Statements on the Budget - 5th December 2007

Statements on the Budget - 5th December 2007

I thank my colleague and friend, Senator Feargal Quinn, for allowing me time. I greatly enjoyed his schoolmasterly performance. I am sure the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Cowen, will be greatly heartened to know he has received a better report than in previous years. I also agree with Senator Quinn that the atmosphere in the Dáil was a little dull. The Budget Statement did not seem to provoke anything like the outrage seen in previous years. There was a certain lack of atmosphere. With regard to the general content, despite the fact that it is dull, the balance has been got right. It seems the Government is now waking up to the fact that there has been considerable squandering of public money and a notable lack of accountability, particularly in capital projects such as roads. A lot of money has been wasted. However, I will not waste time, which is another precious resource, by listing the areas in which there was a lack of prudent management, good governance and oversight. We will revisit this area in the new year, as we traditionally do.
I have a sheaf of submissions made to all Senators from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the Disability Federation of Ireland and so on. I am glad there was some degree of concern shown in this area. Yesterday I was speaking at the graduation ceremony of Enable Ireland at the Microsoft plant, in which sophisticated machinery is produced which allows people who are disabled to re-enter the workplace, where they can play a significant economic role. This is a useful investment, because it costs many tens of thousands of euros, for example, to retire somebody owing to disability. For 80% of people with disabilities, theirs is an acquired disability such as spinal injury. That is very interesting. Almost 70% of those with disabilities remain unemployed. That is a huge figure compared with the equivalent in continental countries. Anything that allows people with disabilities to be productive members of society is to be welcomed.
I was sitting in the Gallery for the Budget Statement. I noted that there was general allocation of €2.7 billion for rail and bus services. There was no mention whatever of the metro, however, although the Luas was mentioned. I hope this is not a sinister prelude to a dilution of the metro programme. It is probably the most vital element of transport for this capital city and it affects everybody in the country because such a disproportionate number of people live here. I hope there will be a continued and firm commitment to this sensible development.
The environmental tax and VRT provisions are fine. However, the raising of motor tax for larger capacity vehicles is just grubbing around for a few extra pence. It has nothing whatever to do with the environment. The Minister may nod his head all he likes, but he will still be wrong. He is nodding again, but I will remove the nod. The only way to implement the polluter pays principle is to put a tax on petrol. I have a large car. It is a beautiful car which I bought for €5,000. I keep it in the garage and walk here almost every day. I used to cycle until it became too dangerous. How much pollution am I creating? A person in a Mini creates a lot more if he or she uses it all the time. A tax on petrol would affect the environment, but tax on large cars will not. This will affect poorer people.
The doubling of duty on cheques is a stingy measure. The Minister said he wants to use this to drive people to use automated systems and credit cards. However, elderly people and people who are a little bit thick, like me, use cheques. They do not want to use automated systems because they do not understand them.

Senators: Hear, hear.

Senator David Norris: It is a mean thing to raise the duty on cheques. It will not raise much money but will cause serious inconvenience. It will also hit small businesses. I do not see any virtue in it and it should be reconsidered.

An Cathaoirleach: The Senator is in his last minute.

Senator David Norris: I hope not of this life. What a frightful warning.

An Cathaoirleach: I meant the Senator was in the last minute of his speech.

Senator David Norris: I feel weak as a result of it. There is a section of the budget dealing with health. It is fine that all this money is being spent, but there should be an audit. What I am interested in is not how much money is being spent but whether it is being spent wisely.
Let me give an example to the Minister of State. I spoke to a person the other day who came to see me about an aspect of the health services. As a result of lobbying, a particular service was made available to the public. The first thing to happen was that four managers were appointed. There were to be three staff to deliver the service, but they were stuck because of the recruitment embargo. The delivery of this service has been sanctioned, the managers have been installed, but there is to be no service. The health system must be strenuously audited to prevent events such as this.
There was also mention of housing. I welcome that there will be a reduction in stamp duty in the lower end of the housing market. I also heard the Minister mention affordable housing. In his conclusion he mentioned a “challenging backdrop” and had a little checklist of features of the budget. These are all pretty good, and I agree with Senator Quinn that the budget meets the challenge. The checklist states that the budget “supports the incomes of the vulnerable”. The Minister seems to have done something there. It also states: “It keeps taxes low for working people.” As somebody with a reasonable amount of money, I cannot disagree that the less well-off should be more favoured. I will initial the report issued by the headmaster, Dr. Feargal Quinn, but I will say again that I want more horse sense in the small areas I have outlined.