Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State to the House. You are most welcome to Seanad Éireann. The Minister of State will speak for ten minutes, group spokespersons for eight minutes and all other Senators for five minutes and the Minister of State will reply not later than 2.50 p.m. The statements will conclude by 3 p.m.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach. I am pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to the debate on budget 2026, which was, of course, presented to the Dáil by the Ministers for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation and Finance yesterday.

Each year, my Department is presented with a finite budget and is tasked with making things better for the people of Ireland. I know this is a cause that we all share and are passionate about. Budget 2026 is fair and inclusive, and has a focus on strategic and long-term priorities while delivering better outcomes for everyone. It has been designed to protect and create employment, supporting and strengthening our growing economy. It provides for and encourages long-term sustainability and sustainable strategic investment in our country and its future.

A key focus of the budget was to support improvements in our public services that deliver for the people of Ireland. We can all see the pressures in public services all around us and the demands on housing, health and education. They are all increasing due to demographic changes and a growing population. We are living longer and families need different types of support. People expect inclusive, integrated and high-quality public services to deliver that. This budget will help to support ambitions in this area.

Budget 2026 will support a social welfare system that protects the most vulnerable people in our society, an education system that supports our students and fosters talent and a health service that improves patient outcomes and supports longevity. As well as improvements to public services, this budget, the first from our new Government, introduces targeted and permanent measures that provide certainty for people, especially those in society who are most vulnerable, in the form of social protection.

As a Government, we are acutely aware of the challenges people face today. The €10 increase in weekly social protection payments will benefit pensioners, people with disabilities, carers, jobseekers and lone parents. Increases to the working family parent income threshold, the expansion of the back-to-school clothing and footwear payment to younger children and the extension of the fuel allowance scheme to everybody availing of the working family payment bring welcome relief for families around the country.

We have also announced a permanent fee reduction in the third level student contribution. The budget provides significant supports for the most vulnerable groups in our society and represents a step forward for people with disabilities and their families. Particularly welcome are significant increases to the carer's allowance income disregard and in the domiciliary care allowance payments to support Ireland's carers who work tirelessly to support loved ones.

To complement that, there is provision in the budget for new residential care placements and day service placements for those who need them. This, along with funding for assessments, home support and personal assistants, will bring welcome relief to those caring for people with disabilities and will support people to live independently in their own homes. These supports, along with additional SNAs and an increased number of teachers working specifically to support students with additional needs, will be welcomed by families around the country, as will the new acute hospital and community beds announced today.

Budget 2026 is a positive budget for our country and builds on the revised €275 billion national development plan announced in July. The Government is focused on investing in infrastructure, such as housing, schools, healthcare facilities, water, energy, public transport and our roads network, that is critical to our economy and essential to providing for our growing population. It connects communities, powers economies and ensures access to essential services. The allocations for infrastructure in budget 2026 will ensure that every corner of Ireland benefits from modern and efficient public assets.

This infrastructure is also essential to our efforts to tackle issues around housing delivery. Having a place to call our own is essential for well-being, providing shelter, stability, safety and certainty. Housing is one of the most challenging issues in our society. So many people, couples and families are struggling to find secure and affordable homes. The Government has prioritised housing delivery in this budget in order to provide more homes for our people.

Naturally, more housing requires more water, energy and public transport, as well as education and health facilities. In addition to supporting infrastructure, the budget supports the delivery of thousands of new build social homes and the second-hand acquisition programme. A new housing activation infrastructure fund will support the recently announced housing activation office. This significant investment in housing will benefit people, couples, families and young people for generations to come. We are also investing in sustainability. Retrofitting homes, supporting energy upgrades, enhancing public transport and investing in our greenways are all part of our commitment to tackling climate change and securing our shared future.

Budget 2026 has been delivered against a backdrop of trade and geopolitical uncertainty, but our economy continues to grow and has shown remarkable resilience despite these challenges. Investment in digitalisation will help us to upskill our young people with the skills they will need in the workforce of not just today but tomorrow, supporting a strong digital economy. This budget has been developed to strengthen our economic resilience, build an adaptable enterprise sector and support local businesses which, along with the agrifood sector, are the cornerstone and lifeblood of communities across the country.

The pandemic brought home to many of us the place that artists, writers and athletes play in society and our hearts. Imagine going through that time without books, the media or music. Sport is also a key part of our incredible heritage and culture. Watching our athletes punch above their weight and deliver outstanding performances on a global stage is something we are all so proud to see. Allocations made in the area of culture, heritage and sport will continue to support the development of cultural and sporting initiatives and ensure we can continue to invest in our culture and heritage and in the artists, writers and athletes who inspire us and the tourism and cultural activities and initiatives that showcase Ireland to the world. I was delighted the basic income for the arts scheme has been so successful, as I am sure it will continue to be going forward.

As well as our culture and heritage, we can be very proud of Ireland's reputation as a peaceful, fair and welcoming country. Reflecting on our role in Europe and, indeed, our position globally, I am endlessly grateful to the men and women of our Defence Forces who work to safeguard Ireland's security, peacefulness and stability. Our allocation to the Defence Forces demonstrates our ongoing commitment to ensure that Ireland remains a safe and secure place to call home. Allocations to justice will support the recruitment of additional staff in our Prison Service, as well as trainee gardaí who work tirelessly to build stronger and safer communities across Ireland.

This budget sets out an inclusive and compelling vision of a thriving country where enterprise can flourish and people can feel valued. Its implementation will make an impact on the lives of all of those who are proud to call our nation home. It provides for long-term investment in Ireland's infrastructure and public services, building foundations for a strong shared future.It is important in these divisive times that we purposefully work collaboratively to create a fairer and better shared future for ourselves, our children and generations to come, not just investing in today but planning for the Ireland of tomorrow. With that in mind, I conclude my address and look forward to engaging with Senators.

Cathal Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for joining us. On behalf of the Fine Gael Party, we support the proposed budget. I listened carefully yesterday to both Ministers, Deputies Donohoe and Chambers, when they outlined this budget and the proposals around it. When I consider the key priorities a budget should be measured against, I think of safeguarding the economy, supporting families, improving access to vital public services like education, health and disability services, prioritising those most in need and, most of all, delivering the key infrastructure necessary for the economy and the people of this country, including in the area of housing. This budget does exactly that. It is the first of five budgets under the new programme for Government and makes sure those key areas are prioritised.

I will speak about a number of the key measures included in this budget. There is a €2 billion package of social protection measures to deliver help with the cost of living including a €10 increase in pensions, carer's allowance, disability, illness and other social protection payments. This includes the carer's allowance means test disregard being increased from €375 for a single person or €750 for a couple up to €1,000 and €2,000, respectively. This is an important measure that perhaps has not got the publicity it deserves. The Government is committed to abolishing the means test for the carer's allowance. This is an important step toward that over the next four budgets out of five in total. There will be an increase of 65 cent in the minimum wage to €14.15 per hour, the highest minimum wage ever and the 12th such increase under Fine Gael in government. I also think of housing, with new total capital funding for housing of €5.2 billion, in addition to the Land Development Agency and approved housing bodies, to deliver 25,000 new homes, public housing and a new starter home programme. If we want to get to grips with the housing issues we have, we must put in place a starter home programme that allows couples and individuals to buy their first home and get their foot on the property ladder. That is why it is so important to have schemes like the help-to buy-scheme which supports first-time buyers to get the taxes they paid over the previous four years back to count as a deposit towards their first home.

In rural Ireland, an area which is so important in my area of Wexford, farm tax reliefs, including the stamp duty young trained farmer relief, capital gains tax, stamp duty farm consolidation relief and an extension to the accelerated capital allowance for slurry storage, ensure sufficient measures are taken to reflect that we have an ageing group of farmers. We must support the next generation in taking up vital roles for farming in rural Ireland.

In justice, there will be an increase of €200 million in 2026 for a total spend of €6.2 billion, including €77 million to recruit 1,000 new gardaí and 200 new civilian staff to free up gardaí from behind desks to get out on the beat and on the front line. With an increasing population, we have to recruit more gardaí. This budget provides the necessary funding to support the recruitment processes in place.

There is a permanent €500 cut in college fees, reducing them to €2,500. Many families have asked me what are we doing about the student contribution fee. The Government has committed to a permanent cut, the first across the next four budgets, resulting in a permanent reduction for families accessing third level education. It is important that we support students and people who want to go to college. This is a permanent cut, not taking away from the temporary measures introduced during the cost-of-living crisis at the onset of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Backing business and protecting jobs, the hospitality VAT rate will be reduced to 9% to protect 191,000 jobs in small businesses from 1 July, 2026.

There is an increase in the total spend on disability services of 20%, funding them for an additional 90,000 people. I meet families affected by some of the inability to access services for their loved ones who have a disability. It is so important this investment is put in for next year for greater access to disability services.

There is also additional funding in support of the post office network. There is €18 million to make the basic arts programme permanent. There is a new capital funding programme for the arts and culture and existing capital funding programmes under the sports capital grant scheme, including an additional €5 million for TG4.

As this is the first of five budgets, there are measures I would like to see implemented. I look forward to continuing to raise them in this Chamber.

In preparation for this debate, I had a look at the budget measures and proposals of the Opposition parties. I saw in the Sinn Féin proposal, running to 50 pages, no mention of supporting jobs. Instead, there are 23 new tax increases and an attack on the foreign direct investment sector by removing employer PRSI share-based remuneration. If Sinn Féin were serious about supporting so many jobs in the foreign direct investment sector, it would not propose these measures. It also wants a reduction in pension tax relief for workers, making it hard for them to save for the future, having already voted against the auto-enrolment scheme specifically designed to help workers without an occupational pension to get one.

I looked at the Labour Party's pre-budget submission document, its alternative budget. I saw 33 tax increases and an increase in inheritance tax of 3% which I simply could not believe. Hard-working families passing on what they have earned to the next generation are penalised by the Labour Party's proposal for a 3% increase in inheritance tax. The party also proposes to scrap the help-to-buy scheme, making it harder for first-time buyers to gather a deposit. The alternative budget of the Social Democrats proposes 24 new taxes, attacks foreign direct investment by removing tax credits and penalises access to jobs by increasing employer PRSI.

I am happy to support this budget. This is the first of five. I do not support the proposals of the Opposition. It is important the House is made aware of them. There is plenty more work to be done but I commend this budget to the House.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I welcome the Minister of State. I thank her for her commitment to come to the House this afternoon. She is always welcome. I also thank her staff. We sometimes forget that behind all good Ministers and Departments are good staff who give technical support to the Minister of State and others in the formation of any budget. That is a key component of the process.

I acknowledge the publication of The Budget in Brief: Your Guide to Budget 2026. Talking about budgets, if we had the resources, it should be in every household. I took the liberty of sending the link to hundreds of people last night. It touches on issues. It does not cover all of them or drill down on many of the specifics but it gives heading you can chase up.

I welcome many aspects, and I want my contribution to be as positive as it can, but I also want to point out some concerns I have. I recognise the importance of the national development plan and the critical roll-out of infrastructure for housing, the economy, employment, sustainability and all of that.We can talk all we like about housing but we need to see the Government's Housing for All or some iteration of its housing policy. That continues to be pushed back and back. I know the Minister of State is not the Minister with responsibility so I do not expect her to reply, but it is about time we saw the new national housing policy or document that the Government intends to operate and roll out for its term in office.

I acknowledge the very significant work of the Parliamentary Budget Office, PBO. Those who had an opportunity to meet its staff today will have found the engagement very meaningful. They do an extraordinary body of work. One of the great things about a democratic parliament such as ours is that we have this independent validation, scrutiny and analysis of the finances of Government budgets. Yesterday the office completed work in a timely fashion, and I acknowledge that. The role and functions of the PBO and its objective are to advise the Oireachtas - not Ministers, not Departments but Oireachtas Members. That is important.

I wish to raise a number of issues with the Minister of State on the budget. I will not go into the detail. She is the Minister of State. She is in government. She knows the budget. The PBO, however, emphasises a number of issues. In chapter 6 of its analysis, it refers to the budgetary policy as "A Weak Evidence Base":

Informed policy-making involves the production of research and the accumulation of evidence to support decision-making. Politicians are required to weigh various considerations when determining what policies to pursue, it is therefore important that they be supported in this process ...

• It does not support an evidence-based policy approach which should be at the heart of policy analysis and development.
• It does not indicate the space available for new measures being undertaken. [This is our budget, the budget laid before the House.]
• It makes Budget scrutiny more difficult for members of ... the Oireachtas or the public in general.
• The lack of consistency in reporting ELS makes year on year analysis difficult.
• It does not enable medium- and long-term planning with on the trajectory of public expenditure and considerations around the sustainability of ... [our] public finances.

The PBO reiterates its recommendations made in its Pre-Budget 2026, and now makes an additional recommendation of reintroducing ELS estimates.

• Reintroducing ELS estimates in Budget documentation to provide clarity on the available space for new measures.
• The publication of a comprehensive official methodology for estimating required increases in ELS components.
• The integration of such transparent evidence-based ELS estimates into the annual budget process.
• The consistent presentation of ELS estimates, with clear breakdowns of components in the Budget Expenditure Reports.
• Comparing these long-term expenditure projections with long-term revenue projections in order to assess the long-term fiscal sustainability of ... [our] Public Finances.

Shane Curley (Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as ucht a bheith anseo. I will focus almost exclusively on the education side of the budget today. Before I do, there are three quick comments I want to make. First, I received hugely positive feedback from postmasters around the country last night and this morning on the measures in the budget to support our rural post offices in remote, isolated, rural areas or in smaller villages and towns around Ireland. It is a hugely positive step and has been very much welcomed by the postmasters of Ireland.

An dara rud ná an méadú sa mhaoiniú atá ar fáil don Ghaeilge mar theanga. Tá sé sin thar a bheith dearfach. Tá go leor le déanamh againn maidir leis an teanga ach, ag an am céanna, tá mé an-sásta leis an méadú a chonaiceamar inné maidir leis an nGaeilge.

Third, as has been mentioned, the €117 million in additional funding for local government is hugely positive. It sends out the signal that if people want to be a county or city councillor in Ireland and want to get involved at local government level, like I was for almost six years, there is funding there to give them a meaningful role and to make sure they are in charge of a budget that really looks after local people in local communities around this country. I welcome that. We have a huge amount of work to do to give the relevant powers back to councillors at local area and to trust them with roles at local government level, but yesterday was a huge step in the right direction. It is a huge increase, and I really welcome it.

Going back to education, I will go through some of the highlights I found from yesterday's budget that I, as a former teacher, or someone who worked in the education sector for nearly 14 years in some capacity or other, really welcome. There are a lot. There is room for improvement and constructive follow-on work in the years to come, but for the next 12 months there is a huge amount that I welcome, particularly the 1,717 extra SNAs we have funded. That is hugely positive. I really welcome it. It is a step in the right direction. It does not fully solve the problem. Particularly, I would like to see more funding into the training and the on-site work experience that people in ECCE courses get when they are in college in order that they see the SNA role as something to move on to and to aspire to. There is work to do, but it is hugely welcome. I think the unions have welcomed it as well.

One of the stand-out measures in yesterday's budget - and we were all lobbied, I presume, by the INTO at different stages over the past few months - is the €50 increase in the capitation grant. It does not fully solve the problem. At €274 per pupil, it does not fully bridge the gap, but it is a massive step in the right direction. It is one of the biggest increases I have ever seen in a single year and it has to be welcomed. While the INTO always will do what is best for students and strive to make sure that that is at the optimum level, €274 has to be welcomed in some capacity, and there is positivity towards that.Again, I was lobbied at length by the TUI and ASTI. Both bodies nominated me for the Seanad. They pushed for the capitation grant. An increase of €20 is probably not enough but it is a step in the right direction. We have more to do.

The Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, bringing in €16 million extra funding for therapies on site in special schools is really important. When I was a teacher I saw the implications for a child when he or she was taken out of his or her normal routine and sent anything between 30 km and 50 km to the nearest centre to receive special needs therapies. Having therapies on site will be a game-changer for some of those people. It is really important that we roll out that service aggressively in the years to come and expand it into special needs classes at mainstream level. The measure is a really good step in the right direction.

The Minister of State mentioned inclusive public services. Yesterday, we saw 860 additional teachers in the special education setting. It is a huge step in the right direction and, again, hugely welcomed by the unions. I spoke to representatives of both unions last night and this morning and they hugely welcomed the development. We must now have more inclusive options for students with special needs in mainstream education and I will give two examples that are a niche core issue right now. Some children with special needs can find it very hard to access the subjects of art and music at second level. We need more teachers for those subjects so that children with special needs can strive to be students in those classrooms and ensure there is no barrier ever for disabilities. We could work on that. Again, there will be another 860 additional teachers in special education settings. We cannot complain too much about that. It is a really good step in the right direction.

On higher education, the Minister, Deputy Lawless, put a really good stamp on yesterday's budget with a 17% reduction in apprenticeship contributions. That is a really positive step. It shows that the Minister is attuned to the issues we have with the shortage of apprentices and is trying to make this country more attractive for apprentices. As I have said ad nauseamboth in this Chamber and when attending committees, there seems to have been an obsession in this country with attaining a level 8 degree. We need to ensure that apprenticeships are seen as just another normal thing to do or a really good thing to aspire to. We need really high quality craft apprenticeships and other apprenticeships all around the country. I attended the expo that took place in the RDS three weeks ago and it was an unbelievable day. It just shows the range of apprenticeships that are out there and that I was not even fully sure existed. There are so many apprenticeships and a 17% reduction in apprenticeship contributions is really positive.

On the €500 reduction in the student contribution fee, I heard the back and forth yesterday both in the media and in the Chamber that it is not a reduction but an increase. It is not. For the first time in years a Minister has said to parents that they have certainly next August that they do not face a potential fee or charge of €3,000 but rather a charge of €2,500, that we understand they are under pressure and that we are permanently reducing the stresses they face by €500. That, in my opinion, is hugely positive. Yes, the cost could be lowered more but parents have been crying out for certainty and now they have it, which I welcome.

Another example that the Government has listened and learned is the €1 million for student mental health. The Government understands that there is a huge need for investment in a broad range of areas that affect students in Ireland. Again, I really welcome the allocation.

The allocation of €3 million for disability supports at third level is a massive investment and is really positive. There is an awful lot we could do better and we will go into it at committee meetings and in this Chamber when we have the relevant Ministers in, but yesterday we got it right in a lot of cases. I really welcome an awful lot of those measures that I have just gone through. The Minister of State has done a really good job, along with the Minister, Deputy Chambers, and the Minister, Deputy Donohoe. I can stand over an awful lot of what was in the budget yesterday. There is a lot more to do but we have done an awful lot of good with yesterday's budget.

Pauline Tully (Sinn Fein)
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I want to raise a number of issues concerning yesterday's budget and the first issue concerns childcare. We know we have more then 40,000 children in need of a childcare place now. I regularly have parents on the phone to me or they come into my office crying because they cannot find a childcare place, particularly for young babies and children up to the age of two, which means they cannot return to work. The situation affects people across the board. The Government has proposed that there will be extensions to schools and community centres to address this. I really do not understand this proposal. How long will such work take? I ask because childcare places are urgently needed. We know of schools that require additional classrooms at the moment and they are being held up by the building section in the Department for months and maybe years. I am not sure about using community centres and the idea behind that. I can see the sense of combining schools with preschool education. There needs to be more collaboration and co-operation between those two sectors, but I do not feel the proposal will address what is a very urgent problem at the moment. I believe that expanding the building blocks scheme would have been much better for existing providers to allow them purchase existing buildings and renovate them. The scheme would also deal with the large degree of vacancy in many of towns, villages and communities.

On education, the programme for Government contains a commitment to reduce the pupil-teacher ratio. We have one of the highest pupil-teacher ratios in all of Europe yet this has not been addressed in this year's budget. There was talk about reducing the pupil-teacher ratio to 19:1. Many classrooms have more than 30 students which is not fair on teachers or students. It is particularly not fair on students who may have an additional need and are in mainstream and trying to keep up. It is increasingly difficult to do so in a large classroom setting. I know not all classes are the same and that class size depends on the number of students and their ages, but there needs to be an effort made across the board to reduce the ratio to benefit all of the school community.

On the school capitation grant, yes, there is a €50 increase for primary schools and a €20 increase for post-primary schools, but it is not sufficient and falls short of what is needed. There are increasing costs, years of underfunding in the sector, the cost-of-living package for schools is off the table and, increasingly, schools must go to the financial support services unit for assistance. Therefore, the budget allocation will not address the needs of schools and the chronic underfunding of schools.

I welcome having therapies provided in schools. That is the right way to go. I would love to have more detail on that and how quickly it will be rolled out because, again, that is an urgent need. We know that the CDNTs and the primary care sectors are not working at the moment because they do not have the staff to provide the services that children need to benefit in life and in school. Given children spend most of their day in the school setting, having therapies on site would be a really good idea. I have advocated for this for years, as the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, knows because we were on the disability committee together and we discussed this very often. Having therapies in school is the right way to go, but it is how quickly we can do that. Where are the therapists going to come from? They cannot be found to fill vacancies in the disabilities sector in the community. I will guarantee that people will perhaps prefer to work in a school environment than in those teams because, unfortunately, due to being understaffed, it makes those teams a very difficult place to work and many people are not opting to work in those. I want to see the proposal working.

We had statements on school transport last week and I know there is mention of increasing capacity by 100,000 by 2030. There was no increase this year and there is no increase for next year, by the looks of things. There were 173,000 students accommodated this year and 170,000 places were mentioned during the budget debate, so we are perhaps talking about a little less, but I presume the number is in or around the same, but there is no increased capacity. We really need to see that increased capacity to facilitate students to get to school and get them into the good habit of using buses and public transport.

I would love to hear more details about the DEIS+ plan. Will applications for DEIS be reopened? There are many schools that do not have DEIS status and it is very hard to understand why because their neighbouring school does and it is the same area and same profile. Such schools would welcome another opportunity to apply for DEIS status.

On disability, all of the main disability organisations have expressed their disappointment with the budget. All of them advocated for a cost-of-disability payment. That has not been provided. A sum of €10 per week is not sufficient to address the significant needs. The price of groceries and energy continues to rise. There are no one-off payments this year. Ms Joan Carthy from the Irish Wheelchair Association has indicated that people will be on average over €1,600 worse off this year because of this budget, and that is very concerning. I know there has been an increase in funding for services, and that is long overdue. Again, I would like to see the detail on that and how much of that will address increasing costs and wage increases. Not all disabled people avail of services so the provision will not benefit everybody in the disability community. Again, the detail is important to realise how much the provision will have an impact on people.I welcome the permanent reduction of €500 in the student contribution fee, but it is still less than last year's reduction of €1,000. That is still going to impact students who are finding it very difficult to cope because student accommodation is chronic at this stage. How much investment is going into student-specific accommodation in universities including our technological universities, which are crying out for student accommodation. They are very willing to provide it, but they do not have the funding to do so. They need to get the ability to borrow to do so.

There has been a reduction in the budget for the drugs task force from €11.6 million to €8.7 million. That is extremely disappointing. The funding increased last year to €11.6 million from approximately €8 million and it is really disappointing to see it slashed. It is lower now than it was 20 years ago. Sinn Féin has committed to providing €21.7 million in its alternative budget. We need to address this problem. There are people with chronic drug problems who want support and help to get away from drugs. It is having an impact on society. We need to invest in people and communities.

Like the disability area, the breakdown of funding for health is a little bit unclear. I presume it will become clearer. A total of 220 beds for next year is half what is needed. We need to invest more in hospitals and the beds that are required.

There does not seem to be clear funding for a number of strategies. I hope I am wrong about that. There is a national strategy for cancer, cardiovascular disease and stroke, and rare diseases. It would save money in the long term if money was put into these strategies and if a lot more work was done to create awareness and put preventative measures in place because people would not end up in hospital and they would be able to get the care they need.

Again, no funding seems to have been provided for women's health and endometriosis. Perhaps it has been; I hope it has been. I would like to see much more investment in that area and also for children's spinal health.

My final point is on the reduction of €500 million in rural development funding. That is very disappointing. It will adversely affect rural areas.

Laura Harmon (Labour)
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I now call on Senator Cosgrove. I believe she is sharing time with Senator Noonan. They have four minutes each. Is that agreed? Agreed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Malcolm Noonan (Green Party)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I reiterate the point made by my colleague about the cut in the VAT rate to 9%. I would question giving a handout to Starbucks when many of our small, independent businesses are in real trouble. A targeted scheme such as a rates rebate for smaller businesses would have been more effective.

I welcome the commitment to make the basic income scheme a permanent one. It was introduced by my colleague the then Minister, Catherine Martin.

I wish to speak briefly to the areas within my remit as my party's spokesperson for nature, heritage, agriculture and the marine. In particular, I want to focus on the non-commitment of the moneys that were supposed to be there for the nature fund. They seem to be gone. They disappeared from the national development plan announcement earlier this year and they are not in the budget. While there is additional money for the ACRES scheme, I cannot see money anywhere for the nature restoration fund. Where is the money to restore nature going to come from? Farmers are going to walk away from this process unless the money is there.

I welcome the general uplift in the nature budget. I would like to have a breakdown of the funding provided because there is some disparity between the Department's announcement of €256 million versus €196 million in the Vote in the budget pack.

The additional funding for the National Parks and Wildlife Service is welcome but we have to remember that this is an organisation that is now twice the size it was in 2020. It also has two new national parks, a lot more nature reserves and a lot of land that we have purchased in recent years. The NPWS has to implement a national nature restoration plan and make serious commitments on the protection of our habitats and species right across the country.

A seriously worsening water quality situation has been highlighted by the Lady's Island case and also the devastating fish kill in the Blackwater. Where is the extra money and funding to implement the water action plan?

Is there a funding commitment for the national biodiversity data centre. I do not see it there.

The Heritage Council has received a 3% uplift. That will seriously impact its ability to deliver on programmes and its very popular community grant schemes. The budgets for the built and archaeological heritage services and the national monuments services have both remained virtually static. The uplift there was very small, despite the huge increase in demand for services and traditional skills, as part of the community monuments fund and the various grant schemes the council administers.

Earlier this morning a number of us, including the Acting Chair, met with Jude Sherry and Frank O'Connor outside the gates of Leinster House. They were there to mark World Vacant Homes Day.There are enough houses in this country to meet quite a lot of the demand that is there, in public housing and housing generally. I welcome the moving of the collection of the residential zone land tax to Revenue. That was brought forward in a Bill the cross-party group brought here earlier this year. I welcome that and the living cities initiative but simply not enough is being done to tackle vacancy and dereliction. There is certainly not enough in the budget to meet the commitment to try to unlock the potential in the tens of thousands of vacant properties right across the country.

Lynn Ruane (Independent)
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Before I make two points on the budget, I want to bookend my contribution with something to frame it and keep in mind. Earlier I read a document produced by the Parliamentary Budget Office's economic modelling and policy costing unit that looks at the impact of the budget, including the announced increases in current spending of €6.1 billion, capital spending of €2 billion and a tax package of €1.3 billion. It analyses how the changes to taxes and social welfare policy announced as part of budget 2026 will affect households and focuses on the distributional implications, namely, how the announced policies will affect low- and middle-income households.

I am going to highlight one of the most important and concerning paragraphs from that analysis. I caveat it by saying we can announce increases but sometimes we have to look at the policy intention or the bureaucratic barriers that come with some increases and may cause unintended consequences, which I will go into later when I speak specifically to the carer's allowance budget. The Parliamentary Budget Office document states:

Our key finding highlights that the full winding down of cost-of-living supports in Budget 2026 will significantly impact low-income households, equivalent to an average decrease in annual income of 4.4% for the poorest ten per cent of households and 3.9% for the next poorest ten per cent, while middle-income households see a decrease of 1.3% on average. Income losses among low-income households leads to a rise in income poverty rates ...

Effectively, the Parliamentary Budget Office is saying is there is going to be a rise in poverty, based on its budget analysis. It states that poverty rates will rise "from 11.5% in 2024 to a forecast level of 13.2% in 2025 and 12.6% in 2026" and that "a rise in income poverty is evident for the elderly (those aged over 64), rising from 13.3% in 2024, to a forecast 19.0% in 2025 and 17.6% in 2026." Child poverty is also set to rise, according to its analysis, from 15.3% in 2024 to a forecast 16.1% in 2025 and 15.6% in 2026.

It is really concerning to read that level of analysis of the budget. Sometimes we can get caught up talking about increases and saying it is great that there will be an increase here or there, but this analysis takes in the whole picture and is saying something very different. I wonder what that says about class and poverty analysis, as well as poverty impact assessments of budgets, or how budget decisions actually play out in real terms in real-life scenarios.

One real scenario relates to the carer's allowance budget proposal. The increase in the income disregard of €375 to €1,000 for a single person seems very positive, as does the increase of €750 to €2,000 for a couple, but we have to take account of the bureaucratic barriers that exist within the criteria for that. The regulation provides that carers can be in employment or attend education or training for a maximum of 18.5 hours. To avail of the increase, therefore, of up to €1,000 for a single person within the regulated 18.5 hours, those who will be eligible for such an increase are those who already fall into a bracket where they may have had the opportunity of getting a higher level education and did not take up lower paid and low-skilled, manual jobs. What we are actually seeing is the opposite of the desired effect on a single-parent household or someone who does not have the skills required to earn €54 an hour, according to our calculations.

The carer I spoke to in relation to this is not a position to earn €54 an hour for 18.5 hours' work. That is a policy question; it is not even a budgetary one. We need the Minister of State to go back to the Minister, Deputy Calleary, and say we need to remove the 18.5-hour cap. That measurement need not exist within the policy. Instead, the policy should be about the sum someone can earn, not the number of hours they can earn it within. If we remove the number of hours someone can earn it within, we will increase the opportunity for single-parent households to increase their workload to 24 or 25 hours a week. Another thing that affects these households is that it also includes voluntary work and education. If a single parent wants to engage in further education or gain a degree so that she can fall into that higher bracket of earning €54 per hour, she cannot do that while also working for 18.5 hours a week because her education will be counted in those 18.5 hours.

There is still time to be able to have that very serious discussion to see if we can remove that 18.5-hour cap before this budget comes into effect so that we do not end up widening the gap between carers. They are already such a disadvantaged and vulnerable group as a whole without us creating further gaps and barriers between them depending on their educational attainment or their capacity to earn a certain type of wage. I hope the Minister of State can bring that back to the appropriate Minister.

In my last few seconds, I want to home in on the DEIS+ band 1 piece. There is no detail on it. I hope some emerges over the next few weeks because it is very important that we see some detail on that. The differences between what is needed at primary and post primary within that DEIS plus band is, as the Minister of State knows, significant. Primary schools may be looking for different supports, such as occupational therapists and other types of support hours, while at post-primary level it is essential that DEIS+ include a deputy principal so that principals can actually be involved in those targeted responses. It is something that post-primary principals in those DEIS+ band 1 areas have specifically called for. Sometimes we put a figure on how many students a school has to have to be able to avail of something, but it needs to be seen as the need of the school . The schools in DEIS+ band 1 are already vulnerable. It should be based on need and not on the number of students in the school.

Laura Harmon (Labour)
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I welcome our guests in the Gallery. I see Deputy Gary Gannon is also there. They are all very welcome.

Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for being here and giving us the opportunity to speak on yesterday's budget. I welcome and support it. A lot of good work has been done within it, starting with the carers. While I am absolutely not taking away from what Senator Ruane said, I think the Government had good intentions. A positive signal that we are going in the right direction is the increase in the income disregard from €625 to €1,000 for a single person and from €1,250 to €2,000 for a couple.That is really welcome. I totally understand the point about being on an RSS, CE or Tús scheme, that it has to be 20 hours. Someone will not qualify at 18.5 hours. I totally understand where the Senator is going on that and her contribution is very valid.

In the little time I have, I will focus on the OPW. I was absolutely delighted to see a 27% increase in its budget related to flooding. Coming from where I do in east Galway – and we do not need climate change all the time – back in 2016 we were nearly a constituency under water. The Minister of State, Deputy “Boxer” Moran, with the support of the two senior Ministers, has an increase of 27%. That increase will bring the budget up to about €130 million, which will mean more schemes can be brought onstream. When considering the number of schemes waiting to happen as well as the small minor works that the local authorities are trying to access, that funding is really welcome. Ring-fencing of carbon tax money of €558 million for the SEAI is very welcome. That is another measure to help with energy poverty. Hopefully the €3.5 billion for ESB Networks and Eirgrid will go some way to addressing our capital infrastructure piece that is badly required.

What has been achieved in social protection has been mentioned a few times. It was targeted and it is more sustainable and more permanent rather than the once-off measures. The increase in the weekly child support payment and the family working payment are not once-off. They are permanent, every week and it means families can plan. That was the Government’s intention in putting this budget together.

I was a little surprised by Senator Tully's comment on capacity within childcare. I am surprised because I also read the Sinn Féin prebudget submission on childcare. Its capital piece was cut back from €345 million in last year’s election budget to €200 million this year. When trying to build and add capacity, €200 million will not go very far. I welcome that the national childcare scheme has been expanded to cover another 35,000 children and there will be another 8,400 children in the ECCE programme. Additional funding is being set aside for that under the AIMs.

The Minister of State, Deputy Butler achieved an additional €26 million non-pay for mental health. I understand 300 whole-time equivalent posts have been allocated for mental health services. She has very clearly set out how she plans to spend and invest in it in her submission, placing crisis support nursing in all nine model 4 hospital emergency departments and establishing three new crisis resolution teams for areas with model 3 hospitals as well as Traveller mental health and suicide prevention initiatives. Drugs funding got an increase of €11 million across a number of different strands. That is welcome but more needs to be invested in the drugs area.

In my last 40 seconds I will wear my cynical hat. It is wonderful how the Ministers work so hard to achieve budgets, and we do welcome them, but they are only as good as how they are operationalised. That is the sad reality of it. You are only as good as the team on the ground that will put it in. Unfortunately, in the disability sector, it takes far too long for the funding that has been secured to meet the families. If we want to be very open and transparent with everybody. We need to provide the timelines for when the money will drop. In disability, will it be in June? Will it be March? Will it be next September in childcare? People do not ask much but they like to know the truth. They like to know when it is happening, when it will be in their pocket and when they will feel the benefit. Timelines would be great. A step change is also required from some of the organisations delivering funding to the people on the front line.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State and I also welcome the budget announced yesterday. There was €5.2 billion for housing and 25,000 new homes. The €130 million for the housing adaption grant and €140 million for retrofitting of social housing are really welcome. On the expansion of the living cities initiative, it is something we have had in Limerick for some years and it has been a really positive scheme. I would love to see more people avail of it. There was a lot of red tape around it in terms of things like fire escapes and different things which are really important but we need to look at the red tape, which was curtailing people from using it. The VAT cut for residential apartments was described as elitist and a policy where we were looking after our friends but if we do not build apartments, people will not have housing. That is the fact. We need to do something to incentivise people to build them. On farm tax relief, there is €2.3 billion, including for TB eradication and tillage. Farm tax relief to young farmers is very positive because we need to encourage people to get involved.

The justice budget is €6.2 billion, an increase of €200 million. We will see 1,000 more gardaí which I hope will lead to more feet on the street. In the previous allocation we received ten gardaí and we received a further ten and that has increased. People are starting to comment on seeing gardaí on the streets, which is really important. The 200 additional civilian staff will also relieve gardaí of desk duties to get them out on the street. That is to be welcomed. There is also €90 million for overtime, which will help put gardaí on the street. There is €11.5 million for domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. We have ADAPT House and Thomond House, which do wonderful work, and there are many other place around the country that do similar. I really welcome the increase in money for them.

On childcare, there is €64 million for childcare places and an increase of 35,000 extra children. It is really to be welcomed but I agree with Senator Rabbitte. We would love to know when exactly it will start. I note the increase in medical and nursing training with 1,100 extra places. On the health budget, I welcome there will be 300 extra people for mental health services and the €8.9 million for cancer care. The number of people diagnosed with cancer is going up every year so the increase there is important. The increase in medical places at third level is really important too. As well as the doctors and nurses coming from other countries it is also good to have our own homegrown doctors. Many of them are walking into jobs when they qualify.

There are many more issues and I have only a limited time. I welcome the money for postmasters to keep many of our small rural post offices open. I welcome the extra 2,000 people who will be eligible for the basic income for the arts scheme. There is also investment in sports. They were talking about elite sports as well as football and about elite athletes. There is something that should also be looked at, which I have previously raised, namely the referees who are also elite sportspeople. They get no tax relief whereas those playing on the pitch do. All the referees were probably elite athletes at one stage too. It needs to be looked at. There is only a small handful of people who could be brought into this category and it would not have a huge impact on the budget.

I firmly support the 9% VAT rate cut. I know it has been said that we are supporting takeaway places but a lot of those places employ 3,000 and 4,000 people.That is nothing to be sneezed at. We cannot give it to one and not to the other. The 9% VAT rate has to be across the board for all businesses, especially small businesses. Many of those businesses are small.

Joe Conway (Independent)
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I am of an age, unusually in the Chamber today, that I sat in a family huddle around the wireless and listened to the early broadcasts of the budget on Radio Éireann. It has been a spectator sport for me ever since those early days. I am always struck by how the budget is presented. It is sort of a spectator sport in many ways because proponents of the Government laud it and opponents of the Government execrate it. As in many things in life, the truth lies somewhere in between. That is how I view the budget presented yesterday. As somebody once said, it is a bit like Brighton Pier - it is good insofar as it goes but it is a very poor way of getting to France. There are many measures in the budget I am pleased with. I will enumerate some of them. Táim an-sásta leis an méid tacaíochta atá tugtha don Ghaeilge. Cuirim fáilte roimhe sin ach nílim iomlán sásta leis. Tá i bhfad níos mó gur féidir a dhéanamh ar an gcás sin.

I am pleased to see the increase in the capitation grant to primary schools. The Waterford city INTO branch secretary emailed me this morning and said it is a step in the right direction, whereas I look back at the funding for primary education when I was serving in the trenches and the support in capitation was almost at Third World levels. The capitation grant increase in the past 20 years has been significant. Yesterday's increase is significant but do not forget we are operating off a very low base with primary school education supported hugely by parental efforts, scrabbling and scratching around in the local pennies to try to make a fist of the service. It is good to see that increase. I am delighted to see the increase in Garda recruitment and additional recruitment in the Defence Forces but, and this is a significant "but", psychologists talk about the human propensity to self-delude. Governments are guilty of that, as is most of humanity. When talking about Garda and Defence Forces recruitment, the Government is self-deluding. That is not the crux of the problem. We can recruit but the problem is retention. Unless measures are taken to pay these people and support them in their work, retention will mean it is all saothar in aisce. It is labour in vain because the people in whom we will invest so much money in recruiting will be gone within a few years and we will be back in the same trench again.

On postmasters, I am delighted to see money is available to help out a quintessential part of the local infrastructure in rural Ireland, which is welcome. Tá an t-am ag scaradh uaim anois. In line with Senator Boyhan, I have reservations about how existing levels of service are reported and projected in the budget. It is back to the human ability to self-delude. It gives me cause for concern about the budget that we do not seem to be able to conquer our delusion that our population is ageing rapidly and there are going to be significant demands on the budget. The projected existing levels of service have not really been addressed. There will be huge problems for budgets in the next ten years. Nobody is addressing the elephant in the room of our ageing population. I supported far more budgets in my 21 years in local government that I voted against. If I was to be asked to go through a division lobby in respect of this budget, I would probably pinch my nose and vote "Tá". All in all, some good work has been done but there is a heck of a lot more to do.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State and thank her for coming in to engage with us on the public expenditure side of the budget. Before I talk about some of the issues, I would like to put on record that the total spend is €109.3 billion. The projected source of that money for next year include: income tax, €38.8 billion; corporation tax, €34.06 billion; VAT, €23.6 billion; excise duties, €6.7 billion; stamp duties, €2 billion; capital gains taxes, €2.1 billion; and other taxes of €2.4 billion. That includes motor tax of €800 million, capital acquisitions tax of €900 million and customs duties of €600 million. It is not by accident that those moneys are projected to be made available. It is because of the hard work of the Irish people, first of all, the decisions of successive Governments, the entrepreneurial spirit of those who create jobs, start-ups and invest in this country, and the work of IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Údarás na Gaeltachta. The IDA has a reputation worldwide for going out, engaging, lobbying and bringing foreign direct investment to this country. We have been through tough times before. I was a Member of the other House between 2011 and 2020. In the first few years, we dealt with difficult budgets. We had votes on making cuts. It is great to listen to the Minister and others talking about all the money we are projecting to spend but we have to remember where we came from and the decisions that allow us to be here. I also acknowledge we do not know what the future holds. We make projections. This time last year, we probably did not think there would be a tariff war. We do not know what situations we will face. It is always important to have money set aside. The Future Ireland Fund and the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund are necessary. By the end of next year, it is projected that there will be €28 billion in those funds and by the end of this Government's term, €40 billion. That is for threats that may happen in the future to allow for resilience.

A lot of positive measures were lobbied for. People mentioned education issues in relation to the capitation grant. The INTO has struggled on this for a long number of years and has raised this every year. I welcome the increase in capitation announced by the Ministers for Education and Youth and Finance yesterday. The record level of expenditure, in particular capital expenditure, on housing is absolutely necessary. I mentioned the VAT cuts yesterday so I will not mention them again today. As I have said often, every type of house and apartment is needed from private, cost-rental, social, affordable to approved housing bodies, downsizing, rightsizing and student accommodation. Every type is important to alleviate the situation we are in. I welcome the increase in the carer's allowance disregards. It was committed to by all parties, I think, before the previous election in manifestos. We gave a commitment over the lifetime of the Government. I welcome what has been done. The announcement on children's allowance is welcome. There is a focus on child poverty issues as well as the increase in home help hours and home supports for our elderly. The big issue is ensuring that we have people who can do that work. It is very valuable work. Additional gardaí, SNAs and commitments regarding the new DEIS+ programme are important. On childcare places, there has been a focus in the past few years on cutting fees, which is welcome and important for those who have a place but it is of no benefit to those who do not.In some cases, children did have places but the providers pulled out of the schemes, meaning they were left with a situation where they had a place but were paying the higher fees. Increasing capacity, which is the focus of this budget in respect of childcare, is certainly welcome. It is important because we know there is a need. Listening to other people talk about reduced fees is of no benefit to those who cannot get a place. I welcome the commitments and wish the Minister, Deputy Foley, well in delivering on them.

Joanne Collins (Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the Minister of State and thank her for giving up her time to be here.

In the past few weeks, Senators on this side of the House and across the floor have raised the lack of basic public transport services in our rural communities. I spoke on the Order of Business about the transport difficulties in rural Limerick caused by the lack of capacity and unsuitable times, but I could just as easily have been speaking about countless counties in Ireland. The story is the same everywhere: bus services do not exist and do not run when people need them, communities are cut off and young people have no choice but to leave or start driving. We are told that a record investment is being made but those investments are not being felt on the ground. Rural Ireland is being discriminated against. Young people are tired; they have had enough of promises that do not reach their towns and villages. Our small towns are at breaking point and our villages are hollowing out. We cannot keep young people in our communities. They want to stay, raise families and build their lives but how can they do so when there is no affordable housing, no reliable transport and no jobs close to home? For those who must commute into Limerick, Cork or further afield, the situation is becoming impossible, with rising costs, higher carbon taxes and still no viable public transport alternative. People are being punished for simply trying to get to work or college.

In the Limerick County constituency, we have a Government Minister and a Minister of State, yet on the ground the reality is that people feel abandoned and unheard. It is not just about economics anymore; it is about dignity and the right to live and work in your own community without having to choose between paying for fuel and paying for food. People across the island are at breaking point. They were at breaking point last week and they are even worse this week. Budget 2026 cannot just be about figures on a page; it has to be about fairness. It should have been about reconnecting with real Ireland. If this Government continues to turn its back on rural Ireland, it will break not just counties like Limerick but also the hearts of people who have built them. Last year in the budget, school transport accounted for 173,000 seats. This year, it accounts for 170,000 seats. We are losing out in the budget for school transport at a time when we are at breaking point with school transport in rural areas. That is putting more parents in cars. It is increasing diesel and petrol costs which people cannot seem to afford. These costs are getting higher and higher every time.

Senator Rabbitte spoke about our alternative budget and our election promises. Our election promises were based on five years; the alternative budget was based on one. In the year on which we based it, in order to bring the cost down to €10 per day we focused on crèches and childminders who are registered with Tusla. To get everyone into it would take more regulation because, as the Minister of State will know, not all childminders are regulated or registered with Tusla. I wish to make it clear that the cost for 2027 would have been higher than the cost in this alternative budget.

I want to touch on reducing the cost of childcare, which is great. I completely agree that we need childcare places. It is great to see the Government putting that into the budget but where is it going to get the staff to provide these childcare places? In Limerick last year, 98% of graduates in the childcare programme went on to do an extra year to go into primary school teaching. In other words, 98% of people who were going to go into childcare left childcare before they ever started it. Pay and conditions need to be looked at.

The bottom line, from what I can see, is that budget 2026 was for landlords and developers. I can only imagine that all of those who stood up today and said they welcomed the budget, or welcomed it yesterday, must only have landlords and developers living in their constituencies.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I realise that budgets are a balancing act. You have to try to take all sorts of competing interests, scenarios and situations, some of which are complex and some of which are not so complex, and some of which have consequences and some of which have unintended consequences. You have to look at what the major issues of the day are. The number one issue is housing. The next most pressing issues, in my view, are healthcare and the cost of living.

Regarding housing, we have thousands upon thousands of apartments with planning permission but they are not being built. Something has to be done to ensure these apartments are built. Based on our history, I do not want any kind of incentive for developers but sometimes it is necessary. Nobody is going to build apartments unless they can make money out of them. We will wait and see but I am hopeful that this will kickstart the permissions granted to move to commencement stage. I hope that eventually, in three or four years, we will see the benefit of this budget measure coming through where people will have a roof over their head.

The 9% VAT rate has caused a bit of controversy. I remind people that the 9% rate was introduced back in 2011 or 2012. It kickstarted the hospitality industry in a significant way at that time. It was used again during and after Covid. It certainly kickstarted the hospitality industry at a time when we needed it. When I talk to the owners of small businesses, particularly little restaurants, cafés and coffee shops, they tell me they are finding it very difficult. This 9% VAT rate will assist them in some shape or form. It is a pity the minimum wage is going up in January but the 9% VAT rate is not coming in until July. I sincerely hope that in quarter 1 of next year, in particular, coffee shops and other small businesses will survive so they can drive on and benefit from the reduced VAT rate when it comes into effect in July.

I am happy that a significant contribution is to be made to Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland to support their marketing budgets. Tourism is very important for many counties in this country, including County Clare, where I am from, and the other counties along the west coast. We have seen a number of initiatives that have been very successful but tourism is evolving. We have to constantly repackage and remarket in order for tourism to continue to thrive and for Ireland to continue to stay competitive and attractive to those who put a lot more thought and consideration into their holidays. Most of them are planning and doing it themselves, which brings me to another point I would like to make. There are some industries that rely on tourism, such as the car rental business. Many people in my constituency are employed either directly or indirectly in the car rental business. An eye needs to be kept on those businesses to make sure they are facilitated to stay competitive and the Government is not doing anything to make them in any way uncompetitive. It is a known fact that people who rent a car and drive around spend more money in small shops, small pubs and small restaurants than those who hop on a bus tour in Dublin, come down to County Clare to have a look around and go to a designated place for their meal, and are then driven back. The people who come to fly into Shannon Airport, rent a car and spend the week travelling around Ireland are hugely beneficial to businesses in County Clare.

The balancing act of the budget has been a challenge but by and large, the right decisions have been made.I think we are moving to more of a German model where the budget is the culmination of weeks of debate as opposed to the beginning of the debate. In other words, the budget is the sum of all the various contributions that have been made. That is the European way that budgets are drafted and done. We need to keep moving towards that. A budget should not in any way be a surprise and there should be no surprises in it. It should be the summary and conclusion of months of work as opposed to an opening statement heading towards the Finance Act. I know that would be a significant change and it is something I would like to see happen in due course.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Before I call the Minister of State, I welcome to the Public Gallery: Marcos Perez Espinilla and Lourdes Fernandez Velasco, who are the guests of Alan Guidon; and Giacomo Amari and Noemi Quarenghi, who are the guests of Senator Martin Conway. They are all very welcome. I hope I got the pronunciation right. I hope they enjoy their visit to Leinster House. I call the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach and welcome our guests. I am going to attempt to respond to all of the comments raised today. I say “attempt” because a huge variety of comments were made. I appreciate the time people have taken to dig deep into the detail of the budget and to raise both positive feedback and concerns.

Senator Cathal Byrne set the scene quite well when he spoke about the need to safeguard the economy, improve public services and deliver key infrastructure, including housing. Senator Kyne talked about the need to make sure we are backing all of that up with contingency funding to ensure our economy remains resilient.

Senator Boyhan commended The Budget in Brief, which I have and I am sure everybody has and is using a lot. If Senators will indulge me, I might just let people know, in case they are not aware of it, of a website run by our Department, , which outlines all of the decisions taken in yesterday's budget and puts them in infographics. It is a very good and interactive way for members of the public to see how tax that is collected in the State is invested, spent and allocated by the Government. This is run every year and exists for the whole year. This year, along with updating it with all of the new information from budget 2026, we are also running an online public consultation, asking people to engage with us and let us know what it is about the site they like or do not like, and what features there are. We would appreciate it if Members would help spread the word on that.

Senator Joe Conway spoke about listening to budgets on the wireless. I hope that we are in a very different economic landscape compared with then. We are now at full employment, with people living longer and healthier lives. I hope it is agreed that that is a good thing.

Many measures were welcomed, for example, the tillage scheme, the TB eradication scheme and the postmasters’ network. The Senator mentioned that this was particularly welcome in rural areas, and I know postmasters in Dublin are happy with it too. There were also many comments about the basic income for artists and how welcome it is. It was an initiative by the former Minister, Catherine Martin, and I am pleased that it is being extended this year. Several speakers welcomed the cancer care strategy and the funding allocated to that, which is good to see.

Some concerns were raised. Senator Boyhan raised concerns in regard to medium and long-term planning in particular. The medium-term fiscal structural plan is going to be announced in the coming weeks and will set out the framework for the next five years, so there will be certainty in terms of medium-term fiscal planning. However, as Senator Kyne made the point, it does not give us the visibility to see things that are not on the horizon. For example, we would not have seen the tariffs this time last year, and that is, unfortunately, the reality of the economic conditions we live in now.

In case Members are not aware of it, IGEES is the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service. It is a key initiative that supports evidence-informed policymaking across the Civil Service. It looks at things like performance indicators, equality and well-being. Members will find a lot of information on the budget there.

It was great to hear people talk about the investment in our economy in terms of the role of the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and Údarás na Gaeltachta, as well as the entrepreneurs, employers and workers who have got us to a point where we have such a good and strong economy. I take on board the point that we need to continue to invest in tourism, Fáilte Ireland and the spin-off trade. I hope Senator Martin Conway will agree that Fáilte Ireland and tourism were beneficiaries in this budget.

There were a number of comments in relation to housing, which is welcome because housing is one of the biggest challenges facing the Government. Record funding was invested in the housing budget this year. There was a question about the residential zoned land tax and asking for a note on it. I will certainly ask for that. My understanding is that active farmers now have the opportunity to apply to the local authority to dezone their land, and the local authorities have until June to make a decision on that. That is as it was last year, and it has been extended to this year. There was also a query regarding the local government task force and whether I could get further information on that. I will ask the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, for that.

Concerns were raised by Senator Noonan on heritage and biodiversity. I am pleased that we have €196 million for conservation and heritage. The National Parks and Wildlife Service is a beneficiary of that. We also have the €1 million that is earmarked for the national biodiversity plan, the nature restoration plan and the action plans behind them.

Flood alleviation was mentioned. That funding is very welcome in the constituency of Senator Rabbitte and many constituencies up and down the country. Many speakers referred to the expansion of the living city initiative, which is to be welcomed. Senator Maria Byrne made the point that we need to look at it from a red tape perspective, and that is feedback I will certainly pass on. The defective blocks issue was raised. There is €293 million for housing remediation in this budget, which includes apartment defects, pyrite and defective concrete blocks.

With regard to education, there was a broad welcome for the capitation grant increase. In my own constituency, when I was speaking to principals last night, it was very welcomed. I think this money is very well invested in the people who take care of the children in our schools. The measure regarding therapists in schools was welcomed. One of the questions that Senator Tully asked was where those therapists will come from. I assure her that we have also funded additional college places. As part of this budget, there are 1,100 additional college places between medicine, healthcare and therapies, which is welcome.

There were many questions on DEIS+. There is €16.5 million allocated for it, and the Department of education is putting together the detailed information as to what that will look like. I know a committee was established and has been working on this over recent months. Regarding school transport, my understanding is that 170,000 children will avail of the school transport next year, and that is what is budgeted for.

From a national childcare scheme perspective, we now have an additional 35,000 children covered under that scheme. The issue of community centres was raised as a concern from a childcare perspective. In my own constituency, many community centres also offer ECCE and national childcare schemes, and that works well. It is also worth noting there was an increase of 8,400 in the AIMS childcare programme.

I agree that access to childcare is a huge issue. Earlier this week, I was pleased to open a new crèche in my constituency, the First Steps Academy at St. Edmunds, Lucan. We need to make sure more crèches are opening up, and that is the reality. As Senator Kyne said, it is brilliant that the Government has invested in order to reduce the cost of childcare in recent years, but it is access to childcare that is the biggest issue. We need to resolve that next before we go back to childcare costs.

From a disability perspective, there was a huge increase in the disability budget of, I think, 19%. Senator Rabbitte asked when that money will be felt in communities, which is a valid point. I will bring that back to the Minister. It is worth noting that part of that funding will include an extra 1,000 staff, which will bring the figure up to 23,500 in the workforce in that area. That is very welcome. I know the Senator did a lot of work in this area in her previous role.

From a health perspective, Senator Tully mentioned the 220 beds in hospitals. However, there are between 500 and 550 beds when we take hospitals and community services together, so it is worth looking at them holistically. There will also be an additional staff of 3,300, which is very welcome, as well as more nursing home beds. From a defence perspective, retention is an issue. Moving to level of ambition 2 is part of dealing with that. From a sport perspective, the point on referees is good feedback. I will take that on board.

On the national minimum wage, the Government has accepted the unanimous report of the Low Pay Commission. The commission, which comprises our social partners, unanimously recommended this increase to the minimum wage and we accepted that. As was mentioned, many of those on the minimum wage or low wages work in our hospitality sector. That is what that 9% is about. It is about protecting those jobs and supporting those people.

Senator Ruane mentioned a number of statistics that show that poverty rates are projected to increase this year in comparison to last year but they are then expected to reduce next year in comparison to this year. That is based on the income measures brought in through this budget. Page 15 of the expenditure report sets out the impact of the budget on household incomes. A key priority of this budget is to provide assistance and support to the most vulnerable. The chart on page 15 clearly shows that the measures announced in the budget will have the greatest impact on the households in income deciles 1 to 4. The analysis in the expenditure report also shows the impact of the measures on different household types. Lone-parent households and single people of retirement age will experience permanent income gains of between 1.9% and 4%. That analysis is available on page 16 of the expenditure report.

Many Members welcomed the change in the means test disregard for carer's allowance. That is very welcome. Senator Ruane raised a very interesting point regarding the 18.5 hour limit and asked whether it should be looked at in view of the changing thresholds. That is certainly something I will bring back to the Minister, Deputy Dara Calleary.

I hope that covers most of the responses. Every year, the Government is presented with complex choices as to how best manage our budget to deliver progress towards a more inclusive, resilient and prosperous Ireland. With that in mind, I was very happy to engage today. I will take this opportunity to thank the officials in the Department of Finance and my own Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, who worked tirelessly to put this budget together. Many of them worked all weekend and late into the night Monday or into early Tuesday morning.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I thank all Senators who contributed today.