Government made which was the 30% decrease to the respite care grant. That just about got through this House two years ago. They are the types of items for which we should be looking. There are good things in this budget but I raise the areas about which I have concerns. I am not in any way saying the whole package should be discarded.

The people carrying the heaviest debt burden are generally younger families who bought their houses prior to 2009. If the Government wants to target its approach at them, it should do what we proposed and increase mortgage interest relief. We proposed increasing it to 40% this year and then increasing it further. Many of those people are on high variable rate mortgages and high levels of debt and many also have children. There is no tax credit for anyone whose children are in child care, where both partners work, have large mortgages and face the high cost of child care. The increase in child benefit of €5 per month will not do much. It is approximately €25 to €30 per hour to have one's child looked after in a reputable Montessori school or crèche.

I am also surprised - perhaps this will come out in the health budget - that the Government has not seen fit to reduce the prescription charge, which it increased five times and which the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Reilly, promised to abolish. It has increased from 50 cent to €2.50 per item, which is a substantial cost. I would have thought that if the Government was targeting people who are sick, elderly and those in need, that is something that could have been done as well as reducing the threshold for the drugs payment scheme from €144 per month, to which this Government increased it, to maybe €120 per month.

The Government could have targeted the people who have suffered instead of just reducing the top rate of tax. The Minister, Deputy Noonan, said he would offset that by increasing the USC for those earning above €70,000. That is fine but would it not have been fairer to reinstate the PRSI exemption of €264 per year? If one looks at the examples given in the budget document the Minister, Deputy Noonan, presented, one will see the reduction in the USC liability for people, which is welcome because it is a reduction. However, for a couple earning €59,300 per annum, it falls far short of the €264 the Government took from them last year. If the Minister reinstated the PRSI exemption of €264, people on €20,000 would benefit from that a lot more than people on €200,000. I suppose it is about choices and fairness.

I was particularly interested in the paltry reference to mental health services in the document presented by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. There is one paragraph between both documents of approximately 400 pages and it does not give any breakdown. I have major concerns about this area, although there may be more detail, which I would welcome. If one looks at the mental health services and at early intervention, which at least is mentioned, there are no early intervention teams in Dublin for children. I hope there is some recognition that we need an extra €20 million to clear these waiting lists. I have not seen it yet, although it is early in the day.

On the education side, there is no provision for guidance counselling, which was removed by this Government. Again, that falls into the whole mental heath area and entails tackling, in particular, the scourge of suicide.

All Governments have to make a decision on whether a budget is about numbers and the economy or about society. It should be about the economy but it should also be about the type of society we want to build.

We have missed an opportunity to alleviate the pressure on those who have borne it most. I ask the Minister of State to take on board the few points I have made, which will be debated in more detail in the run-up to the finance and social welfare Bills.

Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael)
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I offer hearty congratulations to Senator Craughwell. I wish him well in his period in Seanad Éireann.

Every budget is about choices, and sometimes the choices are difficult. We were hopeful that the most difficult choices would have been made and that we will never have to revert to those choices and the boom and bust politics of the past because that is the reason so many people throughout the length and breadth of this country experienced personal catastrophes.

The big ticket item in this budget will be whether the 80% of households that will now have to pay for water, excluding the 20% who pay for their own water or pay via a group scheme, will be net beneficiaries of it. Will they gain or lose money? I have looked at as many examples as I could and it appears to be the case that the 80% who will have to pay for water in the future will benefit from this budget. It must be remembered that this is the first budget in the past eight in which this will be the case. The average household charge for water will be in the region of €250. Some people say it will be €278, others say it will be €238. However, it will be in that region which amounts to €5 a week.

I welcome the extension of the household benefits package and also the increase in the free fuel allowance. Those changes will benefit many additional households.

In conjunction with that, we now have a tax credit for people who are working. It is not just people in receipt of social welfare payments who will benefit; it is now available to people at work. In past debates on the budget people will have heard me speak about those in receipt of net payments, those in low-paid jobs who are in receipt of gross payments. That conversation is not being held in an open and fair way. Anybody who receives a payment via social welfare is in receipt of a net payment but there are people in low-paid jobs who are in receipt of gross payments and they are less well off than people in receipt of net payments via social protection. The report by the economist Professor Richard Tol was withdrawn by the ESRI and hidden because that conversation was in the public arena but that conversation was apt, and I welcome what I hope will turn out to be a €100 tax credit.

The GDP figure of 3.9% for 2015 can only be welcomed. It is higher for this year. I note that this time last year we were saying that our debt to GDP ratio would peak in 2014 at 121%. That rate had Ireland up there with the largest nations in the world. The figures for this year show a reduction of 10% because our GDP has increased. We have a legal obligation to get that down to 60% within a period of time. A reduction of 10% in one calendar year is as a result of growth. Everything revolves around our economy growing in a sustainable and efficient manner.

We will spend €53.6 billion. We will have a deficit, including our interest payments, of about €5 billion. Those are the figures being projected. However, it is essential that we also impact upon the areas in which there have been deficits. We can see from what happened in that 12-month period that while we live in an economy, we cannot ignore people.

Our health sector has been stretched beyond belief, and I was complicit in the silence about that last year. I do not believe anybody believed we could do what was required in the health structure based on the figures that were given.

I am glad to see an increase in the provision for health.

I also am glad to see the numbers regarding what will be spent on education and the area about which I am most aggrieved in education is the primary sector. It is too late by the time children get into secondary education as they are gone. Many education professionals are aware that children will not have the benefit of the impact that is needed to try to make a difference. Many education professionals are able to see that before the children go to primary school, let alone secondary school and as for third level, for too many children that is not a realistic prospect. The issue I wish to raise is the DEIS status for schools. While I do not wish to get into the political carnage of removing schools from DEIS, there are schools that absolutely require DEIS status far more than do schools that were allocated such status a decade ago. This issue should and must be examined as we are abandoning too many children. In each budget speech I have made here, I have raised the issue of a school in my own locality at Riverchapel. It has experienced massive growth from eight teachers to 24 teachers and operates with serious disadvantage. It is very wrong that the school in question does not get DEIS status. How much time remains to me?

Jillian van Turnhout (Independent)
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One and a half minutes.

Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael)
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I will be obliged to motor through some of my points. The windfall tax of 80% was of no benefit as 80% of nothing is nothing. I am certainly delighted to see the reduction of the capital gains tax rate back to normality, that is, to 33%. As for the people who will be removed from the universal social charge net, by my calculations this will affect more than 330,000 people on the very first budget and a further 80,000 people thereafter, which means 410,000 people will be out of the universal social charge net. When one combines that figure with the 742,000 people who will benefit from the reduction of the 41% tax rate to 40%, plus the increase of €1,000 in the tax band, to put this into context it means that 60% of all taxpayers will have the benefit, which I welcome. I am with my colleague, Senator Darragh O'Brien, on the pension levy. The 0.6% levy will end in this calendar year and I also welcome the 0.15% reduction-----

Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)
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It now has been extended by two years altogether.

Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael)
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I am aware of that.

Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)
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This has taken €2 billion out of pension funds.

Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the reduction of the levy to 0.15% and that this will also be extinguished. I am always amazed by that figure and Senator Darragh O'Brien is correct to state that €2 billion was taken from people's pension pots. However, we chose to ignore that and commentators throughout the State chose to ignore a €2 billion deduction. However, as the Minister, Deputy Noonan, has stated, it was required to fund the 9% VAT rate, the retention of which I am glad to note. While there are so many areas on which I wish to comment, I wish to finish on the DIRT refund scheme for people who have the prospect-----

Jillian van Turnhout (Independent)
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Senator, your time is up and I have 17 speakers.

Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael)
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I will finish my time.

Jillian van Turnhout (Independent)
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Senator, your time is up.

Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael)
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If the Chair does not mind, I will finish now. The DIRT refund scheme is a benefit. Last week, the Central Bank made an impact on the commercial banks to ensure the mayhem and the carnage does not-----

Jillian van Turnhout (Independent)
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Senator, really.

Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael)
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If the Chair does not mind, I will just conclude.

Jillian van Turnhout (Independent)
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No, I have 17 speakers and the Senator has had eight minutes. I call Senator Zappone.

Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael)
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Just a moment, Chair, thank you very much.

Jillian van Turnhout (Independent)
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No, Senator, I have 17 speakers on the list.

Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael)
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I will conclude, if the Acting Chairman will allow me to so do.

Jillian van Turnhout (Independent)
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I am trying to be fair to everybody.

Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael)
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I am being fair as well.

Jillian van Turnhout (Independent)
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I gave the Senator one and a half minutes' warning. I call on Senator Zappone.

Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael)
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What I believe to be of real benefit is people will be given the opportunity to provide the deposit, in order that they can purchase and become home owners like many other people in the State.

Katherine Zappone (Independent)
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People are tired of the daily discourse of austerity they have endured for the past seven years. They are angry and are protesting in their thousands and I do not believe this is merely about water charges. Ireland pursued a policy of massive social disinvestment during the austere period. During this time, Ireland knocked back the possibility of a good life for everyone, especially those hardest hit from increased taxation and decreased public service provision. Moreover, it is women across all classes and backgrounds who have been hardest hit to varying degrees and, consequently, people are angry. Am I alone in feeling a profound disconnect between the self-congratulatory discourse in these Chambers and the anger and disillusionment resounding in the streets? I will outline my questions. Has the shape of this budget been rooted in deliberative problem-solving conversations within communities, the results of which were placed in dialogue with Oireachtas Members and Government? There is no evidence of this.

Should the budget be about recovery? Recovery means returning to a normal state. Where is the creativity and imagination? Should the people not expect more than normality, especially if that simply means returning to the way things were?

Do the measures announced today by Government equally benefit all in Ireland? Does investment target society as a whole - social investment versus economic investment? Is the budget creating better living conditions for everyone in an equivalent fashion? Are resources being used in an efficient manner that invest in public services, both in the short term and in the long term?

Let us begin by looking at taxation. The 41% top rate of income tax is being reduced to 40% in the budget, but only one in six adults or one in three workers will benefit from this cut. Many will only receive a marginal benefit and only the top earners - those who need it least - will receive the largest tax relief from this reduction. Half of Irish women who earn less than €20,000 a year are not eligible for that cut.

Additionally, the Government is proposing to raise the threshold for the high tax rate. This change only impacts 607,000 tax cases whose incomes above €33,800 qualify for the full tax relief. Those with incomes between €32,800 and €33,800 will only gain a fraction of the benefit. Those beneath the threshold - much of the population - receive no benefit from the change.

With regard to taxation, only the universal social charge gives something back for the low income earners and takes something away from those earning more than €70,000. I commend the Government on including this in the budget. However, I ask the Government why has it failed to implement more progressive reforms in this budget. Progressivity of direct taxation is counterbalanced with the regressivity of indirect taxes such as VAT. Everyone will benefit from the tax changes, as the Minister, Deputy Noonan, stated, but will they benefit in an equivalent manner?

Income tax is not the only source of Government revenue. Costly loopholes ought to be closed and gaps filled in the existing tax system. Social Justice Ireland estimates that the removal of the taxed refund element for unused research and development credits would generate €112 million annually. Enforcement of the minimum effective corporate tax rate of 6% would bring in an estimated €500 million yearly. Increasing gambling taxes would provide €100 million annually in revenue. A financial transaction tax implementation would raise €150 million each year. These four measures alone would generate an estimated €862 million in revenue. Why has the Government failed to raise revenue through these reasonable measures? A lack of robust rationale to taxation persists as a result of the undue power of the business lobbying on Government.

Beyond taxation, what should have been done in this budget to reinvest in society? How could we as a society spend the estimated €862 million in additional revenue, which I outlined earlier and which I picked out as a couple of additional measures that the Government has not proposed? The first group hit hard by public disinvestment consists of women and their children. Women are more vulnerable than men to these public cuts. Women are employed in public sector jobs more than men. Women also avail of public services more often than men. Women are also much more likely to be lone parents than men. Government cutbacks on social spending affected women much more than men.

There is a massive deficit in social housing, especially for women. I am happy to see the Government addressing some of the nation's social housing needs in the budget. The Government does not go far enough, however, to implement policies that benefit women in light of employment opportunities. While measures to increase available housing provide jobs, less than 6% of women hold construction jobs in Ireland and we need equivalent forms of investment in employment sectors where women will benefit. What are these sectors? Women are the primary providers of care in Ireland. Much of this caring role is unpaid or low-paid work. I hear families describe their struggle with their costs of child care every day, as I am sure do most Senators. Government policy must support women in the workforce. Child care costs approximately €10,000 per year per child. The cost is debilitating, especially for low and middle income women, and we need to structure support to make child care more affordable for working families. I have worked closely with education throughout my career, and in Tallaght and neighbouring communities, 55% of women leave education by secondary school. Child care would not only help with returning to work but also with returning to education. Moreover, to assist working mothers while improving education, the Government should provide an additional year of early childhood education, costing an estimated €175 million annually. Of equal importance, increasing education funding would provide women, who comprise 75% of education staff, with increased employment opportunities.

The money spent to raise child benefit, which benefits those with high and low incomes, should have been used instead to invest in early years and publicly subsidised child care places.

Not only must social spending guarantee a living wage, social welfare should be restructured to support people moving from welfare to employment. Increasing social payment rates by €5 per week to adjust for rising living costs would cost an estimated €231 million per year. Many people unemployed due to illness and disabilities struggle to earn a living wage. They have five times the risk of poverty and have low disposable incomes. Since 2008, HSE funding has dropped by €159 million, despite rising service demand and €100 million is needed in the budget to address service gaps for people with disabilities. Continuing education can also provide people with skills for work. Again, in Tallaght and neighbouring communities over 11% of people are identified as being unskilled or semi-skilled. Efforts such as increasing funding to adult literacy programmes at a cost of €50 million per year would benefit not only individuals but also society.

The final group I would like to highlight that has significantly suffered under public spending cuts is lone parents. Lone parents experienced eight cumulative cuts since 2009. In Tallaght and surrounding areas, 89% of the lone parents are women. Given that 41% of one-parent families receive the one-parent family benefit, more support is needed. Reversing changes to the one-parent family payment would annually cost €89 million. We could invest €50 million annually in preventive health measures in local communities such as increasing primary care teams, or €35 million in mental health service support. If we add up the few extra changes I have identified, which focus on social investment, it would cost €722 million per year, drastically improving the lives of many. The cost would be more than offset by the four revenue measures I suggested, which total €862 million annually. We should use this opportunity to invest in public services, especially in a community context. Above all, social investment should drive economic investment, not the other way around. Now, more than ever, women should insist that the gender impact of policies be evaluated.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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Could the Acting Chairman tell me when I have two minutes to go so I can ensure I make some of the points I absolutely want to make?

Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)
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This is going to be good.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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Senator O'Brien was talking about the measures that needed to be put in place to protect society. In case he has forgotten, since 2008, under his party's Government, this country lost 250,000 jobs.

Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)
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We are well aware of it.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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Although we have been through this before, it is important to remember Senator O’Brien’s Government cut the carer’s allowance, blind pension, widow’s pension, social welfare Christmas bonus and child benefit, and unilaterally imposed on public servants cuts totalling over 14% in February 2009.

Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)
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Senator Hayden's Government promised it would do none of it.

David Norris (Independent)
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Must we have this eternal tit for tat rubbish?

Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)
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This is good stuff.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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With no disrespect to Senator Norris, when we discuss all the things that could be done in an economy with a budget, we must remember where we are and how we got here.

David Norris (Independent)
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Senator Hayden agreed to everything. The Taoiseach led Fine Gael in to vote for the bank guarantee.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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Since 2009, €10 billion has been taken out of this economy. Some of the measures Senator Zappone, and all of us, would like to see in this country, particularly those that would benefit vulnerable people-----

Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)
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Such as the respite grant the Government cut last year.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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-----would be there if €10 billion had not been taken out of the economy.

Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)
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True. How much was taken out under Senator Hayden’s Government?

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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I would like to move on.

Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)
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Carry on and read the script the Government information service gave you.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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It is important to remember where we are today compared to where we were 12 months ago when we sat in this Chamber with measures to take €2.5 billion out of the Irish economy at a time when the Irish Financial Advisory Council wanted us to take out €3.1 billion. We were right. We have proven that it was right not to take more out of the economy than we absolutely had to. We stand now at a point where the Department of Finance has estimated that the economy will grow by 4.7% this year, 3.6% next year and 3.9% in 2016, while the ESRI has estimated that the economy will grow by 5% this year and 5% next year. This is a superb performance that is a credit to the Irish people by comparison with what is happening in our European neighbours. Unemployment has fallen substantially, as the Minister of State said, and it is estimated that we will reach an unemployment level of 10% next year.

That is not something of which we should be proud but by comparison with the unemployment rate of in excess of 15% we had in recent years, we can say we are on the right road.

Last year, the Government had to introduce €2.5 billion in cutbacks in the budget whereas this year, it will invest €429 million in the economy, which equates to a turnaround of €3.1 billion. Many people do not realise that the Government will put €3.1 billion back into the economy next year. The increased expenditure will cover housing, social protection, health and education. We are beginning to alleviate a number of the measures Senator O'Brien's Government implemented.

Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)
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Will the Senator forget I am here and carry on with her contribution because I am not interested?

Jillian van Turnhout (Independent)
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Senator Hayden without interruption.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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Is it not amazing that the Senator has no interest in where we stand today because of the debacle the Fianna Fáil-led Government presided over in handling the economy?

Jillian van Turnhout (Independent)
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Senator Hayden should address her remarks to the Minister.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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I am surprised this is of so little interest to the Senator.

Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)
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Senator Hayden is not debating the budget.

Jillian van Turnhout (Independent)
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Senator Hayden without interruption.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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If the Senator stopped interrupting me, I could move on.

I welcome the changes to the Universal Social Charge and to the extension of the tax bands, which will improve the position of low and middle income earners. This is part of a strategy of income and taxation reform engaged in by the Government parties over the past years. I am pleased they have moved away from income taxes to capital taxes and other taxes that capture people who had managed to avoid paying income tax.

Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)
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Like reducing the windfall tax.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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Child benefit rates will increase, which I am sure Senator Moloney will mention, while tax reliefs will be introduced for water charges.

It is good that what is known as the "double Irish" arrangement will be eliminated, as it has brought the country into disrepute while, at the same time, the Minister has gone a long way to maintaining Ireland's attractiveness for foreign direct investment with measures to encourage intellectual property development, research and development and so forth.

I welcome, in particular, the measures announced regarding housing, including the €10.5 million increase in funding for homeless services. This is a recognition by the Government of the work being done on the front line in homelessness prevention and dealing with people who have become homeless because of the economic collapse. Homelessness is a result of nothing other than the collapse of the economy and we need to wake up to that. The home renovation scheme will be extended to rental properties. I had raised this with the Minister because one in five families live in a rental property and the role of landlords and the rental sector has to be acknowledged. I am pleased the housing programme represents a major departure. It is a significant sign that the Government is taking the housing difficulties we face seriously in the context of its investment in the social housing programme.

Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)
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Some of us will not get an opportunity to speak if the Senator does not adhere to the time limit.

Jillian van Turnhout (Independent)
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The Senator has been speaking for six minutes. She has eight minutes.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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The Government has had to reactivate the social housing programme because of our economic difficulties. There are 90,000 people on social housing lists with 19,000 households in the Dublin area alone. It is welcome that the Government has prioritised this area of expenditure.

Senator Zappone raised a number of issues relating to services. We all share the frustration about the extensive cutbacks to services for the poor and the vulnerable. That is why I highlight the changes announced by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in respect of public service reform. He announced the cessation of the Civil Service recruitment moratorium. Departments will have discretion over staffing levels within an overall pay framework, which is an important reform. The Minister also announced that additional teachers and gardaí would be recruited. A new plan for Civil Service renewal will also be published in the coming weeks.

The bottom line is we have come a long way.

Senator Zappone and I attended the Kennedy Summer School in Wexford, and when people were asked whether they believed the economy was improving, nearly everybody in the room put his or her hand up. However, when they were asked whether it was improving for them, only one person raised a hand. This budget is the first step in a very important departure towards a new Ireland.

Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)
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Time is up.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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It is fair and balanced within the capacity of the Government to be fair.

Jillian van Turnhout (Independent)
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Thank you, Senator. You finished with ten seconds to spare. Some of my colleagues seemed very concerned about the time.

Sean Barrett (Independent)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Harris. I commend the Ministers, Deputies Noonan and Howlin on their speeches earlier in the other House. Towards the end of his speech, the Minister, Deputy Howlin, said, "This Government is not going to allocate resources to services that are unreformed". We still have much reform to do and perhaps we lost sight of some of it in trying to complete the troika programme. Child benefit, which goes to everybody with children, including millionaires, was increased. Medical cards were extended to everybody aged under six and over 70. I have said in this House that redistribution should take place from the “haves” to the “have nots” and that universalism costs the Government very large amounts of money.

The increases in education seem to be divided approximately half and half between teachers directly in schools and support services. This trend has been worrying for some time. Let us get resources in the classroom; the support services are fine but we want to reduce class sizes by increasing the number of people who give the classes and lectures. More resources should be diverted into the classroom rather than support services. I welcome the ending of the pension levy. As Senator O’Brien said, it was amazing that those of us who have unfunded pensions in the public sector raided the pensions of those who are paying for them to the tune of €2 billion. I am delighted it has stopped, or is scheduled to stop. It was an amazing operation and I was surprised there were no challenges to it on the grounds of equality.

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Noonan’s recognition that it would be pointless for us to try to defend the base erosion and profit shifting, BEPS, system. He wants to increase the resources of the Revenue Commissioners in its role as the competent authority. Although the Revenue Commissioners were part of this, they were in denial until the OECD, the US and other EU countries said these deals were made by the Revenue Commissioners with, for example, Apple in Cork. I am nervous that the tax advisors and lawyers who drew up these schemes are coming into the offices of the Minister of State and the Minister offering to design the next scheme. They are like the bankers who did damage in the past. I would like to see a good distance being kept between the Department of Finance and the tax lawyers and accountants who designed massive tax avoidance schemes. I would prefer a simple tax system - the 12.5% the Minister espoused in the other House - with no deductions or allowances, and have the tax lawyers and accountants do some more useful work than reducing the amount of revenue available to the Exchequer.

I wish the knowledge development box the Minister is trying to develop every success. I would have phased out the double Irish sooner than 2020. Let us move to a new industrial policy that is not based on tax avoidance. We are to give an additional €6 million per year for three years to the horse and greyhound racing fund. It has always amazed me that we put such a priority on this industry. Most of the extra betting will be online. People bet on the Rose of Tralee and by-elections – about which the bookies are usually inaccurate – and people bet on the abolition of this House. It is nothing to do with subsidising horses and dogs, as we seem to assume. We have far more important priorities, as nearly every Senator agrees, than that the country should be going to the dogs. I wonder about continuing the home renovation scheme with €190 million worth of improvements to existing houses when the priority should be new houses. While it is very nice for a person who has a house to get such a grant, why not give priority to those who are on housing waiting lists? Irish Water must be a test case in how not to establish a new quango.

David Norris (Independent)
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Hear, hear.

Sean Barrett (Independent)
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It has caused political and morale damage. Thousands of extra staff paying themselves bonuses and going on “Morning Ireland” saying they are not bonuses-----

David Norris (Independent)
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People on more than €100,000 while we are on €60,000.

Sean Barrett (Independent)
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Let us never do anything like that again. Although it was indicated by one source that the tax break could be worth €500, €100 is the correct figure. It is most welcome. I hope the Department of Finance will get a grip on Irish Water before it does any more damage.

I note the measures on tourism and alcohol. I will be in Cork over the weekend and will look to see if Father Mathew is still there. I have never seen a combination of the revived Father Mathew types and DUP extras from the “devil’s buttermilk” school who have been denouncing drink and calling for huge increases in tax and minimum pricing. I hope they get out and enjoy themselves as a result of the budget and that tourism and hospitality develop as sectors. These puritans have been filling my mailbox with far too much material.

We need continual expenditure restraint and appraisal. All the public capital programme should be focused on social housing. If we try to increase the public capital programme by too much, building other things, it will push up the price of housing, which must be our priority. There is a very small increase for education overall, 0.7% in the Book of Estimates. It comprises a reduction at third level and the very welcome and necessary increases at primary level. I hope at some stage the need to invest in third level will be reconsidered. I hope Senator Colm Burke will advise on the €2.3 billion for prescription drugs. He has convinced the House for a long time that we pay far too much for drugs in Ireland. What would those drugs cost if we bought them in Spain?

I thank the Minister of State. I do not wish to intrude on other people’s time. We made much progress today, and the reform agenda must continue.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Given that 15 Members wish to speak and there are only nine slots left, many will not have an opportunity to speak unless people share time. Unfortunately, it is ordered that we are to finish at 6 p.m. and I cannot change it. The Minister will be here at 5.55 p.m.

David Norris (Independent)
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Could we introduce an amendment to the Order of Business for that purpose? Could the Acting Leader investigate it? It is nonsense on budget day.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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It was ordered today and people should not have agreed to it.

David Norris (Independent)
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Yes, but nobody realised how critical the situation would be.

Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael)
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I will try to arrange it if I can.

David Norris (Independent)
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I thank the Acting Leader, as long as it does not inconvenience the Minister too much.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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The Chair is bound, unless the Order of Business is changed. I do not want to cut anybody short.

Hildegarde Naughton (Fine Gael)
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Today’s budget means we have managed to turn the economy around. The economy is growing again, and it means we have righted the sinking economic ship left to us three years ago. The Government took some very difficult and unpopular decisions in order to do so. We have had three years of deflationary budgets. Every year for the past three years, the Government took money out of the economy either by tax increases or cutting services. That is over. The budget has two distinct elements, namely, a reduction in the tax people are expected to pay, and greater funding for our public services. The Government has reduced the marginal tax rate to 40%, increased the entry point, at which people start paying the marginal rate, to €33,800 and, most important, increased the entry level at which USC is paid to €12,000.

In addition, the first and second rates of USC have been reduced by 0.5% each. The additional fourth level of USC just introduced by the Minister for Finance will ensure low and middle income earners will be the main beneficiaries of this change. This is not a once-off measure. The Government is committed to reducing and spreading the taxation burden over the coming years, but it can only do that by continued prudent management of the economy.

On the public services side of the equation, I am very pleased to see that the Minister for Health, Deputy Varadkar, has received major additional funding this year amounting to €305 million. The health service is demand led and we have an ageing population. The health budget has overrun every year for more than ten years. It is impossible to predict the demands on the health service annually. The Minister has taken a very pragmatic view of his Department's requirements and has secured this money to ensure continuity of service next year and to commence the rolling out of new services to meet the needs of people.

The Government recognises the value of education and the budget funding for 1,700 teachers, resource teachers and special needs assistants, mostly at primary level, will ensure demand for places is met and the pupil-teacher ratio does not increase. The plan is to reduce the ratio in future.

Whether young or old, urban or rural, we all like to feel safe in our beds, and in that regard, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Fitzgerald, has secured funding of €10 million for the purchase of 400 new Garda vehicles. She has also secured funding to replace retiring officers and to continue the Garda recruitment drive which recommenced this year. There will be another 200 Garda recruits by 2015 which means we are increasing Garda numbers for the first time since the downturn.

Those retired or about to retire will be glad to hear that the 0.6% pension levy will cease at the end of this year and the 0.15% levy will cease at the end of next year. Government policy should be to encourage people to invest in their pensions. Now that the urgency to collect additional taxation is abating, the Government will move to abolish the levy all together.

I have said before that no Government should be bribing people with their own taxes and we have not done so. We have made prudent decisions to reduce the burden of taxation while maintaining public services. We have not made outlandish promises such as committing to abolishing water charges.

Hildegarde Naughton (Fine Gael)
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Let us be clear: to implement such a promise would leave a €1 billion hole in our finances over the next two years. What we have done is provide additional supports to those in need, including our pensioners.

Will the Minister of State consider an issue relating to motor tax? If one pays one's motor tax quarterly, it works out far more expensive than if one pays it annually. A change to this situation would benefit commuters greatly so I would ask that such a change be considered.

I know that this budget will not satisfy everyone and it would be impossible to do so. We have, however, started the process of returning some money to peoples' pockets that had been required to fix our budget deficit. We have also started the process of returning public services to where they should be. This cannot be done overnight and will not be. This Government has indicated how it will be done over the coming years. We know where we stand and where we are going and this Government can be trusted to get us there.

Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)
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I wish to share my time with Senator Power.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.

Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)
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We all welcome the upturn in the economy and it would be churlish not to recognise and acknowledge that there has been an improvement. There has been a great deal of talk about our improving economic situation and I would suggest that much of that improvement is down to increased competitiveness but also to our exchange rate, in the context of a flagging eurozone economy and a global downturn, which has not been referred to at all. That has been a significant factor in the improvement in our financial situation.

The Ministers said there would be no reduction in social benefits as if this was something to be applauded. How dare they even suggest that there should have been further cuts to social welfare payments, especially in light of the cuts that were implemented in recent years across a wide variety of areas, as outlined by Senator O'Brien.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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What about the €2 billion? Has the Senator forgotten about that?

Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)
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The suggestion is that we should be cheering the Government because there have been no further reductions in social benefits.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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We should be cheering the Government because the economy has finally turned a corner after 15 years.

Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)
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I would also suggest that the increase in child benefit does not target the less well-off. The increase is right across the board so wealthy children will get €5 as well as those children who are less well off. That is problematic but has been trumpeted as something wonderful.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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It is a universal payment.

A Senator:

Stop interrupting.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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Are you joking? Senator Mooney never stopped interrupting me.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Please allow Senator Mooney, without interruption.

Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)
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I plead for the defence of the Chair. I never opened my mouth while Senator Hayden was babbling on with her Government-supplied script.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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If Senators keep interrupting one another, other Senators will not get a chance to speak. As it stands, nine Senators will not be able to contribute to this debate.

Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)
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The Government missed an opportunity here and should have introduced a second free year in the early childhood care and education scheme. I understand various disability groups have criticised the Government for not providing anything like what is required to enable those with disabilities to live their lives with dignity, and that is another missed opportunity.

There has been a decrease in the transport Vote of €15 million or €16 million. There was no talk about improvements to the road network or about giving money to local authorities for roads maintenance. There is no reference to that area whatsoever.

Marie Moloney (Labour)
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Those details will come from the relevant Minister.

Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)
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This budget has been all about headlines which the Government is throwing out to an unsuspecting public, saying "Look at us, aren't we doing a wonderful job? Vote us back into office at the next election". As my party spokesperson said in the Dáil, this is as much a vote catching exercise as it is about responsible budgetary mechanisms. I am disappointed, overall, that there has not been a greater targeting of those who are less well off, particularly those who are in receipt of social welfare benefits whose payments have been cut repeatedly in recent years. They are the most vulnerable in our society and I see nothing in this budget that will help them in any way.

Averil Power (Fianna Fail)
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I thank Senator Mooney for sharing his time with me which gives me, as my party's education spokesperson, an opportunity to comment briefly on the budget from an education point of view. There is no doubt this budget is very disappointing from an education perspective. The much-heralded extra teachers and SNAs are simply going to keep the services at exactly the same level at which they are now, having taken cut after cut in recent years. They will do nothing to reduce the increasing number of children who are in classes of 35 or more. There is no measure to improve the pupil-teacher ratio. The Government is still cutting day-to-day funding for schools next year. The capitation payment will be reduced by another 1% next year. We already have a situation where many schools struggle to pay basic utility bills like light and heat and parents are being asked to dip into their pockets to pay for minor repairs.

There will be an increase in the third level student service charge of €250, which will push third level beyond the means of many middle income families. Those on the very lowest incomes get grants and those on high incomes can afford third level education but the people who have been squeezed out of third level education, both by the service charge increases and by the complete removal of the maintenance grant for postgraduate students, are those on middle incomes. That is very unfair.

While the Government will do its best to sell the positive elements of this budget, it should be noted that additional cuts will be implemented next year, especially in the education sector. There has been no effort to reverse cuts such as the removal of guidance counsellor provision for schools, which has left some of our most vulnerable students without counselling services at a time when many young people struggle with serious mental health problems. We have a very serious problem in this country with suicide, particularly among young males, and nothing is being done in that regard. Similarly, the cuts to special needs services remain.

There were other alternatives and Fianna Fáil in its pre-budget submission opted to do nothing on income tax. We know that is not the most populist position in the world but we decided, on a point of principle, that income tax should not be cut, particularly not in the way the Government has cut it for high earners, because there is still so much that needs to be done in terms of restoring our public services, especially health and education. That is our position and we believe that approach would have been fairer and would have allowed the Government to do a lot more for our education system.

Marie Moloney (Labour)
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I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for allowing me-----

Michael D'Arcy (Fine Gael)
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I wish to inform the House that the time allowed for this debate will be extended. The Leader will be in the House shortly to arrange same.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Okay. I ask Senator Moloney to keep an eye on the clock.

Marie Moloney (Labour)
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I will do that, as we will be fighting over time.

David Norris (Independent)
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We will have lots of time for interruptions.

Marie Moloney (Labour)
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I welcome Senator Craughwell to the Seanad. Every time I catch his eye, I think of Barry Desmond, who now has a lookalike in the Seanad.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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He is a much younger man than Mr. Desmond.

Marie Moloney (Labour)
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Yes, he is. I want to refer to the social protection part of the budget, although it is difficult to speak about in depth when we do not have all the details, as the Tánaiste will announce them later. I will refer to some of the details I picked up from the budget speeches of the two Ministers. This is the first budget since 2009 that has been introduced without a cut. The Senators opposite may say we are self-congratulating in that respect. We are not, but it is an achievement bearing in mind that this time last year we were facing a €2 billion cut in this budget. Thankfully, we have turned that around and rather than cutting, we have invested. I noted from a contribution in the other House that €19.4 billion will be allocated to social welfare in 2015. That figure rang a bell because when we came into government, the deficit was €19 billion and we now investing that much money in social welfare.

Getting people back to work has been and will continue to be the Government's main priority. If we get people back to work, fewer social welfare benefits will have to be paid and more revenue will be accrued from income tax. We will be able to target more money towards services that desperately need it and provide support for those in dire need of them.

The back to work family dividend is a new measure and one of the incentives introduced in this budget. It will provide €29.80 per child in the first year and 50% of that will be retained in the second year. It is great to see the introduction of initiatives to encourage people to take up work. We constantly hear from people and from the Opposition that people are better off unemployed. We need to address that and put in place initiatives and incentives, such as the new family dividend, for people to return to work.

There will be a doubling of the number of positions on the JobsPlus scheme, which encourages employers to employ those who are long-term employed, with the payment of €10,000 in respect of a person unemployed for over two years and the payment of €7,000 in respect of a person unemployed for over a year. It is great that employers will be in a position to take on more people. The sum of €1.6 million will be made available to provide 300,000 work and training places in support of Pathways to Work and €12 million will be provided for the JobPath initiative in 2015. We cannot create jobs but we can put initiatives in place to help create jobs. I note from Twitter that the INOU welcomes the jobs activation measures. It is good that it acknowledges we are working in the right direction. Even though we managed to maintain the basic rate of social welfare payment, there is no doubt people on social welfare took hits over recent years from this and the previous Government. There is no point in saying they did not. We are turning it around and moving in the right direction. The economy is coming around. We are beginning to unwind some of the tightening up we had to do and some of the cuts.

There is a small increase in the living alone allowance for the elderly. I would have preferred if that small increase had been put on the basic rate. Increasing the living alone allowance will only benefit a person living on their own while a couple will not benefit from it. There are measures I would have loved to have seen done better. There is no doubt about that. This measure will help people in receipt of an invalidity pension who get the living alone allowance. The reintroduction of 25% of the Christmas bonus is a start and it is to be hoped it will be increased in the years ahead. The Tánaiste was adamant that this came out of the 2014 Vote. That money was available as a result of people returning to work. If we get more people back to work in 2015, one hopes we will again be able to increase the Christmas bonus. That provision which gives people that little bit of extra money at Christmas is very important, especially for the elderly and recipients of social welfare.

The increase in child benefit, albeit a small one, is a step in the right direction. I am disappointed there was no mention of child care provision in this budget. It is a major issue for young couples trying to maintain two jobs, pay a mortgage and having to pay for child care. I had hoped there would be some reference to it. I will speak in more detail on it when the social welfare Bill comes through and I apologise for taking all that time.

David Norris (Independent)
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Well spoken already.

Jillian van Turnhout (Independent)
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I wish to share my time with Senator Mac Conghail.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Ar aghaidh leat.

Jillian van Turnhout (Independent)
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I would like to raise many points and welcome many measures but time does not permit me to do that. I note the increase of €26 million in the funding for the Child and Family Agency, which is very welcome, and also the additional funding of €19 million for the Oberstown child detention centre. The main issue I wish to raise is that when cuts were made to lone parent and child benefit we were lectured in this House that cash transfers were not the answer and that we needed to invest in these services. We were guaranteed "a system of safe, affordable and accessible child care in place, similar to that found in Scandinavian countries". We have not seen a single cent in this budget allocated to investment in that system. No additional money is going into it. We talk about jobs but many providers are now on the brink of collapse. They cannot provide the service the Government requires at a quality level at the rates they are getting. There has been much talk about the provision of a second preschool year. Children with special needs need that second year of early years education.

Other issues I remain concerned about include food poverty, the delivery of mental health services - we continually see a budget for it but the delivery of the services is a concern for me - and investment in community health services. We are not investing in provision for end-of-life care and neurological care and I am concerned about the gaps I see in the health budget. I want to flag those issues today. We will have many occasions in the Seanad to discuss them, but I would like to share my remaining time with my colleague, Senator Mac Conghail, who has very significant issues to raise.

Fiach MacConghail (Independent)
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I thank the Senator for sharing her time with me. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Harris. I also welcome my colleague, Senator Craughwell, to the House, for what will be quite an interesting year and a half ahead.

It is ironic that the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, ended his speech with a poem, using the arts yet again as a buttress-----

David Norris (Independent)
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A vacuous quotation.

Fiach MacConghail (Independent)
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-----in making a symbolic, vacuous statement, yet I am here, on behalf of the arts community, trying to see if there is any good news story in the increase of €4 million in funding for the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht. It might sound churlish but I cannot welcome this €4 million increase as an indication of the Government's support for the arts. In fact, this €4 million is going to fund the woolly idea that is called the commemoration. We are less than 18 months away from 2016 and we have no idea what the Government is doing regarding the commemoration. We know that the Government, particularly both parties-----

David Norris (Independent)
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It should do nothing

Fiach MacConghail (Independent)
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-----is in paralysis around how to approach the commemoration. Despite this, €4 million has been aside for it with no increase in funding for the Arts Council, Culture Ireland or the national cultural institutions. The arts have been savagely and disproportionately cut over the past seven years to the tune of 37%, yet we have been told to wait our turn. We are waiting. Artists of significance are waiting for crumbs from this Government to support them, this Government which is eviscerating and demolishing the National Cultural Institutions Act 1997 through so-called mergers, yet not a single increase has been set aside for any of the institutions I mentioned. When the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht speaks about protecting funding, the assumption is that the cuts that have occurred in previous years have been proportionate to other areas in our economy, but they have not been. Many artists living below the poverty line are experiencing devastation and the Government has not backed up its commitment to support the arts.

The increase of €4 million is not protecting the arts but is putting a slush fund into a vacuous and woolly idea regarding commemoration about which we know nothing. Moreover, the Arts Council, which is a primary funding source for individual artists, never mind arts organisations, is on a standstill for next year, having had its funding sliced by 37% over previous years. I am sorry and it is churlish for me to acknowledge this but it is important and factual to state that when it comes to supporting the arts, the present Government is the worst since the foundation of the State.

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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Hear, hear.

Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Harris, to the House. As the Minister, Deputy Noonan, stated in his Budget Statement, the economy is recovering and the country is moving in the right direction. On budget day, it is appropriate to acknowledge the contribution and pivotal role played by the Ministers, Deputies Noonan and Howlin, in rescuing the country from economic ruin within three and a half years and in getting the country to the position today whereby one can discern an end to the austerity measures with which one has become familiar over the past six budgets.

The budget has been strongly designed to create jobs and to sustain economic recovery. A ten-point package, including an enhanced research and development credit and a knowledge development box for intellectual development was outlined by the Minister today. These measures update Ireland's tax offerings to keep us ahead of the curve internationally and will attract foreign investment and jobs. The package provides certainty for international investors for the next decade and will facilitate long-term investment in Ireland that provides high-quality jobs. Significantly, the Government has protected the 12.5% corporate tax rate, about which there has been much discussion recently. In his speech today, the Minister confirmed firmly that the 12.5% corporate tax rate is here to stay. I greatly welcome the doubling of the number of JobsPlus places from 3,000 to 6,000, as well as the provision of the working family bonus to assist low-income families to move into work by retaining child income supports in the workplace. Moreover, the increase of €5 in child benefit will help in a small way with child care costs and hopefully will enable many low-income people to return to the workforce in the near future.

In his Budge Statement, the Minister, Deputy Noonan, recognised the largest indigenous industry, namely, the agriculture industry, which employs 170,000 people and has an annual turnover of €26 billion. A decision to introduce measures that will make additional land available to young and active farmers will reap a rich dividend for the economy in the future and the end to milk quotas in 2015 hopefully will see much more investment in the agriculture sector. I acknowledge Senator Barrett is not that happy with the further investment in the bloodstock industry but it is a highly significant part of the agricultural sector and this modest investment is welcome. I welcome in particular the retention of the 9% VAT rate for the hospitality sector, for which I campaigned strongly, which created more than 24,000 jobs since its introduction in 2011. I am particularly pleased by the highly positive reaction from that sector this evening to the decision to retain the rate.

While I would have desired more investment in education, the net increase of €60 million is to be welcomed and I also welcome the 1,700 new jobs in the form of teachers, resource teachers and special needs assistants who will be recruited in the near future at a cost of €88 million. However, I am disappointed that no decision was taken to review class sizes, particularly as they pertain to one, two and three-teacher schools and to rural schools in particular. This is a subject on which Members will have further discussions with the Minister for Education and Skills. I welcome the investment of €7 million for the human biology building in NUI Galway, as well as the €10 million for the University of Limerick and €3 million for UCD.

On the taxation side, the tax changes made today are modest but constitute a start in reducing the additional measures imposed on people as a result of the economic downturn. I welcome in particular the reductions in the universal social charge, USC. It is a tax that was introduced because of the austerity and I seek a further dismantling of this charge over forthcoming budgets. The USC will forever be associated with austerity and the economic crisis in which we found ourselves and it is to be hoped that in future, there will be further dismantling of that charge. Finally, I welcome the €2.2 billion that will be invested in social housing over the next three years. It will address the major housing crisis we face and will put a lot of people in the construction sector back to work, which is badly needed.

David Norris (Independent)
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I welcome the Minister of State to the House. There unquestionably are some positive measures in this budget, which I welcome. If one accepts the intellectual parameters within which the Minister, Deputy Noonan, and the Minister of State are working, then they have done everything right and everything is on target. I do not accept them but that is another day's argument. I believe the entire financial system should be pulled to pieces and rebuilt from top to bottom. There is nothing much about university funding although there has been a steady and consistent drop in the universities' positions in the international rankings and something should be done in this regard. As the 0.7% overseas development aid target falls into line with the economy, if we can afford 0.7% at any time, we can afford it. However, provision in this regard has dropped consistently in recent years and should be retained. What about the Aer Lingus pensioners and the cut of 60%, which is unimaginable? People are coming from an expectation of €25,000 down €10,000. How will they live within their expectations?

I am glad the 9% VAT rate in restaurants was kept as that is a good thing. I also am also pleased the living city initiative is being progressed. I spoke passionately about this issue and I hope that North Great George's Street is included. One of my neighbours went bankrupt and lost her house as a result of over-enthusiastic restoration. I have also received an e-mail from a correspondent in County Laois who is a nurse. She was obliged to give up nursing to look after three small girls, one of whom has severe special needs. She now has developed ovarian cancer, is being investigated by the Department of Social Protection and her benefits have been cut. She has been investigated like a criminal, they have been cut and the family is living on €159 per week. This is not something on which we can congratulate ourselves.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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Hear, hear.

David Norris (Independent)
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On the question of allowing tax relief for medical students when they graduate, I consider this to be essential. I have been contacted by a constituent who, after getting a degree from Trinity College subsequently went to Cork and gained a medical degree. He now is a junior doctor who is crippled by trying to repay loans of €150,000 he took out to cover his seven-year medical course and is contemplating leaving this country. Something should be done about this. I wrote to the Ministers and received the usual holding reply but nothing has happened, although this is an area in which something could be done.

I urge the Minister of State to read the excellent budgetary submission made by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. The society has prepared a detailed submission some of which is budget-neutral and does not cost anything. A proposal was made a couple of years ago about front-loading the fuel allowance that was never implemented but which should be considered. Calls for help to its regional offices have risen by 100% since 2009 and, to put a human face on matters, one woman described the impact of cuts to child benefit by noting that when she had her daughter last year, she was getting €140 per month but now was receiving €130. She acknowledged that while it did not sound like a lot, that €10 would have bought two packs of nappies, would have fed the family for the day or would have gone a long way towards their milk bill. Moreover, with €10 she could go to Dunnes Stores and fill up her freezer with frozen vegetables and chicken fillets, not with junk food. This is also something that must be examined.

In addition, the Government should remove the prescription charge of €2.50. I listened to a woman of 90 on the wireless this morning who had nine prescriptions per month. That is a lot of money and is very worrying for a person who is 90 year old. Moreover, were the Government to ensure that all landlords in receipt of rent supplement provided permission for the installation of electricity and natural gas pay-as-you-go prepayment meters, that would be budget-neutral.

If we could introduce it and ensure that landlords allow the installation of these pay-as-you-go meters, it would make it easier for people to heat their houses. On heating, average domestic electricity prices in Ireland are the fourth highest in the EU. That means Ireland is right up at the top of the league in an area in which people are extremely vulnerable. Meanwhile, simultaneously, the purchasing power of the fuel allowance has dropped between 20% to 55% depending on the source of the energy.

Was that a ding?

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Yes.

David Norris (Independent)
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Thank you. I just have one more thing to say. I have timed myself quite well this time. Rent supplement limits should be increased to bring them into line with real market rents to protect people who are at risk of homelessness.

John Gilroy (Labour)
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I am glad to have an opportunity to contribute to this important debate. We will have plenty of opportunity in the next couple of days and weeks to flesh out the meaning of this budget. With that in mind, I want to speak in general terms about what we are trying to achieve here.
We have had seven budgets in six years which could be described as austerity budgets. This is the first one that falls outside that description. It attempts to do four things, namely, create jobs, help hard-pressed families, invest in public services and pay down some of Ireland's debt. These four items will be generally achieved with this budget. It is a decent budget in that it is a modest budget. Even if we call it modest, it still is significant. A year or so ago, we were talking about making a correction to take another €1.4 billion out of the economy in order to reach the agreed targets of 3% by 2015. However, due to the resilience, hard work and fortitude of the Irish people, we find ourselves in a position where we do not require to do that. The remarkable economic growth last year and, particularly, this year has allowed us to put an additional €1.6 billion or thereabouts into the economy. That is a significant turnaround in our fortunes. It is a turnaround of €3 billion which this time last year would have been considered inconceivable.
I remember having a series of meetings over the last three years, since 2011, with various Ministers about budgets and about the state of the economy in general. At that time, even the gloomiest of gloomy predictions were not sufficiently gloomy. In 2011 when we came into government, the country's future was on a knife edge and could have goneeither way. There was even talk in 2011 that the schools might not be in a position to open in September. That is not hyperbole or exaggeration or retrospective thinking. These are the sorts of things that were current in conversational topics in political circles at that time.
This budget is a small step. We still have a very long way to go. However, the change in circumstances now allows the Government to be in a place it thought a couple of years ago it could never be. In the three years it has been in this Government, the Labour Party has supported reductions and cuts in services that any Government, in particular a Labour Party Government, would think inconceivable in normal circumstances. We could not even countenance these things. It is not that we are taking credit for these things. These things affected the Irish people and it is due - I have to say it again - to the hard work and resilience of the Irish people that we now find ourselves in this position.
The Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, stated in a speech about two years ago that if we got our policies right, the Irish economy could become a little bit like a loaded spring ready to take off. I think that is the analogy he used. At the time, people looked at him and wondered what he was talking about. However, we have seen growth in the region of 4.3% this year. We will see growth of 3.9%, 3.4% and 3.9% in the following years. These are our projections. This is a cumulative value of 16% or 17% growth in our economy. These figures are tremendous if they materialise. On the back of those figures, the Government - and even more so the next Government - will be able to take advantage of the difficult decisions it has made and the hard work of the Irish people over the last number of years. These things need to be remembered. We see that the levels of dangerous debt and our debt to GDP ratio have fallen. That will allow investment in public services, jobs and in our people. It is just a start. It is a very small step. It is a good step forward and we hope we can see the progress next year and in future years.
Senators O'Brien and van Turnhout made reference to mental health services. It is my No. 1 priority area in politics and I note a €35 million investment in this area has been announced. I have previously said that I do not believe the problems in mental health services are solely related to the availability of resources. Senator van Turnhout referred to service delivery. Service delivery is key. Senators O'Brien and Power mentioned guidance counsellors in schools. I would have been very happy if I could have seen some reversal on the measures previously taken in that area. Perhaps in the coming days, we might see some reversal when the details of the budget are fleshed out.
I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House and giving his typically insightful contribution. He is one of the better performing Ministers when he comes here. We appreciate that.

Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the Minister of State. On the budget and budgetary considerations, the main question is whether there is a coherent strategy to address the growth of inequality that we witnessed over the last number of decades. It is not just over the last number of austerity budgets that we have witnessed this. Earlier this afternoon, the Minister of State said the rate of job creation is one of the fastest in Europe. We heard a lot about the wave of new jobs that are being created and an increase in the number of those in employment since the employment crisis hit originally. Despite a minor increase in the numbers employed in some counties, we do know from the quarterly national household survey that the labour force has declined in some of those counties. Limited jobs growth, by and large, has been restricted to Dublin and other urban centres. This is deepening a well-entrenched two-tier economy.

There is a growth in high-skill, high-paid jobs but loss of mid-pay jobs in manufacturing. Service sector jobs are growing but new sectors of employment are characterised by low pay and low job security. Young people are in low-paid and precarious employment. According to a number of surveys, they are leaving Ireland because they cannot get their footing in a career. I want to stress the word "career". They do not see prospects for themselves here and that is why they are flocking to other countries.

It is important to note, in the context of the increase in the employment figures, that low pay is becoming a serious problem. One in five workers earns below the living age of €11.45 per hour. To contextualise the living wage, it is 14% of a current Minister's salary. According to recent Social Justice Ireland data, 16% of adults who have an income below the poverty line are actually employed. We know from the recent OECD employment outlook 2014, that Ireland has the second highest percentage of low paying jobs among OECD countries. The prevalence of low pay will undermine future recovery. It will lead to unstable growth and increase costs for the State in transfer payments. Given this inequality, I ask the Minister of State to outline what the Government is doing to counteract this.

The Minister of State also said recovery would not be felt until everyone had a job or more money in their pockets. Those were some of the measures he mentioned. There are also 28,000 fewer young people in employment since this Government took office. A Red C poll commissioned by the National Youth Council of Ireland released recently found that four in ten young people are struggling to make ends meet as a result of welfare cuts. The justification put forward for those cuts originally was that they would incentivise young people to take up education, training or work opportunities. That argument is undermined by the fact that various social welfare payments and training allowances to young people under 25 years of age have been cut in recent budgets. As someone from the generation which has since adulthood known nothing but austerity, I am extremely disappointed that the weekly rate of €188 for all young people on education, training and work experience programmes is not being restored.

John Gilroy (Labour)
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What is it in Northern Ireland? It is £67.

Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein)
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This is something that could have put young people on an equal footing with others and should have happened. Welfare is for young people, it should be reversed, it is causing deprivation and hardship for young people who are unemployed.

Recovery should have equal application across all sectors and I would suggest that young people be put front and centre of this. In our pre-budget submission, we said that we would restore the youth social welfare payment over two budgets.

John Gilroy (Labour)
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Do it in the North first.

Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein)
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Likewise we would not increase the fees for college again this year. As was mentioned by Senator Power earlier, the increase of €250 in student fees is going to go ahead this year, which is a big disappointment as we will now see another wave of young people excluded from education.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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Hear, hear.

Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein)
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With regard to income tax changes, the focus is more on proportional change than on absolute or real-income changes. Proportional tax cuts are going to benefit the better off disproportionately in real terms, and that is going to weaken the ability of taxes and transfers to reduce income inequality. Those in the top 17% of earners will see their income tax come down.

I welcome some of the more positive news today, such as more teachers, SNAs and gardaí. That will be good for society. I also welcome the move toward ending what is knows as the "double Irish". However, I am not impressed with this budget and my colleagues will go into further detail on the reasons for that. We will be proposing amendments to the Finance Bill when it comes before the Houses. Sinn Féin's alternative is available to all and it is a costed, fair alternative.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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Hear, hear.

Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein)
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The Minister of State, Deputy Harris referred to the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan's three principles in regard to corporation tax, which are rate, reputation and regime. Our three principles in respect of this budget, as stated in our pre-Budget submission, was that it should repair communities, rebuild the economy and renew society, and these priorities are sorely lacking.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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Hear, hear.

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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I propose an amendment to the Order of Business: "That we conclude at 6.15 p.m. with the Minister of State to reply no later than 6.10 p.m."

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.

Ivana Bacik (Independent)
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I thank the Leader for extending time, so that anyone who wishes to speak will be able to do so. I also thank the Minister of State, Deputy Harris and welcome him to the House. I have listened carefully to the speeches here and in the other House. Any fair-minded observer - there are many fair-minded observers on the Opposition benches - would acknowledge that there are very positive aspects to this budget and that overall, it is a positive development. It is modest in scope and I do not think anyone is being triumphalist or is crowing in any way, as that would not be appropriate.

We are looking at a budget that has been brought to us in the context of positive figures on economic growth and unemployment, which has been falling for 27 months in a row now. These are objective measures of positive developments in our economy. Also objectively, as others have acknowledged, the changes to the tax system announced today are progressive. They are aimed squarely at improving the economic position of low- to middle-income earners. The reduction in the top rate of tax is more than offset by the increase in the USC rate for higher earners. We are seeing an additional 80,000 low-paid workers come out of the USC on top of the 330,000 brought out of it in the first budget of this Government. We need to be fair when assessing the tax changes here. Their impact will undoubtedly benefit those who are in low- to middle-income brackets, and not the higher income earners. That is a very important point.

In the speech by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, he very importantly noted that increases in spending would also be targeted on jobs, health, education, social protection, justice and housing. Like many others, I would have liked to see a further increase in the arts budget - although again it must be acknowledged that there is a €4 million increase in the current expenditure for the arts Vote. I would have liked to see the ECCE scheme for early childhood education extended by another year . However, I accept that the changes that have been made are positive, although there are more positive changes that could have been made. Let us not forget the words of the Minister, Deputy Noonan, that he is doing this in the context of trying to build a solid and steady economic recovery. He does not want to return to boom and bust policies of the past. I believe that is the appropriate balance to strike.

It is very welcome to see increases in child benefit payments. That will benefit people; I am one of those paying high child care costs and I know how high they are, specifically in Dublin. Child benefit increases are a drop in the ocean but they are welcome nonetheless. The return of the Christmas bonus is also hugely welcome for the very many people who will benefit from it, and indeed the small businesses that will benefit from the spend. This is very much supporting expenditure in the community as well. I also welcome the increased expenditure in justice, the investment in Garda vehicles and in Garda recruitment; the expenditure in education, with 1,700 new full-time posts which has already been referred to by many others; and the end to the public sector recruitment moratorium. This is very positive news as we will see recruitment in these areas for the first time in many years.

I have listened to many speeches by Opposition Members that made reference to auction politics and others that made reference to continued austerity. This budget cannot be both. The more accurate depiction of the budget from an objective perspective is that it strikes a balance in that it is neither an engagement in auction politics nor a continued austerity budget. It is not an austerity budget, as the Minister, Deputy Howlin, made clear. It marks the end of an era of austerity. Nor is it a return to the auction politics that characterised Fianna Fáil budgets in the past, the budgets of the McCreevy years which led us into the economic ruin which this Government faced when taking over in 2011.

I believe this is a modest budget, but one built on the idea of solid and steady economic growth and of moving us back to a sustainable prosperity of the sort which we all deserve after so many years of austerity. I commend the budget to the House.

Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Leader for extending the time as it is appropriate that we should have the opportunity to talk about the budget.

I will start on a positive note. Even though it is belated and should have happened last year, I welcome the reversal of what was a terrible decision to raid people's pension pots. Pensions are a huge issue, given our demographics, and it was totally the wrong thing to do. Private people have lost €2.2 billion from their funds and many of them are workers who are depending on their pensions when they retire. I understand the 0.15% rate is being continued, although there has been a commitment to remove it. That should have been done this year. I hope the commitment will be honoured.

There was one aspect of pensions that was not dealt with but could have been and probably would not have cost a whole lot. There is an imputed 5% distribution from pensions. I accept that, during the economic growth of the 1990s and first decade of this century, very considerable amounts of money were put into pension funds. We heard of pensions pots of €40 million or €50 million. I have no difficulty with those. However, many people have small pension pots, maybe €500,000 or €1 million or €1.5 million. I do not think that they should be forced to pay tax on 5% of that. With healthcare and people living longer that should be discontinued up to the threshold, which is €2 million at the moment.

I am disappointed to see the trend that the Government has taken on the USC. There is a disconnect between the public and the established political system and it is there for a very good reason. It is because people make promises and do not honour them. In this instance, there was a clear signal given when the USC was being introduced, albeit a by different Minister and a different Government, that it was in fact a temporary measure to meet the fiscal crisis that would be reduced as soon as public finances improved. Instead of that, the Government has increased it. That is totally the wrong direction to take. The threshold in terms of the imposition of the 8% rate has been reduced to €70,000. That is wrong.

Another matter which I suggest could make an impact would be capital gains tax. It has increased from 20% to 33%. The former Deputy, Mr. Charlie McCreevy has been mentioned and criticised but he did a lot of very good things, and one of them was reducing capital gains tax from 40% to 20%. This doubled the revenue that came from it. We need investment and we need to release assets for that investment.

There is more than €300 million unaccounted for in the health service budget. People are wondering where that is going to come from. There is a perception that charges are going to be heaped on the private health insurance sector again. It is a disgrace that people who have paid their health insurance all their lives, as I have along with many others, and who have also paid their social insurance now find that they are being deprived the benefit of the social insurance, which was entitlement to the use of a public bed. It is being charged back to the health insurers who in turn charge it to the people taking out private health insurance. As a consequence, there is a haemorrhaging of people from private health insurance.

There is no cohesive policy on housing. Although I acknowledge the small step the Government has taken on this it is inadequate. It is not going to solve the extent of the homelessness problem and it will not do anything to encourage people into home ownership. We have a proud record in this country which removed the cost of people purchasing their own houses from the State.

There is a range of issues, including the Central Bank matter recently. I would like a full discussion on housing, including both of those issues.

I am a little perplexed. There is a pension provision of €1,037 million in the Department of Education and Skills, whereas it is €638 million for the Department of Health. It seems an anomaly that the Department of Health, which has a lower budget and a somewhat lower pay budget, would have such a significant pension provision.

It is the first year in six that there has been some relief in the fiscal position and there has been some flexibility for the Government, but while some are clapping themselves on the back-----

Marie Moloney (Labour)
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Nobody is clapping themselves on the back.

Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)
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-----the borrowings will increase from €203 billion this year to €210 billion at the end of next year. Given where we stand on borrowing, is that a sensible course of action?

Marie Moloney (Labour)
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Senator Walsh does not want to give anything back to the people.

Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)
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When one is borrowing, one does not give back to the people.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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We are under time pressure.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State for his kind words. I will try not to take too much time.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Is Senator Craughwell sharing time?

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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I will share some time with Senator Healy Eames.

I am disappointed on the education budget. I am particularly concerned that it may be masking a problem we are not seeing, that is, that a number of education and training boards, ETBs, around the country have sought permission from the Minister for overdraft facilities to pay their staff. I am aware of one ETB which is looking for €3.3 million to pay staff and €1.7 million to pay its running costs. At some stage I will submit a freedom of information request to find out exactly how many ETBs are in trouble, but we are building up a problem for some stage in the future.

I will not go over it, but career guidance has been hammered here today. The Minister of State will be aware that career guidance is an issue.

I am particularly disappointed that no effort was made to increase the number of middle management posts in schools, or at least I can see nothing there. Principals and deputy principals are at breaking point without middle managers to support them and that is of concern.

I am delighted to see training places, but I wonder if people are aware that those returning to second-chance education in further education are paying a €200 charge to enter the system. They also are paying voluntary contributions. For example, it costs €1,000 to take the course I taught. Where does one get that sort of money? There are also the costs of course materials, travel, subsistence, etc. In case someone is not aware of it, a cup of coffee costs €1.50.

I do not thank any Minister for where we are today. I thank the people of Ireland who have sat quietly and taken all that has been thrown at them. If the Government is succeeding in building this economy, it is on the backs of hungry children going to school every day.

It would be wrong of me not to mention the Defence Forces. As a former member of the Defence Forces, I was extremely proud to see the turnout at the funeral of the late former Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds. They looked so well, but only two days later we discovered that uniforms were borrowed in order that soldiers could look right on parade that day. I checked this out. I visited a barracks not so long ago and I met soldiers who have to borrow parts of uniforms. In this day and age, it is outrageous that soldiers would have to borrow uniforms.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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Hear, hear.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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It is outrageous that there are young soldiers sleeping in their cars. There are similar problems with young teachers on the bread line.

I cannot finish without saying this - we will pay a considerable price in this country for what we are doing to education. In increasing the fees to go back to third level education, maintaining the employment control framework in the third level institutions and not properly resourcing institutes of further education, we will pay a price when the multinationals, of which we are so proud, start to walk out of this country because we do not have an education system that will sustain them.

Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State. I do not know if I got a chance to congratulate him on his new role.

We must remember that we are taking in €65 billion in income but spending €70 billion. We are still borrowing €5 billion to run the country. While we are on an upward trajectory, we have a long way to go yet.

The Minister for Finance spent €585 million in measures today. Were those measures the best ways to spend that money? That is ultimately the question we must ask. There are lots of small sweeteners being dished out but, when one thinks of the child care problem and the cost of child care, what will an extra €5 benefit do in a month other than buy a few extra ice-creams? It is not addressing the fundamental child care issue that Senator Zappone did a good job explaining.

I take this opportunity to share with the Minister of State a disappointment I have had. I published a budget reform Bill this year, the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2014. I was not allowed to debate that here and the Minister, Deputy Noonan, would not give the time. I see it as a lack of confidence on behalf of the Government not to listen to those ideas. They were simply this. First, every year, on a statutory basis, a balance sheet on where the country stands would be published mid-year. It would outline the country's assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities. It would take account of what is owed in pensions and in toll roads that are not making enough income, and where money is being set aside for the ageing population. When we had those facts mid-year, we could have a real debate. This mystery up until the last minute is a joke.

The second measure my Bill provided for was that we would know the ceilings that each Minister was allowed. For example, the Department of Education and Skills has €8 billion, but when one takes out pensions and salaries, we cannot see what is being achieved with the €2 billion that is left over. There are no targets or performance outcomes. How do we change society? This morning, on the Order of Business I spoke about the lack of career guidance counsellors and I hoped there would be a provision for that area, but there was not. We are losing €15 million in State fees in first year alone due to dropout at third level and one of the contributory factors is poor course choice - a poor matching of the student with what he or she wants. Career guidance counselling also contributes significantly to addressing the mental health fallout among these young people.

I will leave it at that. I am grateful to Senator Craughwell for sharing his time.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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I wish to share time equally with Senator Ó Clochartaigh. The Leas-Chathaoirleach might let me know when I am finished.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I will monitor it. We must be strict on time because we have already extended the debate.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the Minister of State to the House.

There are some positive elements in this budget, but it is not fair to characterise it as modest or sustainable, or even a neutral budget, for the majority of working families. The reality is that one can never look at a budget without looking at the bigger economic context and also all the budgets that have gone before. As the Minister will accept, after seven years of austerity many working families are in an unsustainable position where they simply cannot afford to pay any more and they are looking for a break. These are the families who were caught with the universal social charge, increases in PRSI, the household tax which became the property tax, cuts to child benefit, increases in college fees and cuts to supports for students going to college, cuts to medical cards and, of course, cuts in health, etc.

Whatever small adjustments were made in this budget for those families will be wiped out by water charges. The Minister of State will have seen 100,000 people on the streets of Dublin. That was an outpouring from those who simply have had enough. I have challenged the Leader of the House to answer a simple question on a number of occasions but, to date, he has not been able to answer it. Some 180,000 families are in mortgage distress. They cannot afford to pay their mortgages. There are many more families who cannot afford to pay basic utility bills. There are many families who have no disposable income and there are more who cannot put food on the table. There are many homes across the State where the heating tanks are empty with no oil. The Government will place water charges on their lap. What bills should they not pay? Should they allow their mortgage to go into deeper debt to pay the water charge or should they not provide food for their children to pay the water tax? The reality is that the Minister has political choices and what he could have done in this budget was abolish the property tax, abolish water charges and put in place higher taxes on higher earners.

The Minister of State sniggers because he simply does not accept-----

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I do not snigger.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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-----or understand the reality of what it is like for many families. This is the simple reality for these families. The Government had political choices and unfortunately it picked the wrong ones today.

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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Cuirim céad fáilte roimh an Aire. Beidh muintir na Gaeilge agus na Gaeltachta an-mhíshásta leis an mbuiséad seo. Bhíodar ag súil go mbeadh breis airgid á chaitheamh ar na réimsí sin agus níl, i ndáiríre. Cé go bhfáiltím roimh an airgead atá á chur ar leataobh le haghaidh Teach an Phiarsaigh, i ndáiríre píre níl tada breise ag Údarás na Gaeltachta, ná ag an Roinn, chun cúrsaí Gaeilge agus Gaeltachta a chur chun cinn. Níl aon phingin breise anseo le haghaidh Straitéis Fiche Bliain don Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn ach an oiread.

The budget is also quite punitive on rural areas. Nothing has been done to sort out the difficulties many farmers face because of farm assist. There is nothing to replace REPS, which has gone by the wayside. There is also an anomaly in the water charges whereby somebody on a group scheme will not be able to obtain the tax breaks. There is no reverse to the pupil teacher ratio changes in rural schools, and we do not see anything in the budget which will reverse emigration from rural areas. Many statistics show that people in the west and north west are on lower incomes.

The big anomaly in the budget is that it has put an awful lot more money back into the pockets of people with incomes of more than €75,000. The figures at the back of the budget book show anybody earning up to €25,000 a year will receive between €170 and €250 whereas somebody earning more than €75,000 will receive €777. This is not balanced, as has been put forward by some Senators. The money should have been balanced in the other direction and should have been put back into the pockets of people who need it most.

We have not seen any move towards a Scandinavian model of child care, which we were promised. We have not seen any move on rent supplement, which needed to be done. Although the housing initiatives are welcome, they will only reach the tip of the iceberg and would only just about solve the issue of the 4,000 people on the housing list in Galway city this coming year. To say it will make any huge difference in the national picture is incorrect. We are disappointed.

I am also disappointed with the cut of 30% in the equality and integration budget. Will the Minister of State explain this? Why will the equality and integration budget be cut? It has been slashed year on year by the Government but it is an area in which we need to put more funding for projects such as those with regard to women and race. Tá go leor eile le rá agam ach tá an t-am caite.

Marie Louise O'Donnell (Independent)
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I welcome the Minister of State. There is one element of the budget, which I pointed out to Senator Barrett earlier, which I find deeply disturbing. I am referring to the universal social charge, which we all have on all of our earnings. If one earns between €12,000 and €17,500 one pays 3.5% in universal social charge. If one earns between €17,500 and €70,000 one pays 7%. I find it deeply disturbing that anybody earning €20,000, €21,000, €25,000, €30,000, €31,000, €40,000 or €41,000 pays 7% and if one earns €70,000 one also pays 7%. Where is the progression? Why is this happening? Those earning between €70,000 and €100,000 pay only 8%. If one earns €17,500 or €70,000 one pays 7% universal social charge. This is disgraceful and I would like an explanation as to why this is and why there is not a progression with regard to earnings.

I agree with Senator Craughwell on the abandonment of postgraduate education. I have spoken about it for the past two or three weeks. Postgraduates are being abandoned financially by the Government and then throttled and beggared by the banks which are doubling the interest rates for our young doctors and postgraduates who are running out of the country.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his indulgence. Technically he has five minutes but I suppose we will give him six or seven minutes.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I have 16 pages of notes.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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The difficulty was that when it was agreed to finish this at 6 p.m. nobody opened their mouths. We learn from our mistakes. I would stay here until 8 p.m.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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So would I. I am sure we will be back again, and the discussions on the social welfare Bill and the finance Bill will give us plenty of opportunities to tease out some of the issues raised by Senator O'Donnell and many others. I will endeavour to get through as many as I can.

I thank Senators for their contributions which I have found useful and positive. I also found the constructive criticism to be useful. Senator Bacik and others made the point the budget is modest. It must be modest in its ability to spend additionally and we had to try to target this. There will always be political debate on all sides of the House on whether the Government got it right or wrong, but it is important to note that no Member of this or the other House or the public expected the Government to be in any position this year to increase in spending or alleviate the tax burden.

We find ourselves in a political and budgetary environment in which, if we were all being honest, nobody in the House expected us to find ourselves. In this sense the Government has made an honest effort to begin the process of investing in a targeted manner in the public services we require, which all Senators know are important enough to call for increased investment in them. We must also look at how to begin to reduce the tax burden in a manner which incentivises and rewards work and increases the differential between working and not working, while providing support to those not in a position to work to enable them access work or, should they not be able to, to provide them the standard of living they should be able to expect.

It is now very clear to everybody the economy is in recovery. The budget targets the limited resources available to the best effect to accelerate this recovery, spread throughout the economy and country and provide support to those individuals and families who need it. I am the first to acknowledge we still have a good way to go, but from now on the journey will not be marked by austerity but rather by a debate on how we increase living standards and get more people back to work. This is a debate of which we all want to be part. We all got involved in politics to be involved in this debate. We are now at the point that we can look to have this debate again and ask where do we want the economy to go and how we want to use economic growth to create the society in which we wish to live.

We are very conscious not to return to the errors of the past which wrecked the economy, destroyed jobs and mired the lives of millions of people. We have heard from Senators on all sides about some of the impact of this destruction on the lives of people today. We now know how to restore the public finances and bring the economy back to full health. The Government will not deviate from the path and we will continue to realise these goals.

I want to get through many points but I may not be able to do so. I will start with Senator O'Brien, who made a very constructive and generous contribution, perhaps more constructive and generous than the contribution made by his party's spokesperson in the other House. Senator O'Brien began by acknowledging the positives in the budget. He welcomed the DIRT exemption for first-time buyers and will think about giving up cigarettes. He also raised important policy issues which we can tease out, such as child care. He welcomed the living alone allowance, which is a modest but important payment and an important signal of the intent of the Government. He spoke about a number of health issues. These will be fleshed out by my colleague, the Minister for Health, in the coming weeks and during debates in the House.

Senator Michael D'Arcy spoke about the need for a more realistic health budget. It is important that we have a budget which can realistically be expected to deliver on the desires of the Irish people and on the commitments in the programme for Government, such as free GP care and extending BreastCheck to women up to the age of 69. Senator D'Arcy made a point on the status of DEIS schools and he should take this up with my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills.

The 80,000 people taken out of the universal social charge today and the in excess of 300,000 people who were already outside it, means that in the lifetime of the Government 410,000 people who were paying universal social charge when we came to office no longer pay it. A further 700,000 people will directly benefit from a rate reduction from 41% to 40%. The changes we made to the universal social charge at the higher rate with regard to 8% for those earning more than €70,000 is a signal the Government wants to target the relief at the squeezed middle, which is the colloquial term we now use, by ensuring people earning more than €70,000 do not benefit disproportionately. This is quite important.

People will benefit. There are many people earning €30,000 or €40,000 who are paying the higher rate of tax from €32,800. After today they will not pay it until €33,800 and they will also experience a rate reduction from 41% to 40%. That is not all we want to do. The statement of Government priorities from the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste during the summer is very clear on this and this is just a first step. I take Senator O'Donnell's point about the bands. We will have the Finance Bill and I will raise her concerns with the Minister for Finance and suggest that we can have that discussion on the Finance Bill.

I want to be very clear to Senator Zappone that I am not engaging in self-congratulation. That would be entirely inappropriate - far too many people are unemployed and far too many are in mortgage arrears. It is important to note, however, and I do genuinely feel this point, that when something goes wrong in the country, no matter who is in government, Government gets the blame, and when something goes right in the country, there is a tendency to say "Ah, sure, it would have happened anyway". I do not believe that.

My colleague, the Minister for Finance, has made the point that the economy did not recover by an act of God. I think it recovered for three reasons, so far. As Senator Craughwell has quite eloquently acknowledged, massive credit must go to the Irish people, if one looks at the industrial unrest in other countries, compared with how the Irish people engaged with the Haddington Road or Croke Park agreements and got on with the job, delivering vital public services in tough times. Second, the work that we have done internationally on restructuring our debt is not finished yet, but we have improved the cashflow of the country over the next decade by €40 billion. Whatever one thinks of the promissory note deal, before it was in place the Minister for Finance would have had to sit down and find in excess of €3 billion to give to Anglo Irish Bank.

The third reason is policy. Policies like the 9% VAT rate have been welcomed today. There are also policies like the home renovation incentive scheme and the abolition of the air travel tax. All of this together has got us to this point. I would argue that the tax changes are progressive, for the reasons that I have outlined. When one talks about actual numbers - amounts in people's pockets as opposed to percentages - that is a debate we can continue to have, but we did target these changes at removing as many people as we could from the USC. The process will continue, reducing the higher rate of tax, but targeting it at people on middle incomes. That is quite important.

The issue of mental health was raised by many Senators. My colleague, the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, has secured €35 million for this area. However, I take the point made by Senators van Turnhout and Gilroy, among others, that it is about the delivery of that service. Deputy Lynch feels passionate about this issue and I am sure it will be debated in this House. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform's speech did refer today to the issue of more front-line staff, more psychologists, access to counsellors, and that is something we must flesh out.

Senator Hayden set the budget in context, where we have come from and the point we have reached. She talked about how we have invested €3.1 billion more in the economy through this budget than we thought we ever had. She commented on the "double Irish" issue. It is important to me in my role in relation to the financial services sector that we continue to ensure our economy is competitive to attract more investment. The important factors are rates, regime and reputation. By getting first move, or advantage, on the "double Irish", rather than having the OECD base erosion and profit sharing, BEPS, process drag countries there, Ireland is showing its intent to work with that process and to take a leadership role. I expect other countries with similar practices, be it the "Dutch sandwich" or whatever else, will follow.

The issue of homelessness and social housing, on which Senator Hayden is far more an expert than I am, came up on all sides of the House. We have today seen a major investment. Some Senators wanted to know why we were not doing more or why we were looking at various vehicles. There is a limit to the amount one can do on the Government balance sheet, but the innovative solutions proposed today looking at public private partnerships and a financial vehicle to deliver through affordable housing bodies, constitute a step in the right direction. It is not fair to categorise it as a small step. Some €2.2 billion of an investment is a pretty major step.

The pension levy-----

Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)
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Over three years.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Absolutely over three years. The system probably could not do it over one year. It is €800 million this year.

I also welcome the fact that the pension levy will be abolished at the end of 2015 and reduced to 0.15%. Senator Barrett referenced the need to reform and to continue to reform. He is right that reform is not, and cannot be, something that is only done in years of crisis. This Government, and the Oireachtas as a whole, must be evaluated on how it continues to reform in years of calm. That is why I think, to the credit of my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, the publication of a new comprehensive spending review is important. Spending must be reviewed in times of crisis. When one is fighting an economic fire one must review it, but reviewing it in years when it might be easier not to do so is important. Documentation from all Departments will be published on the website at the end of the week. The point that Senator Healy Eames made regarding greater scrutiny of performance outputs is valid. I hope that documentation will enable Oireachtas committees to continue to play a greater role, and I will discuss it with my colleagues at Cabinet level.

Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)
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I appreciate that.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Reference was made to issue of excise. I welcome the fact that there has not been an increase in excise duties. Many Senators and many Members of the other House raised the need to support one's local. We have talked about economic development outside of Dublin, the role of the pub, particularly the rural pub. In many communities it is more than just a pub, it is a tourism facility or a source of employment. Such pubs have obviously seen significant excise rises over the years of difficulty, so it is important that there is not one today.

There is a reference to the additional 400 Garda cars and ongoing Garda recruitment announced today. We are not just announcing that we are hiring an additional number of gardaí, we are announcing that it is a process we believe we can continue and never return to a situation where there would be no more recruitment or a freeze on recruitment of gardaí.

Many people raised issues about disability and the delivery of health services. The ending of the blanket moratorium is an important moment for this country. Senator Craughwell referenced management in schools. We must put the power back in the hands of people at the front line at a management level. They are paid to manage and are well able to manage. We must present them with an employment budget and tell them to manage it as they see fit. In my own county, services like speech and language therapy and occupational therapy are at crisis point. We must see investment in them, and that involves resources on the ground. The ending of the blanket moratorium will give people that ability.

I found some of the criticism of the budget fair, while some was quite political, and I have tried to avoid this tendency. However, most of the criticism I heard was "You didn't do this" or "You didn't do that" or "You didn't go as far as we would have liked". Much of that is fair. There is probably not a Member on the Government side of this House who would not have liked to see more investment in education, or more investment in health, or further tax reductions on hard-pressed families. Today's budget sends out a message to Irish people that the economic crisis is over. We are not getting complacent - there is much more to do - but we are finished firefighting and we can now talk about how we can work together to grow the economy by 3% into the future and deliver the services we all want. I commend the budget and I look forward to continued debate.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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When is it proposed to sit again?

Ivana Bacik (Independent)
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Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.