Paul Nicholas Gogarty
Dublin Mid-West · Independent · Ireland
“As I have mentioned in the House before, if a border poll passes by 52% to 48%, the legal threshold of the Good Friday Agreement is met but the social consensus is not and moving 800,000 citizens into a new state against their explicit, democratic will does risk causing civil unrest.”
“We also have other gaps that are much smaller, like a ten-year phased transition, reducing the net annual cost to between €2.5 billion and €3 billion. We then had the middle figure of about €11 billion. We actually do not know how much it is going to cost but we do know it is going to cost something.”
“For example, adopting a single currency, getting rid of the exchange rate volatility and the transaction costs for cross-Border businesses are all advantages.”
“I would be loath to call a border poll right now because of the risks associated with that, but if a border poll did occur, the State would have to be prepared for the huge structural disruptions that would follow, so we have to start working now - that is why this debate is welcome - without arrogantly presuming it is going to become a r…”
“I have been listening to this debate in my office since Deputy Currie started her contribution. I always follow these debates on Irish unity with interest as someone who wants to see a united Ireland by consent.”
“Some have been mentioned in this House, such as a devolved regional assembly in Stormont to preserve local governance for the unionist community, a shared bill of rights protecting the dual Irish-British citizenship, and re-evaluating our relationship with the Commonwealth.”
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“We heard how many children are not getting their regular school dental check-ups anymore, particularly in some areas, so we need to invest in homegrown dentists. The Irish Dental Association proposed capping the non-EEA student intake at 20%, which would obviously mean a pro rata increase in the funding of the sector. It mentioned the lack of new training facilities. We know a new dental school in UCC was shelved, which requires a €55 million investment. We need more overall investment and we need to try to retain graduates who might otherwise leave the country. We have had this in areas like nursing and with doctors. Dentists are also tempted to leave for brighter fields abroad.”
“There is a valid argument in the changing work field that universities might be getting disproportionately funded. That would leave further education and apprenticeships underfunded. I and others have mentioned that we need to go down the vocational route to a much greater extent. I want to refer to news reports that were mentioned today relating to the underfunding of dental schools. It is appropriate to mention it here. The Irish Dental Association is calling for a better annual budget to increase the number of dental graduates. At the moment, it is holding out on recruiting more non-EEA students, but they are the ones who pay the higher fees and contribute to the funding of the dental sector.”
“We still do not have that pathway. Another question which is always raised and has to be raised in this context too is the value for money for the investment. Sometimes it is hard to quantify, but at the same time, we have to see if it is value for money. Does it all align with the funding for the future framework? Another point raised was the lack of transparency about how employer contributions are invested and who decides what specific programmes get funded. Is it left up to independent institutions or is there a strategic element to it? What metrics are used to evaluate the success of the investment? Others have spoken about the further education system. There is a fear that the focus on the higher education sector may be to the detriment of the further education sector even though the Bill includes both sectors.”
“Last year, it said it would seek a suspension of the training levy for a minimum of five years to, it said, allow the NTF surplus to reduce in size. Will the Minister comment on that? If progress is being made compared with last year, that would be welcome. The other issue that I noted was that there are queries about how the budget framework will be spent and used. There appears to be a lack of clarity. Maybe it will be announced in due course but we do not really know yet how it will be distributed across the sectors, the regions or the institutions. We do not know which institutions will receive the funding, how much will go to apprenticeships as opposed to higher education or youth projects, how much will go to the rural education establishments versus the world leaders in the cities, and how it will be phased in over the six years.”
“You cannot criticise a Bill that is trying to help to give people important skills for the future, be it in technology, AI, healthcare, environmental sustainability, biodiversity, or other aspects of the medical profession. This Bill will fund the education and training for it. I note that my predecessor, Deputy Connolly, mentioned the funding for research and PhDs, which is also welcome. However, there are some criticisms of the Bill. Last year, ISME mentioned that some of the funding that was available was slow to be released and that there were training backlogs. It queried why employers would facilitate the PRSI payment if there are going to be backlogs, since it is not going to those areas that need it quickly enough.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. Let us be positive starting off. We know the Bill is going to unlock the €1.5 billion announced in the budget for the tertiary education sector over the period mentioned, up to 2030. That is welcome and you have to commend the investment. I welcome that it is continually updating previous schemes. Ostensibly, it is trying to modernise the system. I have some criticisms which I will go into in a while but I want to focus on the positives too. It is also a positive that the money for this Bill will come from the PRSI contributions of employers. In general, employers recognise that this is providing skills that they will need. While they may gripe, it is welcome overall.”
“This motion mentions one individual, the Tánaiste, who as Minister for Health in 2017 made a promise that could not be kept. He was succeeded by former Deputy Stephen Donnelly and now the current Minister. It is the collective responsibility of the Government. We have this opportunity and I would like to see in the remainder of this debate a clear statement of intent from the Government that it will implement a full statutory inquiry on the basis the parent representatives of the children requested. That is the only fair and meaningful thing we can do. I was inclined to abstain on this motion and I still am, but I will support the Government motion if I get that commitment.”
“Last night, during the debate on the cost of disability, I referenced that presentation. Today, we have the opportunity to talk about it and, rather than have a go at people, I ask for a commitment from the Government today on the public inquiry. The key requests for the inquiry are that it must compel people to participate and make documents available; children who have passed away must be included; young adults who have aged out of the services must be included; we must implement healthcare reform while the inquiry is ongoing; we must address clearly the consequences of neglect by CHI; and there must be a State appointed transition pathway for scoliosis and spina bifida. That is what people asked for yesterday. They want to see progress.”
“In the spirit of my predecessor, I am also going to play the ball and not the man. This is an issue about scoliosis and spina bifida treatment. It is about what we learned yesterday at the presentation organised by Senator Tom Clonan, the heartbreak that was caused by the systemic failure of successive Governments and Children's Health Ireland, but also before the existence of Children's Health Ireland. The way families were treated was absolutely inhumane and shocking. I cannot even imagine what it was like because I did not go through it, but those stories would make anyone want to burst into tears. That is what this motion is about. Some people might call it an opportunistic motion. I call it an opportunity to discuss this issue as quickly as possible.”
“Increasingly, I have had constituents get on to me about multiple bus lane violations and pedestrian traffic light violations where kids are crossing and cars continue to go through the lights. There are fewer members of the Garda Síochána per head of population since 2008, although the numbers have been increasing. We have a Garda National Roads Policing Bureau, formerly the traffic corps. However, at this stage we need a dedicated traffic and parking enforcement agency, separate to An Garda Síochána, which would free up resources for the guards to get out and tackle antisocial behaviour and deal with criminals. We must also have the visible nabbing of people for these offences. South Dublin County Council's traffic section has video but it cannot share it because of GDPR. We need to tackle this issue or someone is going to get killed.”
“The Government needs to listen to the experts and the engineers who have done the reports and not leave people unsafe in their homes. A fair scheme that is applied retrospectively is needed. An independent statutory authority is also required. As well as supporting the families, the community buildings that have been affected need to be looked at.”
“It was responsible for the light-touch regulation or no regulation and poor oversight, especially in the Celtic tiger and back in the days when there was the Fianna Fáil tent. Developers gave large donations to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, in particular. There was a really cosy relationship. The buck stops with the people who were expecting good times from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael because they have put families in turmoil and they need to pay their fair share. Equally, if that is not possible for different reasons - companies might have gone to the wall, for example - the Government and the taxpayer have to take responsibility. It is the right thing to do. As Deputy Ward's motion says, partial repairs are not suitable. There needs to be full redress.”
“I express my solidarity and thanks to Deputy Ward for bringing the motion before the House. He has done exactly what he said he would do. He is the 100% Redress Party representative, and he is using every opportunity he can to get 100% redress. It is great to see other Members, from the west and north west, in particular, showing support and solidarity today. As someone who is Dublin-based, I have met people who had families broken up because of the situation, who are living in uncertainty and who have been financially ruined. It is not to the extent the other Deputies have all experienced but I understand and we need fairness. Going back to when it happened, there were multiple parties involved. Obviously, there were the concrete blocks suppliers, the builders and developers but, equally, as Deputy Lawless said, there was the Government.”
“If this budget is a holding position, it is a woefully inadequate holding position. The cost of living hits people with disabilities a lot more and needs to be put on a long-term footing as soon as possible. I think the Irish Wheelchair Association said something like "heat or eat" about the budget. The Government needs to step up or step down in this instance. It should not be either-or. People deserve a reasonable quality of life.”
“BusConnects said that turning an older route, which people are used to, into two routes is more efficient but not for a person in a wheelchair. Two friends in wheelchairs going out socialising in many cases have to get two separate buses because only the newer buses have the wheelchair space and the buggy space. The older ones do not have that. That is a hidden discrimination people have to face. They cannot even have normal socialising with friends if those two friends are both in wheelchairs. That is one example of a direct cost. There are also items a person has to spend their limited disposable income on that more able-bodied people never have to think about. Whatever way we look at it, the costs are there. The Government referenced the move towards a cost-of-disability payment. If it comes in, it cannot come in soon enough.”
“I refer to mobility aids, transport, communication, care costs outside of family care, other forms of assistance, medicines, medical equipment and all sorts of appliances, including the adaptations of day-to-day appliances that are not required by people within society who do not have disabilities. I am thinking of a relative of mine who is a taxi driver and many of his clients are persons with disabilities. Oftentimes people have no choice but to get taxis because they might not be able to drive, might not have an adapted car or might not be able to afford an adapted car but also because of the basic shortage of accessible public transport. The system itself does not always get you from A to B efficiently.”
“There is the €10 increase in disability allowance but taken in the round, many incomes will fall without the permanent social protection supports. We are talking about the removal of the living alone allowance, disability support grants, electricity credits and the October double payment. All of that is retrograde. The cost of disability is the extra spending needs that people with disabilities face in their day-to-day lives that other members of society like myself do not have to deal with. I cannot talk to anyone's experience as I have not experienced it myself. I can only take on board what constituents have said to me.”
“We heard contributions mention the €10,000 average cost cited in Government reports like the Indecon report and the more recent ESRI report. However, as the Disability Federation of Ireland, DFI, has pointed out, with inflation over the past couple of years, the estimates in some of these reports could be up to €15,000, depending on different costs, which is more than the payment itself. In the past three budgets the Government provided the one-off cost of disability supports post Covid-19. In budget 2026 all of these have been removed with nothing indicated to replace them. That means, as others said, people with disabilities are facing higher costs and fewer supports. The DFI and others welcomed the overall increase in funding.”
“As people will recall, Ireland signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD, in 2007. It was not ratified until March 2018 but last year Ireland announced its decision to accede to the optional protocol of the UNCRPD which allows individuals to file complaints with the UN if they believe their rights under convention have been violated. I heard the Minister state earlier that the Government is totally aware of the cost of disability and is committed to dealing with this on a human rights basis. It had better act soon or the complaints will be mounting. It is now more than four years since the Indecon report on the hidden costs of disability was published. It was commissioned by the Department of Social Protection.”
“However, it means looking at it from the perspective of fundamental rights where nobody should be forced into poverty because of a disability, where nobody should be disincentivised from working because of a disability and where family carers should be adequately covered for their contribution to helping people where appropriate or indeed where family members care for people who would otherwise cost the State far more if they were left in the system. I am talking about the people who care for elderly parents, for example, who could be in the system. In terms of disability services, it means funding services adequately and supporting people with disabilities to enjoy a meaningful quality of life rather than subsistence living.”
“Today Senator Tom Clonan hosted a briefing on the challenges still facing children with scoliosis and spinal bifida. While we look at this area again in its own right, I reiterate my support for a full public inquiry on the whole scandal regarding the treatment of children awaiting scoliosis operations and related treatments, covering the entire lifespan of Children's Health Ireland but also going back to the years preceding its establishment. We need to shine a light on this shameful period and learn from the mistakes. In his contribution today, Senator Clonan used the opportunity to highlight again how a rights-based approach to dealing with disability issues is required. This does not mean turning on an endless tap of money.”
“Although we do not have enough public transport in general and the bus services in Dublin do not have enough drivers, it is good and reassuring to see that places like Thurles will be as close to Dublin city as Greystones if people need to commute to and from work. That will be the case in the next two years, as per recent news reports. There is scope for housing developments and for companies to be located in the countryside, in rural towns and villages, and if they need to access a city centre hub at some stage, it will be within commuting distance. We need to think outside the box and look around.”
“I am not talking about an opportunity for unscrupulous landlords to make a killing by building houses. There have to be proper rules, but it is one part of the solution, as is, as I mentioned in my budget contribution, the living cities legislation under which buildings can be refurbished. I mentioned the Croí Cónaithe rural towns and villages scheme as well, which does not really cover over-the-shop units but there is a lot of scope. I reiterate that we should try to get software companies with software localisation jobs to move out of Dublin. Often they have hybrid working systems whereby people can work from home.”
“I am glad to see it was taken up to some degree, although I am still waiting for the finer details. I recall a young lady with a child who has severe autism whose family members are totally occupying the main house. The parents work from home. There is nowhere to build other than where they did in the back garden. The building was more than 40 sq. m, so the local authority sent a cease-and-desist letter and told them to tear it down. The situation is that the lady is on the medical priority housing list, which, as everyone knows, is time based. A parent with a severely autistic child who cannot be placed in a lot of emergency accommodation could end up being told to leave their home in the garden and live somewhere else. That does not make sense, so the sooner this legislation comes forward, the better.”
“We have to get more people out of cars and onto public transport, but many people in SDZs with a lot of social housing, such as the Adamstown and Clonburris SDZs in my local area, have been told that no car parking is available in their apartment blocks. They are parking on footpaths because there is nowhere else to park. They cannot get a bus to where they work. Is it expected that everyone will depend on the State, live off social welfare and walk within a five-minute radius? People must be given the option to get from A to B efficiently. The public transport service is not there. That applies to the local authorities and the AHBs. I spoke in January about allowing people to build homes in gardens either as starter homes or retirement homes.”
“We cannot look at housing in isolation; we have to look at what sorts of communities we are building. An issue I have with AHBs concerns the governance side and how they relate to tenants. As the number of AHBs spreads out, as an elected representative it becomes hard to deal with them on behalf of constituents who raise issues. I refer, for example to the stringent no-pets policy that many AHBs seem to have. When a house or an apartment is given as a forever home to someone who has a pet that is staying with a relative while they are in emergency accommodation, and that person is then told that the pet has to go, it is not conducive to family living. Similarly, and this is not limited to AHBs but is relevant, Government policy in relation to car ownership is ludicrous.”
“Obviously, the lion's share of this money is going to the AHBs. It is like motherhood and apple pie; nobody can criticise money going to the AHBs because that widens out the funding channels, ostensibly to try to get housing built more quickly. However, I lament the money that used to go to local authorities. More and more, they seem to depend on getting their 10% through Part 8. They are not involved in many major housing projects. My own council, South Dublin County Council, owns a large tract of the Clonburris strategic development zone, SDZ, and is more proactively involved in that. As I said before, any kind of medium-scale housing in the country should be an SDZ because we need to tie in facilities and infrastructure alongside the housing.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on this legislation. As others have said, it is a little bit of tweaking to keep us going until next year. As the Minister said, it will allow sufficient headroom to continue lending to mid-2026, after which there could be a new national housing plan and a new national development plan. We know that the €13.5 billion threshold is a holding position. Like the speakers from all the other groupings so far, I will support it - it is extra money - while emphasising that we still need to look at the fundamentals of the housing situation. As this is such a small Bill, this debate gives us a bit more scope to do that. I have six minutes, but if I confine my remarks to the small couple of lines that constitute this legislation I could be finished after one minute. We need to look at the bigger picture.”
“I believe it is important to keep the pressure on and to keep working on this issue. In many instances, these so-called experts are not actually qualified, and in many instances they are actually being paid by one parent to produce the report because the other parent cannot afford to have a similar report. It is not a fair situation and the more the media are able to shed light on the situation and the more scrutiny put on it, the less likely it will be that these types of cases will occur in future.”
“It needs to be brought out into the open to protect children. Otherwise, they will be the next generation of abuse cases.”
“We do need to shine more light on these situations. In family disputes involving children, people will sometimes attempt to alienate the kids. The Minister referred to reports. In relation to section 32 and section 47 reports, we have had cases where people have almost treated parental alienation as a proven case when it is not. It is almost like a cult. Immersion therapy is recommended, where children are taken away from their mother for months on end. This is often used as a form of coercive control by a partner who has no real desire to spend time with the children but is using it as a way to punish and control their former partner. In some cases, it has been alleged by a number of people I have met that the judges have said expert Y is very good and they have taken their view. There is no scrutiny or transparency in this regard.”
“The most recent time I raised this matter last June, I criticised the current state of Ireland's family court system and highlighted delays, poor facilities and, in particular, a lack of transparency due to the in camera rule. In response, the Minister acknowledged the widespread public frustration with the family law processes. He said that the full removal of the in camera rule was unlikely due to the need to protect children's identities, but that reform was on the way via the family law implementation group working on this issue. He also said we need better environments for hearings and to find a way for the child's voice to be properly heard. Can the Minister please outline the progress made?”
“I welcome the income disregard for the carer's allowance, but again we had opportunities to increase it and we did not take those opportunities. Increases for disability are welcome. However, the Disability Federation of Ireland called this budget a devastating setback for disabled people unable to work because they may have less support and less security. The big numbers have been highlighted but the one-off payments have gone and people are in a very vulnerable position. I welcome the defence spending. I see nothing on drone technology. Given the drone attacks, I would love to see that put in place for next year. I welcome the basic income for artists being retained but we need a long-term strategy for this and there were no details on the review.”
“McGlacken-Byrne, mentioned that the promises of universal healthcare envisaged in the Sláintecare report had not been realised and we were still a long way away from that. I would like to talk more about that but I do not have too much time in the debate. The money allocated for sport is welcome, but I again highlight the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund of €99 million. Some of the activities involving horses and greyhounds could not be described as sport, but could be described as abject cruelty. Greyhound racing should be abolished straight away and health and safety checks in the horse racing industry should be looked at. We need more money for sports that people actually play themselves for their health, mental health and well-being.”
“I do not think it goes far enough but, again, I cannot criticise something that is an increase, however small. That said, I have an issue with the student fees being spun as being permanently reduced. The election giveaway should not have brought in the €1,000 reduction if the Government expected people to be happy that it would be put back up by €500. The Government should not give with one hand and take away with the other, especially at a time when costs continue to increase and it puts a lot of pressure on families. It is an extra fee cost for families. On healthcare, I welcome the additional places and acute hospital capacity that has been announced. However, the chair of Doctors for Universal Healthcare, Dr.”
“If the Government had got rid of that apartments incentive, we would have much more funding available. The fuel allowance increase of €5 is a small amount and could be more but it is still welcome. The €7.3 million for youth justice intervention is a welcome improvement as well. At one level, it is great to see the child support payment up and a reasonable level of funding in the early years up to €125 million. However, as others have said, there is nothing about State-funded childcare. There is nothing about reducing the costs of childcare, which is a missed opportunity. In education, I welcome the additional SNAs and teacher funding. I also welcome the additional funding for the new DEIS plus scheme. I also welcome the capitation increases. I am a firm believer in investment in education.”
“I welcome the bank levy extension for a year but this levy should be continued well into the future. I also welcome the additional funding for development aid, although we are not going anywhere near our long-stated target. I welcome the potential recruitment of 1,000 Garda trainees but I note that approximately 250 will retire each year, so we need to move a bit faster. I had a major contribution on a Private Members' motion on antisocial behaviour. As I pointed out then, Garda numbers per head of population have fallen since 2008, so we need to be doing a lot more. We need to look at having a dedicated transport police to deal with traffic issues rather than taking up Garda time on that. I welcome the increase in funding for domestic and gender-based violence initiatives but as others have said, it is nowhere near enough.”
“There is also an issue with disposable vapes. We had previously called for the abolition of disposable vapes and I would like to see that pushed quicker. The living city initiative scheme and the use of over-the-shop premises for residential purposes are also welcome. However, we need something more for the smaller towns and villages that are dying. Post offices are closing everywhere. I welcome the €15 million for post offices, but we need to get people living over the shops in smaller towns and villages. I welcome the derelict property tax but we could do with more. Why are the preliminary registers not being published until 2027? Why not next year? The retrofit reduction for landlords is welcome and will lead to having warmer and more affordable homes for tenants. I obviously welcome the minimum wage increase to €14.15 an hour.”
“While these are older figures, a study done in 2020 by the Irish Medical Journal , using 2016 smoking data from the Healthy Ireland survey and international figures for hospitalisation and cost data, estimated the overall cost of smoking to the country over the lifetime of the current smoking population at €20 billion. While admittedly this is from 2016, the estimated cost to the HSE from smoking was €172 million that year. It is likely to be over €200 million in current figures. Anyone who opposes the 50 cent increase does not know what he or she is talking about and is playing very petty politics if he or she is trying to obtain votes on the back of something that is going to kill people. I welcome that the vape liquid for reusable vapes will now have a surcharge. That was announced before the budget.”
“Many constituents in my area have major issues because they cannot put a proper line through a footpath to a charging point on the street so they can avail of the domestic tariffs. The local authority in south Dublin appears to be trying to penalise people by forcing them to use commercial rate chargers. That is not the way to encourage people to use EVs. As someone who has driven an EV since 2017 on a domestic rate, I know it is much cheaper and obviously environmentally better than using petrol or diesel. I welcome the microgeneration electricity income tax relief up to 31 December 2028. I think it could have continued for longer. I make a small comment on the tobacco excise duty up by 50 cent. I was alarmed to see some Members in this House oppose this measure.”
“The reality is that if we do not impose the carbon tax, then the hard-pressed people are going to face higher penalties down the line. We have to do it whether we like it or not. and I believe that a carbon tax done properly that encourages usage of renewables and encourages the move away from fossil fuels is a good thing if it is done fairly. I still have not seen many details on the amount of retrofitting and the social welfare gains that are going to come from this carbon tax. I do not think its ring-fenced enough. I do not think the retrofitting investment overall is enough because it needs to be sped up, particularly for local authority housing. The VAT relief on electric vehicles is extended to 2030, which is very welcome but there is nothing on the charging infrastructure and making it easier to charge at home.”
“Yesterday evening I spoke about the macro situation and how the Fiscal Advisory Council had urged a cooling down, because the corporation tax receipts were not going to last forever and that this budget, in one sense because it came after a giveaway election budget, had shades of 2007. Now I want to move on to some of the specific measures in the budget. During the votes last night I got to talk about the apartment VAT recommendation, which I fundamentally disagree with. That €250 million could be spent in other areas that require it. However, I did welcome the extension of the 9% on VAT for gas and electricity. We cannot discuss this without tying in with the issue of carbon tax. Many Members of this House took a very populist angle, saying we cannot impose this carbon tax on hard-pressed people.”
“That is a way to move on the supply issue rather than depending on the investors who are only trying to cream off the high-end profits. I note the Social Democrats amendment and I am inclined to support it.”
“It is heartbreaking for people who are making a fantastic contribution to this country but their wages are not commensurate with top-end software localisation jobs and they lose out as a result. We need to look at our industrial policy in terms of spreading those types of jobs around the country. Ultimately, it is about overall supply. We are talking about the planning process, speeding up the tendering process, and making more investment in the likes of apprenticeships so that we have people to build those houses. There were some good suggestions made before about setting up a number of factories to build modular or prefabricated housing. As others have said, the State should be the biggest construction company in the country. It does not mean that it has to build it but it can certainly tender for the work to be done.”
“With the remote working capability we have and with broadband being rolled out, if software companies want to employ people in Ireland for localisation, let them move around the towns and villages of Ireland and regenerate those areas that are currently dying, with vacant units above shops in many towns and villages. In my constituency, I have seen areas where 90% of the people who have bought the expensive housing were not born in Ireland. They are working in very well-paid jobs and fair play to them for that. However, a garda, a teacher, a nurse or somebody who grew up in the area cannot even afford the affordable housing because every time the baseline price goes up, that person's threshold is moved and he or she needs to apply again.”
“One of the top companies in Europe - I forget the name but it was mentioned during the committee debate - was quoted on the IDA website as saying that if companies could not get enough workers here in Ireland, there were plenty more in the EU who would come to Ireland to work. This means we are getting localisation-type jobs that are not creating any homegrown Irish jobs. I am not talking about Irish people, but about the types of job we need to be filled by people from abroad, such as construction workers, doctors and nurses, all the ones who make a great contribution already. We do not need localisation jobs to be located in Dublin or any of the major cities.”
“Developers will see this as a much more valuable asset and it may drive up land values, which would have a knock-on effect on the value of property. One thing that was not addressed in any commentary on housing was the impact of industrial policy. As Deputy Hayes would know because he sits beside me on the economic committee, we have an industrial policy that tries to get the likes of software companies to relocate around the country. However, the software companies like to locate in Dublin. The problem with that is the employees of these companies who are not essential workers are pushing up the price of housing in my constituency and elsewhere.”
“I did not see any of that type of vision even referenced in the budget and we need to have it. I regard resolution No. 4 as a bit of a waste with €250 million going to investors and developers. On paper, it ticks a few boxes and we might get a few more apartments built but I do not believe that will actually happen. There is a greater risk of the VAT reductions inflating the value of land because - this will be borne out when this actually comes in and what state it comes in at - developers are going to make profits that could be described as supernormal profits, in which case they will see land as a more important commodity. The Government has said that in development plans, which are turning into ten-year development plans now, more land needs to be zoned for housing even though they are not building on the existing land.”
“As I said in my earlier contribution, it is not multi-annual funding but the Fiscal Advisory Council did say that we also needed to look to our medium-term projections, which is in line with best practice in Europe. I noted the €12 billion medium-term expenditure on water, but it is just over €1 billion in this budget. If we are trying to deal with the infrastructural issues - and housing needs water infrastructure - we should be front-loading it. Similarly, we need massive investment in redefining the electricity grid, in investing in offshore wind and wave energy, and in putting more into R and D. We are in a kind of wartime situation. We need to look 15 years down the road and start changing the way our Civil Service operates. We have to change the way various Departments and Government agencies operate starting right now.”
“I particularly want to speak to resolution No. 4. However, I welcome No. 3 and the continuation of the 9% rate of VAT for electricity, which is very welcome. While in some people's view it does not do so entirely, it does in some way mitigate the removal of the measures to help people pay their bills. I agree with others that maybe it should have been continued for another year. I note the Fiscal Advisory Council's advice that if we take out the corporation tax receipts that were very tight, it is possibly spending beyond our means. We have to try to get the balance. I believe that the 9% VAT rate on electricity strikes that balance and I support it. For the first time, this budget looks at the medium term.”