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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 19 Nov 2003

Vol. 574 No. 5

Estimates for Public Services (Abridged) 2004: Motion (Resumed).

The following motion was moved by the Minister for Finance on Tuesday, 18 November 2003:
That Dáil Éireann commends the 2004 Estimates for Public Services (Abridged) published by the Minister for Finance on 13th November, 2003.
Debate resumed on amendment No. 1:
To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:
"–notes that the 2004 Estimates for Public Services (Abridged) published by the Minister for Finance on 13th November, 2003 will provide that:
–60% of the increase in current expenditure will be absorbed by increases in the Exchequer pay and pensions bill;
–the payment of a further round of benchmarking will be made without a commensurate reform programme to ensure value for money is delivered;
–in many Departments expenditure on non-pay subheads will decline in real terms, resulting in a reduction in the level of services provided;
–inadequate provision has been made to fund the capital infrastructural requirements, especially in the transport and health areas, which are needed to build a strong economy;
–further stealth taxes will be imposed on a range of State provided services, especially those under the remit of the local authorities;
–the cutbacks in the social welfare area represent a further attack on families and on lone parents;
–the Government's promise to recruit an additional 2,000 gardaí will not be met; and
–condemns the Government's stop-start approach to the management of the public finances which has totally failed to deliver quality services to the public despite incurring record levels of expenditure in recent years."
–(Deputy R. Bruton).

I wish to share time with Deputy Sargent.

I thank the Chair for the opportunity to speak on the Book of Estimates 2004. I would like to particularly focus on the health issue and the lack of real action on poverty. There has been much hype from the Minister where the Department of Health and Children got an extra €700 million bringing the budget for the year to €10.5 billion. This may sound good but many citizens and taxpayers wonder why patients are on trolleys in accident and emergency units, the less well-off are dying because of lack of equal access to health care, money talks when it comes to health care; there are 1,382 persons with intellectual disabilities on residential waiting lists, 621 seek day care places, 823 wait for respite care, families are forced to accept services miles away from home, families of children and adults with intellectual disability are forced to accept services in the midlands or in the North and, lifts in hospitals are broken for the past two years.

These are the real issues about which our people are concerned. I challenge the Minister and the Government on these issues. These are the issues we should be discussing in the Book of Estimates. We have a Government that appears to care more about horses than people. Why can we not fast-track services for the sick and the poor?

If I came up with a project tomorrow morning which would get people off drugs, into education and on to employment thus reducing crime, I would have to go through every bureaucratic hoop in the State to apply for funding and grants. Why then can two Ministers decide to sign in a matter of weeks a project in Punchestown? It is a question of priorities and that is why these Estimates lack the serious commitment to do something about health, education, disadvantage, poverty and social housing.

The current two-tier system of health care discriminates against children by providing timely access to care not on the basis of need, but on the grounds of ability to pay. This inequity is reflected in the long waiting lists for public hospital care and the uncovered costs of primary health care for the vast majority of Irish children. Child poverty is a denial of the basic right of a child to an adequate standard of living, a right guaranteed by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Minister is breaching this UN Convention. A total of 6.5% of children, approximately 70,000, are living in consistent poverty, 23%, or roughly 300,000, are in relative income poverty. Children in families with three or more children, those living in lone parent households and children of Traveller and asylum-seeking families are particularly at risk of experiencing poverty. The longer a child is poor the greater the impact on the life chances of the child and the subsequent deprivation in later life.

I urge the Government to listen to the real issues and the views of real people who want to build a just and inclusive State.

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an Teachta McGrath as a chuid ama a roinnt liom. The Government lives by the maxim that the rising tide lifts all boats. We hear this year by year but the widening gap between rich and poor proves that the maxim is not borne out in reality. Instead we have the trickle down principle and the poor are generally left waiting, as is the environment. The modus operandi of Governments whose policies are intrinsically unsustainable is to consume resources to create sufficient wealth in the hope that there will be some left over to repair the damage they do along the way. Unfortunately, we can see from these Estimates that our wealth is gone and what is there is being cut back significantly. There is no repair fund either for the poor or the environment. While food producers are being forced to intensify production and cut corners for competitive reasons the Government makes cutbacks of 46% in agriculture for disease control and eradication. The Government is asking us to fly by the seat of our pants and cross our fingers that we will not run into insurmountable problems. However, all the indications are that the problems are becoming insurmountable.

Teagasc grant aid is down 5%, making it very difficult to change with our needs because we do not have the training for various aspects of agriculture, including organic farming. There are 48 outstanding EU directives which are causing the Government some embarrassment as well as court cases, yet the EPA is being asked to do more for integrated pollution control licences. It is facing companies which are self-regulating because the resources are not there to inspect and competition is forcing them to cut costs and corners in so doing but the EPA's funding has been reduced by a whopping 32%. Does the Government really expect to be so blessed that it will withstand the insurmountable problems it is creating and the cutbacks it is making? This applies not just in areas about which we hear every day in our clinics, such as schools and hospitals, but areas about which we hear less often, until there is a disaster when people scratch their heads and ask what happened. The cause lies here as the Government turns a blind eye to these areas to prevent problems at the outset.

The Government is leaving a legacy of uncertainty for future generations who will have to mop up the problems being caused by a Government that does not want to look into the long-term but wants to fool people by taking money away from areas that deal with long-term issues. I ask the Government to grasp the nettle and see the long-term need to support the areas where it has made cutbacks and to audit each Department for sustainability. In this way it will prevent problems rather than waiting for them to happen and having to deal with them in some which way is not possible.

The recently published Abridged Estimates Volume shows a gross total estimate of €10.050 billion for the health service, an increase of 10% on the Revised Estimate for 2003. In ongoing revenue terms, the spending level is over €9.5 billion, representing an increase of €897 million or 10.4% on the equivalent figure in the 2003 Revised Estimates Volume. On the capital side, the 2004 spending level is €509 million. To maintain these achievements in service delivery the health service depends on being able to continue to recruit high calibre staff in all disciplines.

Pay costs form a very significant part of overall expenditure in a labour intensive sector such as health. The pay bill inclusive of benchmarking will require an additional €500 million in 2004. Pay rates can be expected to increase significantly in 2004. However, these increases will coincide with clear improvements and public service commitments to modernisation, including co-operation with the health reform programme, better customer service, enhanced skill mix and independently verified performance management. Further funding of €187 million is being made available to meet the increased cost of the general medical scheme. This represents an increase of 19% over the Revised Estimate for 2003. Some progress has been made on efficiencies on the general medical scheme. However, it is clear that the scheme forms a significant part of health expenditure and provides valuable and important services for persons covered by the scheme.

The current threshold for the drugs payment scheme of €70 per month will increase to €78 per month, producing a saving of approximately €8 million. Notwithstanding this increase in the threshold, the Estimate must provide an additional €50 million of spending under this scheme. Provision is being made in the Estimates for 2004 for the full year cost of the package of funding announced earlier this year for the intellectual disability sector. This will bring funding under this programme to over €800 million annually. The funding is being made available for services for persons with intellectual disability and those with autism to meet costs associated with emergency residential placements, the provision of day services for young adults who have just left school and some enhancement of the health-related support services for children. The fund provides about 175 emergency places and over 600 day places. This will enable the Eastern Regional Health Authority and the health boards to address key issues of concern which have been identified by the various representative groups. This is further evidence of the Government's commitment to these services and to supporting people with disabilities and their families.

The Estimate maintains funding of €32 million for the treatment purchase fund, which will ensure that 9,500 of those people waiting longest will be treated in 2004. This is in addition to €43 million provided for waiting list activity, which continues in the current Estimate. We have received a total of €6.55 billion additional funding since 1997, representing a 187% increase. Examining the records over the years since this and the previous Government came into office, it is clear that significant improvements in services have been achieved. Hospital activity is up 28% in that period based on projected figures for this year. In-patient and day case discharges from acute hospitals amounted to 963,000 in 2002. This figure represents approximately 2,600 patients per day being discharged for each day of the year and is an overall increase of over 4 % on the number of discharges in 2001. There was an increase of over 12% in the number of day cases between 2001 and 2002. It is expected that about one million patients will be treated this year in acute hospitals.

Waiting lists continue to fall. This is particularly evident for those waiting more than 12 months for in-patient treatment. From June 2002 to June 2003 this number decreased by 43%. Similarly, the number of children waiting six months for treatment in target specialties has decreased by 57%. The number of consultant posts has increased by 34% – by the end of 2002 the number of nurses employed had increased by 1,900 and the number of medical and dental staff had increased by 8%.

There will also be an increase in the income for public hospitals from the charges raised by hospitals from private beds. That increase of 15% will give additional income of €20 million. This income goes towards supporting services in public hospitals and is therefore part of their budgets. Even with this increase, the cost of providing services to private patients in those hospitals is far greater than the income from the private insurance companies. In the major teaching hospitals, for example, it is estimated that the income from private beds represents about half the costs of treating private patients. In the interests of equity it is Government policy to gradually eliminate the subsidy. The increase being implemented will, in a small way, close the gap.

There will also be an increase of €5 in the statutory in-patient bed charge, bringing it to €45 per night, for a maximum of ten nights a year. Accident and emergency charges are also being increased by €5 to €45. This increase will contribute to meeting the growing costs of providing accident and emergency services but more importantly will facilitate more appropriate attendances at accident and emergency units.

Capital funds of €509 million will be provided in 2004 to facilitate further improvement of health infrastructure. This will allow for progress, from planning to construction, on projects throughout the country, including the following: Mater and Temple Street hospitals; radiology, haematology-oncology accommodation and MRI in Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children; the first phase of St Vincent"s Hospital, Elm Park; the accident and emergency extension to St James's Hospital; plans for expanded ICU and accommodation for Naas hospital; maternity services at the Coombe Women's Hospital; the cardiac services, renal dialysis unit, maternity unit, accident and emergency department and day procedures unit at Cork University Hospital; the refurbishment of accommodation for older people at the James Connolly Memorial Hospital; planning for replacement accommodation at the Incorporated Orthopaedic Hospital, Clontarf; the Midland Regional Hospital at Tullamore; acute psychiatric units at Beaumont and Nenagh hospitals; step-down facilities, facilities for patients with Alzheimer's disease, psychiatric services and services for physically handicapped at Our Lady's Hospital, Cashel; a unit for older persons at St John's Hospital, Enniscorthy, and at the Hospital of the Assumption, Thurles.

The capital funding provided in 2004 will also allow for significant progress to be made on new facilities in the universities and institutes of technology to support the continuation of the nursing degree programme. Funding is also being made available for information systems and related services and this has doubled to €60 million. This capital funding will be used to bring the health services into the information age by supporting a number of "enterprise-wide" system developments which in turn will lead to better, safer and more streamlined services for our clients. Above all it will provide essential information for the management of health services at all levels. It will, I hope, foster an evidence-based approach to this problem. This significant increase in investment in information systems is a direct response to the recommendations in this area as outlined in the Prospectus and Brennan reports.

On 18 June, the Government announced the most extensive reform programme for the health system in over 30 years. The Government's decision was based on the audit of structures and functions in the health system carried out by Prospectus and the report of the Brennan Commission on financial management and control systems in the health service. A communications process has been initiated to inform and listen to response from the staff on the ground. Work on a model of programme management is nearing completion. Terms of reference and membership of action projects to advance specific aspects of the programme are almost finalised.

A project office to support the programme is currently being established. A national steering committee is to be established to oversee the implementation process. In addition, a board for the interim health service executive will be appointed. Preparatory work currently nearing completion is the key to the future success of the reform programme. The 2004 funding will support the programme as it develops through the year.

The volume and breadth of additional health and children services over recent years is significant by any accepted standard of measurement. I am, of course, acutely aware of the need to meet the goals of the health strategy regarding equity of access, quality of services and the ability to demonstrate efficiency, effectiveness and value for money. I am confident that the system is steadily achieving these key objectives. This is demonstrated through the very high performance levels recorded currently in the health system.

The current economic climate dictates that Government employs caution and prudence when making decisions on the distribution of resources. The investment of the substantial funding seen in this year's Estimates for the health services is evidence of the Government's commitment to our health services. The challenge for all of us will be to continue to deliver a quality service throughout 2004. I am confident that we have the people and the system to deliver.

I wish to share my time with Deputy Timmins.

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Most of the big issues have been dealt with in the debate. It is obvious there is inadequate funding provision for major projects that badly need to be completed. These are missed opportunities because of the narrow thinking of the Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy, who refuses to make funding available other than what is coming in from the tax take. This is bound to affect the economy in the future.

This is fair enough considering that it is the Minister's economic philosophy. That said, the country will as a result suffer in the long-term. The Minister's failure to fund the smaller items that immediately affect the quality of life of the weakest of our community is his major sin. The provisions for health and education are totally inadequate. The Minister has failed to provide the pittances needed for home help, disabled person's grants, essential repairs grants for the elderly, rent allowances for the homeless, respite care for the handicapped and the elderly, and extra funding for nursing home subvention. He has allowed no increase in the qualifying limit for the medical card and no basic funding to at least make national schools usable.

With any imagination the Minister could have made the money available to properly fund these relatively inexpensive but important schemes. Our elderly cannot afford nursing homes because the Minister refuses to fund proper subvention. They cannot stay at home because of so many cuts in home help funding. Their families are driven to distraction because they cannot install the necessary showers, downstairs bedrooms or stair lifts. Both partners in the household must work to pay the mortgage. They are burdened with the cost of child care facilities and are at their wits end trying to find ways of looking after their elderly relations. The carer's allowance is inadequate and nearly impossible to qualify for, yet the Government continues to devise new stealth taxes every day, a means of indirect taxation that must be paid irrespective of a family's disposable income.

The pressure on families has become unbearable, and one of these days the Government will be hit by the anger and frustration building up in these people. Something has to give. Up to now, young couples trying to cater for their families and their elderly have been so busy trying to make ends meet that they have not had the time to demonstrate or revolt, but the Government will push them over the edge. The Minister for Finance and the other Ministers who caved in to his demands for cutbacks cannot have it every way. They cannot refuse to fund the most basic services, namely, care for the elderly and the handicapped, while at the same time adding constantly to people's costs by introducing and increasing stealth taxes.

One can add to this the pain, suffering and worry of ordinary people waiting for hip operations and heart surgery, the disappointment of care workers in not being able to provide adequate services for the handicapped and the constant stress and worry of parents who are not sure from day to day if facilities and funding will be made available for them to look after their sons and daughters.

I hope it is not yet too late. The Minister can make adjustments in the budget to make money available for these very basic services. I have no doubt that the Irish people would have no problem making some sacrifices to ensure that the weakest in our society are looked after. I do not intend to hold my breath in this instance. The track record of the Government over the past seven years has been one of looking after the rich and famous at the expense of the old, the young and the handicapped.

On the macro level that Deputy Murphy referred to, that is, the spatial strategy and the Hanly report, there is no provision in these Estimates for those measures. I often wonder why we bother to launch such documents or spend so much time, energy and funding on drawing them up when at the end of the day there is no provision for them. Let us be honest with each other.

In the few minutes available to me I want to deal with a few agriculture issues. I notice that the former IFA president has arrived in the House.

What about the Eircom shareholders?

I am not an FBD shareholder. I am surprised that the farming unions were so welcoming of the Estimates. They seem to have lost their bite. No doubt it will dawn on them in January or February that things are not so good and that the Minister has managed, as he generally does, to massage the figures.

Teagasc seems to have been almost abandoned because this time last year there was an outcry at the possible closure of the Teagasc centres. I can inform the House that all those centres threatened with closure and put on hold will now close and they will be joined by others. Centres in Wicklow town, Tullow, Mullinavat will close. I was surprised to hear not a whimper from the farming unions.

The Minister has been lucky in that due to the decline in numbers of animals with BSE he can deduct €70 million from the fund for general disease control measures. This is a good development which is to be welcomed. The Minister should grab the bull by the horns and change the culling policy. There is no scientific basis to our present system of culling the full herd. He will argue that we must protect our markets but it is a measure which is being adopted in other countries. The French food safety authority has recommended this policy and the Danes now cull just the cohorts of the herd. I believe there is room for further savings in this area and I encourage the Minister to follow that path.

Agriculture and the food and drinks industry are worth approximately €7 billion per year. I was surprised to learn that An Bord Bia has only one representative working in the United States. This is quite astonishing. Rather than providing direct support to farmers, it might be better for Government to develop an environment conducive to selling the produce. We may have over-emphasised the importance of funding. On-farm developments are very worthwhile but we should develop the concept of funding the producer in selling his products in the market.

REPS has been increased by €70 million. This is particularly important in the light of the cross-compliance measures which will be introduced in the next few years with the new mid-term review. The Minister for Agriculture and Food will no doubt speak about the 8% increase in the Estimates. That is not an accurate figure because responsibility for forestry has been transferred into the Department and this has created an increase. I acknowledge it has risen by a figure in the region of 5% but not 8% as stated by the Minister.

The Deputy can keep praising.

Mr. Power

We are enjoying it.

Today I attended a meeting of the Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food. A farm family made a presentation to the committee about early farm retirement and disability. I asked an official to take a record for the Minister of Agriculture and Food. The family were excluded from the early farm retirement scheme because the gentleman suffered from multiple sclerosis and could not farm in the past few years. I am aware of approximately 80 similar cases. I ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food and his officials to examine that regulation. He may claim it is an EU regulation but I believe there is a facility within that regulation to cater for such families.

It would be remiss of me not to refer to the Punchestown affair. In the Minister for Finance's speech to the House last night he stated that it seems people do not object to its existence but rather its location. My predecessor as spokesperson on agriculture, Deputy Dukes, welcomed it and I agree with what he said. I welcome the centre at Punchestown. I welcome its existence and I have no difficulty with its location. Notwithstanding the financial aspect of the centre and the investigation by the Committee of Public Accounts which is a separate affair, I believe we sometimes cannot see the wood for the trees. We can become bogged down in issues such as this and lose our perspective on what is important.

I regard the levy of €1.5 million imposed by Kildare County Council as a scandal. It highlights the dearth of funding available to local authorities that they are forced to use back door mechanisms to gather funding. I regard the failure of the State and the Department of Education and Science to recognise the problem of dyslexia and to do something about it as a far bigger scandal than Punchestown ever would be.

I ask the Minister to outline what he plans to do with the funding of approximately €36 million coming from modulation in the next few years. The Taoiseach should return the responsibility for rural development to the Department of Agriculture and Food. I will never understand why he took it out. On a recent trip abroad I noticed milk vending machines. I have never seen them in Ireland unless they are at the Curragh Camp, something Deputy Power might know. I suggest we replace Coke with a milk shake.

I wish to share my time with Deputy Seán Power. The Estimates have provision for the expenditure of €40 billion by the Exchequer next year, an increase of €1.9 billion or a 5% increase on last year's Estimate. There will also be increases on budget day in social wel fare of approximately 2.3% when inflation is taken into account. This will mean a real increase in expenditure next year of approximately 4%. It is important to recognise that the figure includes borrowing of €3 billion to finance important developments in the areas of health, education, social welfare and infrastructure.

Deputy Timmins spoke about agriculture. I am pleased to see a 5% increase in the gross Estimate for the Department of Agriculture and Food. In addition to this €1.39 billion, the Department is also responsible for the expenditure of a further €1.6 billion on EU-funded agricultural measures paid directly to farmers. This will mean total expenditure by the Department in 2004 of approximately €3 billion. The average payment to each farmer in Ireland is approximately €13,000. There will be a 37% increase in the provision for the rural environment protection programme; 31% increase in the Estimate for forestry; 75% increase in the Estimate for on-farm investment schemes; 58% increase in the Estimate for farm waste management; an increase of 67% on the 2003 figure in the dairy hygiene area which will give a total of €3.5 million; 180% increase on the 2003 figure for the installation aid scheme bringing it up to €9 million in the coming year.

I have listened to this debate in the House. Speakers talk about billions of euro and macroeconomics and such like. Unless the Estimates mean something to people on the ground they count for nothing at all. I will list what these Estimates will mean for the people of County Laois.

I hope the Minister for Education and Science will have funding to advance to architectural planning stage the new second level schools in Portlaoise and also make a provision if necessary to deal with the emerging situation arising from the potential closure of Ballyfin College secondary school in County Laois. There may be some funding required for planning in the case of the new situation. At national school level I am hoping the Estimates will provide money for improvements to the schools at Camross, Castletown, Rathdowney, Ballyadams, Newtown and Killeshin.

Some €33 million has been invested in the new paediatric unit and the upgrading of Portlaoise general hospital. I look forward to the Minister being present for the formal opening of the new unit in the early new year and hope he will provide any additional funding that may be necessary. That programme is on track as a result of the expenditure this year. I hope any requirement in next year's figures will be provided for in the Estimates.

I hope and expect that the Estimates figure provided for the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government will enable sufficient funding for Laois County Council to progress its housebuilding programme in Castletown, The Swan, Graiguecullen and Portlaoise and will provide funding for social housing schemes in Mountrath, Abbeyleix, Durrow, Rathdowney, Graiguecullen, Portlaoise and Stradbally.

Some Members may be slightly surprised but I firmly believe that these Estimates must be translated into benefits for people on the ground, otherwise they are an academic exercise of no relevance to people. I can spend the day in the House talking about percentage increases and billions here and billions there and macroeconomics, but that does not count with the people on the ground. They want to know what affects them in their locality. I am making these Estimates relevant to the people on the ground in County Laois, the people I represent.

I hope the Estimates will include sufficient funding to enable the swimming pool projects in Portlaoise and Portarlington to proceed. I look forward to the provision of funding that will allow the advancement of the water and sewerage schemes in Mountrath, Abbeyleix, Durrow, Rathdowney, Castletown, Swan, Timahoe and Ballylinan.

The Minister for Transport unveiled a great increase in the Estimates for his Department. The Monasterevin bypass construction project is well under way and the Kildare bypass is due to be opened in the coming weeks, and both will be of tremendous assistance to County Laois, the next county to Kildare as one heads south from Dublin. I hope funding will be made available to advance the road projects between Portlaoise and Borris-in-Ossory and Portlaoise and Cullahill. I also look forward to resources being made available to decentralise another Department to Portlaoise in 2004.

I hope other Deputies will make these Estimates as relevant to their constituents as I have done because that is a TD's job, making what we do relevant to those we represent.

Having listened to Deputy Fleming there will be many schemes in County Laois to be opened next year and I hope there will not be a row between the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister of State at the Department of Finance over who will do the honours.

I am talking about projects in County Laois, not County Offaly.

I hope the Deputy is invited along.

I would like to deal with the attacks on the racing industry, a major contributor to the economy, by the leader of the Labour Party. Deputy Rabbitte spoke about the matter yesterday, asking how the Taoiseach could justify cuts of €58 million that will affect the weakest in society when €67 million will be made available for horse racing, most of it in prize money for the diversion of tax exiles involved in the racing industry. The racing industry puts far more money into the economy than it takes out.

In 2001 the Minister for Agriculture and Food introduced the Horse and Greyhound Racing Bill that guaranteed funding to both those racing industries and we have since seen the wonderful effects that had, not just on attendances but on facilities at racetracks. To suggest that most of that money goes in prize money to wealthy owners who are tax exiles is nonsense. The hare is an integral part of the greyhound industry but it is obvious that the "Rabbitte" is out of touch with the horse racing industry.

Unlike some.

It is important that his colleagues correct him because it is hard to be an expert in every area.

This year the Government provided €63 million to both the horse and greyhound racing industries, with 80% going to horse racing and 20% to greyhound racing. Prize money has increased in recent years, which is necessary and fitting because we are competing with other countries and we must retain Ireland's status as one of the top horse racing countries in the world. Prize money does not go to owners alone – 25% of all prize money is divided between jockeys and trainers, with a smaller percentage going to stable staff.

Horse Racing Ireland was established two years ago and has a plan to develop the industry, part of which involves developing facilities. For too long there have been run-down facilities at tracks, not just for punters but for stable staff as well. Anyone familiar with the conditions under which stable staff had to work would realise the necessity of funding for that area. They work in conditions that no industry would tolerate. We should think before being critical of the Minister for providing money.

The majority of those involved in horse ownership are in it for fun. Those who stay involved do so for a love of the sport and it is important that we encourage them to stay in horse ownership and persuade others to get involved. Very few owners make money out of horse ownership – the majority of them have huge losses that cannot be written off against tax. Last year there were 5,469 horses in training in Ireland, 1,994 races were run under flat and national hunt rules and 28,259 horses took part. It is obvious that the vast majority of horses never win races – quite a few do not even get to the racetrack.

In 1969, when the then Minister for Finance, Charles Haughey, introduced a tax exemption on stallion fees, there was widespread support in the House for the measure. The then Deputies Liam Cosgrave and Brendan Corish agreed with the need for such a measure. It was introduced to develop the industry in Ireland and put it on a par with the rest of the world. People should acknowledge the wonderful success it has been – it is one of the few areas where we can claim to be the world's best.

Deputy Rabbitte mentioned tax exiles. I only know one person who is seriously involved in the horse racing industry who is a tax exile and I salute that person for the wonderful contribution and investment he has made. It has cost him a fortune to be involved to such an extent in the industry and when Deputy Rabbitte is making remarks about such people, he should remember the €5 million donated by a certain person involved in the industry for a business school in memory of the late Deputy Jim Kemmy.

I listened with great interest to Deputy Seán Power. All our hearts are touched by the image he presented of the impoverished racehorse owner. I had not realised things were so tough for them.

I never said they were impoverished. The Deputy is attributing words to me that I did not use.

I will say impecunious racehorse owners then. I suggest though, since his message is so uplifting, that he might try it out the next time a lone parent comes into his clinic.

I deal with as many of them as the Deputy.

It might be an interesting message to give out to the lone parent who is being hit so badly by the Government, who cannot get on to a detoxification scheme because the crèche has been taken away when a community employment scheme was abandoned because of Government cut-backs, or to a person struggling to get mortgage interest relief to which he or she was entitled in the past, or someone forced into the street because he or she cannot get rent allowance. Those people would be very interested to hear about Deputy Seán Power's concerns about racehorse owners.

The Estimates for the Department of Health and Children show the chasm between what the Government promises to do and what it delivers. This pattern has been followed since the current Minister for Health and Children entered office. No additional resources will be made available for the implementation of the Hanly report. The Minister can talk about ten year plans and other matters but if the Hanly report is to be implemented, resources must be provided in the 2004 Estimates. They are not and that raises a question mark over the Government's credibility on the Hanly report.

At Question Time, the Minister for Health and Children maintained that he would not be closing accident and emergency departments in four local hospitals in the pilot areas – St. Columcille's Hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital in Nenagh, Ennis General Hospital and St. Michael's Hospital – that somehow they would remain magically untouched.

That is the implication of what he said, but the clear stated object of the Hanly report is to close these departments. He said that approximately 70% of people presenting at accident and emergency departments were not urgent cases. There is no such figure in the report. There is a figure of 60%, but many people within that 60% who attend a nurse-led minor injuries unit would not be dealt with. What is being proposed in the Hanly report, therefore, would not provide for that need. That needs to be corrected in terms of the flimflam for which the Minister for Health and Children has been responsible.

It is worth noting yet again that 169 days remain for the Government, and the Minister in particular, to live up to their commitment that hospital waiting lists will be abolished. There has been no significant change in the number of people on hospital waiting lists and, sadly, we do not even know the true number. We only know those who have gone through the system, seen a specialist and are now waiting to get a hospital bed. The thousands of people waiting to see a specialist are unrecorded. They are the silent numbers of public patients who are required to wait in a way that would be considered unacceptable by any private patient. Any of us covered by VHI or BUPA would find it unacceptable to be put in that situation, and that highlights the true nature of our two-tier system.

Even allowing for the solution the Government has presented in the national treatment purchase fund, which has been trumpeted as a great success and has provided for procedures, the means for doing so are open to question. It is certainly not a solution to the problem but it has been effective in providing a certain amount of care and procedures. That fund, however, will receive only a 3% increase. That is interesting because the waiting list initiative will receive no increase as far as one can read.

It is impossible to know specifics about many of the allocations in the budget. Up to €7 billion is recorded in a type of lump allocation to health boards and it is impossible to know where that money goes, but it appears that the waiting list initiative will not receive an increase next year. Does this mean the Minister has given up the ghost on public hospital waiting lists? He does not care and is not dealing with it in a focused way.

We need to deal specifically with the issue of bed capacity because there was a commitment in the health strategy to provide 3,000 new beds. When the Minister for Finance launched the Fianna Fáil economic manifesto before the previous general election, he promised to spend an additional €1.2 billion in 2004 on that spent in 2002. On capital funding alone he clearly has not done that. This year, the voted capital spending on hospitals will be cut by 8%. He provided only €1.5 million in the two years 2002 to 2004 which is a thousandth of what he promised in his manifesto. We are seeing a cut in capital expenditure at a time when, especially if the Hanly report is implemented, there will be an increased demand for hospital beds which cost money. They cannot be magicked out of the air. They need to be written into the Estimates as a specific allocation.

In a reply to a parliamentary question I tabled I noted that, out of the 709 beds promised in January 2002, 568 new beds were provided in the system, but concurrent with that was the closure of 260 beds within the existing hospital complement. Regardless of the reasons for that – financial, refurbishment or whatever – these are decommissioned beds which cut in half the number of new beds promised. This again highlights the issue around the new development at James Connolly Memorial Hospital in Blanchardstown. Between €1 million and €5 million would open that new unit and provide a state of the art accident and emergency department, yet it appears we will not see that.

What we are promised in the Estimates, and it appears the Government will deliver on it, is more chaos in our hospital service over the next 12 months, more demand in our accident and emergency departments and more people on trolleys or sitting in chairs waiting to access beds. There is no indication in the Estimates that any of that pain and suffering will be ameliorated over the next 12 months. A 6% increase simply means that the hospitals, if they are fortunate enough, which is doubtful, will be standing still in terms of the experience they have had and it will probably mean that the problem will worsen significantly. Medical inflation is much higher than normal inflation because demands in terms of replacement and maintenance in hospitals are high, yet we are not seeing that being built into the hospital budgets. The 6% is for voluntary hospitals.

The most scandalous aspect of these Estimates, and it is the mark that will be imprinted on the Government when it presents itself to the electorate in the next general election, is the failure to increase the number of medical card holders. In a time of continuing prosperity and following a period of a decade during which the country did extremely well, we are now in a situation where the number of people on medical cards is at 27.7%, the lowest proportion since the institution of the scheme in 1972. At a time when we could be caring for vulnerable families, we keep them out of the safety net. We do not provide them with the supports to which they are entitled. The income limits are disgracefully low and what we see, and we all know this, is the unmet demand where people with young children cannot afford to see their general practitioner.

What happens in many of these cases? They end up in an accident and emergency department because the primary care service to which the Minister keeps referring – he seems to think it is all about GP co-operatives – simply does not exist for these people. More than anything else that is the true neglect in these Estimates – the neglect of young families on low incomes who cannot afford to attend their general practitioner. It is the one aspect that is so scandalous it will not go unrecorded.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on these Estimates which will involve the expenditure of more than €40 billion in 2004. This represents an increase of 5% in respect of the expenditure and 2% on capital.

I recognise that the Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy, when preparing these Estimates, looked at the current situation where we have seen growth figures go from 10.2% in 2000 to 3.8% in 2001, 0.1% in 2002 and 1.5% in 2003. He recognises, as we all do, that when growth is low, so also is revenue and, if the revenue is not available, it cannot be spent. The Government has tried to consolidate the growth we have seen in the economy which has grown by more than half the rate that prevailed in 1997. We are trying to consolidate the gains we have made in the past six and a half years and therefore see growth and revenue increase in years to come. That will leave our economy in a healthy shape.

I congratulate the Minister, Deputy McCreevy, for managing the finances in such a way. We have heard much public debate on election promises and Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats getting back into Government last year. The Taoiseach and the Minister stated at the time that growth in the economy was slowing down. In fact, it had already happened by the time the election was called and therefore was no surprise to anyone.

However, people recognised that the Government represented a safe pair of hands. This is the Government that brought the economy back to order after the massive mismanagement by other Governments. People wanted a safe pair of hands to manage them through this period of low growth when there was no money to be spent.

This is a time when we have to focus on the areas most important to people and those of greatest need. The Minister has correctly identified that the areas on which to focus are health, education, social welfare and investment in our infrastructure, which is necessary to develop the economy.

We are also investing in people. Some €1.1 billion of this money will be spent on public service pay. While many people on both sides of the House have said we should spend more, we disagree because we want to keep our borrowings down to enable the economy to remain stable and to benefit in the future. Other people believe that rather than spending €1.1 billion on public service pay, we should not honour the benchmarking payments. That is extraordinary. We value people. As one of my colleagues said earlier, we can talk about figures as much as we like, but the Estimates are about people and the benefits to them. We value people, such as nurses, teachers and gardaí, who will produce the growth to enable us to move forward. They and the Government have signed up to benchmarking. Unlike other parties which feel we should not honour those commitments, we will honour them.

I welcome the provision of more than €10 billion for the health service. That represents a huge increase since 1997 and it means a lot, particularly in my constituency. More than €50 million has been spent on capital investment in Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar. There have also been significant improvements in the health service in that county. I have heard people criticise the health service in recent years, despite the fact we have increased spending by €6.55 billion since 1997. We have also increased the number of people working in the health service to 96,000. There have been significant improvements throughout the country.

Deputy McManus referred to the Hanly report, which is funded through the Estimates. The Government has been trying through the various reports to improve our health service because we recognise that it needs to be updated and that problems must be tackled. However, all I hear is criticism of the Government's proposals. No one has suggested an alternative. Deputy McManus is a case in point and I am sorry she is not still in the House. Two years ago the Labour Party launched its health document, which Deputy Howlin said at the time was the most wonderfully researched document the Labour Party had published. However, it was dead and buried within a week and we have not heard a word about it since.

The Government is committed to spending the money where it feels it is needed and the Minister has correctly identified that. I want this economy to grow from strength to strength so that we are not crippled by an overburdened debt and that we will have money to invest in our people and infrastructure in the future. As regards the ESRI's views on spending, will the Minister ensure that all the money allocated for the regional operational programme is spent? I want the money to be spent in the BMW region. We must get our fair share, particularly for road and rail infrastructure. I am anxious that that is maintained in the years to come.

When the Book of Estimates or the budget is presented, most commentators would urge the Minister to be prudent. I do so today because we want to ensure that we stay in line with other economies and that we have the time and the money to develop this country and to support businesses as we move into new and challenging times. We will reflect on the detail when the budget is announced in a couple of weeks.

The mark of any civilised society is how it looks after its weak or less well off members. We must continue to focus on that in the context of the Department of Social and Family Affairs and what is included not only in the Book of Estimates but also in the budget. We must continue to give the type of increases we gave over the years to those who are less well off to enable them to have a good quality of life.

Small businesses have been served well by county enterprise boards. New businesses have been formed and funding has been provided. However, funding to county enterprise boards has been reduced in recent years because of the growth in the economy. However, given that the economy has changed, we must encourage local indigenous businesses to create jobs in their local communities by refocusing on the activities of county enterprise boards and giving them better financial support.

As regards the roads programme, it is good that it is being rolled out and that money is being provided. However, some projects, such as the Kilkenny ring-road which has not yet been completed, have been on the State's books for the past 20 years. I ask the Minister to match the spend on the Kilkenny ring-road with the €30 million spent on the river, for which the Minister of State, Deputy Parlon, must be commended. The roads infrastructure in Kilkenny must be dealt with if the economy is to grow. I will not be satisfied until work is done on that this year. Perhaps there is a need for us to reflect on the type of roads we are building. Perhaps we are going too far in terms of the design and roll-out.

As regards public accounts, I am a member of the Committee of Public Accounts and every week we see significant sums of money being overspent on schemes, such as roads or information technology, throughout the country. I encourage the Government to reward Departments which spend within their budgets and which are innovative with the money provided. The unspent money should be given back to them to spend on the customer services required. If we focused on managing the money, rather than on what we want to spend, we would have a better economy. Large sums of money are being overspent or duplicated in different areas. County councils, for example, spend enormous amounts of money on consultants. There is no reason that could not be done in a Department as projects are rolled out. Consultancy groups could be represented and their views taken on board. If we did that, we would save a considerable amount of money. Private consultancies are making a lot of money because they are doing the same thing for every county council.

There is a need to reform the public service and to attract professionals into it to ensure greater management and efficiency of spend and value for the money we allocate to the different Departments. If that was done, there would be larger amounts of money for communities. A small amount of money would do a lot for many of the communities we represent. I am talking about management, efficiency and value for money, which have been largely ignored in recent years. We must address this area because my experience on the Committee of Public Accounts demands that something must be done as soon as possible.

I wish to share my time with Deputies McHugh and Gogarty.

Is that agreed? Agreed.

For the second year in a row the Government has engaged in budget cuts across all Departments without regard to the impact they will have on the most marginal in our society. Once again, Sinn Féin calls for the budget and the cuts to be equality and poverty-proofed in a transparent process. Equality proofing and spending benefit the majority on the island. More than 50% of the population are women and almost 10% live with a disability. When one takes into account the effect on their family members, they represent almost one third of the population. Irish society is also ethnically diverse and there is a need to challenge racism. We are not doing enough in that regard. Another group in our society which would benefit from equality proofing is the aged who are at risk of age-related discrimination. Equality spending is an investment in a better society and future for each person on the island.

Last year the Government made cuts across the equality sector, despite ongoing discrimination and the pressing need for equality measures. Some of them were very deep. There were cutbacks in spending on the Equality Authority and the equality tribunal, and equality monitoring was cut by 48%. Measures relating to people with disabilities were cut by 44% and funding for the national consultative committee on racism and interculturalism was also cut. The anti-racism awareness campaign was slashed by 63%.

For 2004 the Government proposes to rub salt into these wounds. Equality monitoring will be cut by an additional 18%. Funding to improve the status of people with disabilities will be cut by 19%. The anti-racism awareness campaign will be cut by 76%. Contrary to what the Minister claimed, these cuts bear no relation to organisational ineffectiveness, proven waste or the reduction of need. They are just another front in the mean-spirited war against a rights-based society being waged by the Government, especially the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

These cuts are unconscionable at a time when the Government proposes to increase spending to more than €66 million on underwriting the leisure pursuits of the wealthy in the form of the horse and greyhound racing fund. It also intends to spend more than €700,000 on a secret service which the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform claims does not exist. At a minimum, the 2003 cuts to the equality sector should be reversed and full funding reinstated in this year's budget.

It is unacceptable that the Government has not decided to take advantage of the occasion of the EU Presidency in 2004 to show leadership on the issue of reaching the UN overseas development target of 0.7% of GNP. Instead the Government has, for the third year in a row, frozen this spending at 0.41%, against the advice of Development Co-operation Ireland and Dóchas. If we are to reach the target as promised by the Taoiseach we will need a multi-annual commitment to incremental increases, beginning with an increase to 0.48% this year. Anything less is inexcusable.

A perusal of the Book of Estimates by a representative from the west does not make for relaxing reading. Although this country needs to become more competitive, the west needs to make leaps and bounds into the new millennium before we can even discuss competitiveness. In a nutshell, the west is years behind the east in the provision of infrastructure. There is nothing in the Book of Estimates to indicate this will change in a significant way in the immediate future. The continued neglect of the west by successive Governments will continue.

In the west we lack infrastructure, decent roads linking us to the east, north and south, a rail service linking the entire western region and water and sewerage schemes in our towns and villages, where no growth has occurred for generations. People are now willing to invest in houses, where there is a large demand, but planning permission is being refused because the water and sewerage schemes in some towns are not adequate to cater for an increased load. In other cases they do not exist at all. We look to the Estimates to see the good news of an increase in the provision for sewerage but all we find is a 7% reduction.

In the few centres in the west with half-decent sewerage facilities we do not have the road network to facilitate access for industrialists who may be willing, with a push, to channel inward investment. We look at the Book of Estimates to see the percentage increase included for road construction in the west – again, there is great disappointment. After the last election the Government was shocked at the results in the west. Its remedy was to appoint a Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, which was a great idea in theory. However, ideas based on knee-jerk reactions, when not properly resourced, result in failure. I fully supported the setting up of this Department and the appointment of Deputy Ó Cuív as Minister because I know his commitment to the west. Unfortunately, however, the Minister and his Department have been too starved of funding to make an impression on the problems of the west.

The Minister for Finance said in his speech last night: "In assessing our economic prospects and framing our spending policies we must, therefore, deal with the world as it is." I agree thoroughly. The world for the people of the west is one of neglect, of being on the hind tit, of getting the crumbs from the table of the eastern masters, of begging from the Government, of being fobbed off. The Minister also said last night: "Ireland's position as a small and open economy means that economic developments here are, to a large degree, determined by our ability to supply goods and services to the global economy." If this is applied to the west, the ability to supply goods and services is hamstrung because of the diabolical infrastructure in the area. It is time for Government to acknowledge the difficulties faced by those in the west and set about rectifying them.

It seems the more things change, the more they stay the same. This year we are seeing further cuts in the Estimates. Last year, in my first year as a TD, we had cuts. and I remember getting into a spat with Deputy Ring over the question of TDs taking a pay cut in line with the cuts that would affect the most underprivileged members of society. I have much respect for Deputy Ring, but we argued over that. Later in the year Deputy Fiona O'Malley called for something similar.

I reiterate, not in a spurious way, that some TDs are seen, aided by certain well-off media figures, to be taking long holidays, to be working in the Dáil only for short periods and to be making lots of money at the expense of those who are most vulnerable in our society, who have been hit once again in these Estimates and will no doubt be hit again when the budget comes out – for example, those who suffer from coeliac disease. The trouble with this disease is that one must pay for special food which is very expensive. A person on social welfare who finds the dietary allowance is being phased out will be hit hard. It will not hit TDs, who will shortly receive another pay increase. The Minister for Finance should put forward a proposal to freeze TDs' pay in line with proper Dáil reform. Deputy Boyle pointed this out recently in our submission on Dáil reform, as have members of other Opposition parties.

Last year I was castigated about the subsidies in this House. Dublin TDs are paid more than €61 per day just for turning up. Who is watching? Who says one is turning up? One can just walk in and walk out without anybody knowing. Unless we tighten up our procedures within this House and are seen to be setting an example, this urination on the less well-off in society will cause long-term damage.

I wish to share my time with Deputy Peter Power.

Is that agreed? Agreed.

In reply to Deputy Gogarty I must point out that many Members of this House have given up other employment to be here. I have spoken to several who have taken cuts in their salaries. They are not double-jobbing. They do not have a second source of income.

One well-paid job.

We do not all have multi-million euro portfolios either.

They are married people with commitments to mortgages and so on. There are real constraints on people's lifestyles based on when they arrived here.

The Deputy is only a child yet.

It is unreasonable of Deputies to say otherwise. Deputy Gogarty should try it himself and report back at the time of next year's Estimates.

What about having to sign in for expenses?

Please allow Deputy Curran to continue without interruption.

I welcome the Book of Estimates. The Estimates must be considered in terms of how the economy is performing and our ability to spend and raise money. It has often been said that we should spend more on one thing or another – on this side of the House one must listen to it every day. Extra money should be spent on every project that is put forward. Every one of those is worthy in its own way but the amount of resources is finite. While the option of raising borrowings or additional taxation certainly exists, the danger with this is it makes the economy less competitive. The Minister for Finance has managed to maintain Ireland's position in a difficult and challenging global economic climate. We have only to look at what is happening in neighbouring European states and consider the rates of unemployment there. We have managed to sustain historically high levels of employment. I looked at the Minister's budget speech of last year and while he said he expected unemployment to rise to 5% or 5.25%, the outturn is more like 4.5%. A little over a year ago, Opposition Members clamoured to ask what would be done about the rate of inflation, then running at 4% or 5%. The rate of inflation is now 2.3%. Managing the economy on the macro level is crucially important.

Like Deputy Gogarty and others, I am concerned about disadvantaged people as I represent areas that are socially excluded. I grew up with people in those areas. Employment is the best approach to tackling disadvantage and social exclusion.

Lone parents will have to give up employment because of what the Minister for Social and Family Affairs has done. I hope the Deputy tells her that.

The Deputy can tell her that herself.

Even in north Clondalkin, lone parents will have to give up work because of the cutbacks instigated by the Minister.

Many have already had to give up work.

They will not be able to afford their rents.

I have grown up with people from families that had never worked. Things are significantly different today. There is unemployment but not to the extent we have seen in the past.

Is the Deputy defending the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment? I will tell the people of north Clondalkin that he is doing this.

Deputy Gogarty can tell people what he wants. The best approach to the area of disadvantage is to afford people the opportunity of employment. I have seen this work.

One aspect of the Estimates that interests me is the area of education. Expenditure will increase by 12%, or €670 million, in the coming year. I am particularly interested in expenditure on the capital programme. I am pleased that there is a continued targeting of disadvantage and special needs. I have been involved in education—

The Deputy is not being serious.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Order, please.

Having been involved in a number of schools for several years, it is only recently that we have seen real progress on special needs in primary schools, such as the provision of special needs teachers.

What happened to the back to education allowance? I thought it was cut.

I speak on this issue from personal experience and not just as a member of a board of management. This is the right way to continue. I also believe the Minister for Education and Science is committed to this approach.

I thank Deputy Curran for sharing time with me. When talking about an increase in this year's Estimates of approximately 5%, one must remember that while we can have political debates about the extent of increases and where the priority of increases should lie, such increases, when looked at from a base level in 1997, are enormous. One cannot compare a 5% increase in 2002 with a 5% increase in 1997 as we were coming from historically low levels of public expenditure. A 5.9% increase now – twice the level of inflation and twice that of any other economy in the EU – is coming from a high base. A 5% increase now represents €1.9 billion in additional expenditure. If spending had been increased by €1.9 billion in 1997, it would have been a 27% increase in overall expenditure. Increases must be looked at in this context. I will engage with anybody about the nature of the increases and the priorities regarding different Departments.

A close connection has developed in recent years between the Estimates process and the budget. Prior to this, people used to think these were entirely separate processes. I congratulate the Minister for Finance on drawing this connection to people's notice and putting the myth to bed. While the connection between income in the Estimates and spending in the budget was always recognised in economic circles, Members of this House and across the political divide have only belatedly converted to the notion. The Government cannot spend more than it is earning through taxes.

I was in school in the 1980s when more than half of my class had to leave Ireland because we were spending far beyond what we were receiving in revenue. I am not afraid to say this was a fault of Fianna Fáil Governments, indeed the Minister for Finance made this criticism in the early 1980s. However, this spending was primarily propagated throughout the 1980s by the Fine Gael-Labour coalition. That had to stop. Having been in Government for 13 of the past 16 years, Fianna Fáil has drawn a line under that and we simply cannot go back to those days.

Whereas before the Estimates were prepared in the context of internal economic factors, there is a growing realisation that many international economic factors have a greater impact on current Estimates than at any other time in our history. Limerick and the mid-west have the country's highest level of foreign direct investment and one of the highest levels in the entire European Union. If we do not take into account the international factors that we are only now beginning to realise, such levels of investment will depart for other shores. They depend on stable Government finances, a low cost base, low labour costs and free availability of labour. If we depart from the prudent financial measures and fiscal management of the economy which we have adopted in the past 13 years and adopt the policies which everyone on the other side of the House invites us to adopt, we will go back to the years when half my class departed these shores.

I congratulate the Government and the Minister for adopting prudent economic and fiscal policies when they are badly needed.

I wish to share my time with Deputy Pat Breen.

The recently unveiled education Estimates are a textbook example of how to convert an increase in education spending into a reduction in the education service. The Minister will say his overall allocation has increased, but these Estimates show a shortfall of almost €20 million in current spending. The increase in 2004 is estimated to be just over €600 million. If we deduct from this the increases in pay for 2004, which equal €477 million, and the increase in the allocation to the Residential Institutions Redress Board and the child abuse commission of €125 million, we see that, despite Deputy Curran's reading of the Estimates, the increases consume more than the total increase allocated by the Estimates to current expenditure for 2004.

The recently published Estimates show that the Minister for Education and Science will not even spend the budget allocated to him in 2003 for capital projects. An astounding amount, just over €60 million, has been left unspent this year, despite teachers and students working in appalling conditions. The Department of Education and Science has failed to utilise the resources allocated to it to make capital investments in school buildings and facilities.

The Minister will champion the increase in allocation to primary schools building projects for 2004, which I acknowledge, but will fail to mention that this increase is less than half the amount left unspent by his Department in capital projects for 2003. He has repeatedly said he can only spend what he has, but the Estimates show that he cannot even do that.

If the Minister continues to contend that education spending will have increased for 2004, we must state the areas on which he is not spending. Building grants for second level schools have increased by 1%, well below the rate of inflation. The National Educational Psychological Service receives another paltry increase of 1%, also less than the rate of inflation. There will be no increased spending on building grants or capital costs at the institutes of technology, universities or centres for young offenders. The measly increase of only 1% in second level schools building projects means that these projects still have fewer resources than they had in 2002.

Deputy Fleming outlined his wish list for County Laois. We all share his wishes but the people in Portlaoise, Ballyfin, Camross , Castletown, Ballyadams, Newtown and Killeshin to whom he referred did not elect him to hope. They elected him in the hope that he would deliver something. The figures as outlined for this year give little hope of that.

It must also be remembered that the Minister committed himself to funding proper science facilities at all second level schools in 2004. The provision of these new facilities is all the more important given the statistics that I recently uncovered showing a serious slump in the numbers studying the life and physical sciences at third level. Science student numbers at third level have plummeted by 6,000 since the Government came to office. Given the tiny increase in funding, which is far below the rate of inflation, how can science facilities be brought up to an acceptable standard in second level schools? I greatly fear that the sharp decline in interest in science will continue unchallenged with serious consequences for our economy. Chemical, pharmaceutical and manufacturing companies may well look elsewhere for a more scientifically educated workforce.

The increase of 1% in funding to the National Educational Psychological Service means that the NEPS will not be able to expand. Already, huge areas within Ireland are not covered by the service. Some 71% of schools in the mid-west, 57% in the north-west and 44% in the midlands are not covered. Children already wait up to two years for an assessment. Less money means more waiting.

The recent report from the Comptroller and Auditor General showed that the Department of Education and Science has, in the past 18 months, spent more than €2 million funding private psychological assessments because its own service has not been rolled out efficiently and comprehensively. This leaves the Minister open to the charge of poor management. His Department spends €2 million on private assessments but only allocates an additional €115,000 to the NEPS. This does not make sense. If there is no psychological service in an area, it is right that the Department should fund a private assessment, but it would make more economic sense to fund the NEPS properly. We must remember the role of the NEPS under the Education for Persons with Disabilities Bill. With these limited resources I do not know how it will meet that challenge.

A year and a half after its establishment, the National Educational Welfare Board is nowhere near meeting its targets. The board has a statutory obligation given it by the House to tackle non-attendance at schools and challenge and monitor disadvantage. Without funding, this cannot be done. Last February, in a letter to all schools, the NEWB confirmed that it could not provide assistance in schools where officers have not been appointed. Gardaí no longer have a role in this area. Given the allocation in the Estimates, the NEWB will still be unable to provide a service to schools outside a small number of urban areas.

One must wonder if the Minister has any idea of what work takes place in Ireland's third level institutes and universities. These colleges have been through a time of uncertainty and confusion. I attended a conference organised by the NUI. For the third level sector, these Estimates are another blow, showing a reduction of 47% in building grants and capital costs at the institutes of technology and 45% in the case of the universities. How does this square with the commitment in the Fianna Fail-Progressive Democrat programme for Government to support advanced research and the physical renewal of third level campuses?

The Estimates will also come as a blow to those involved in youth work nationally. The small increases in funding flagged in the Estimates are far below what youth work organisations were hoping for and fail to recognise the huge benefits that can be derived from youth work programmes. The Estimates show yet another missed opportunity to promote youth work.

These Estimates are a triumph of appearance over reality, but reality bites and the bite will be felt in many homes.

Spending cuts have dominated the Government's programme since taking power in June 2002. Last year spending cuts were made before the budget and all Government promises were abandoned. We remember the slogan, "A lot done. More to do". The Minister has lived up to his promise and has done a lot of people once again.

The public continues to pay dearly for the pre-election spending spree and for the collapse in prudent spending controls. Current spending provision is 58% more than in 2000. Once again, our health services have been targeted. The drugs payment scheme has been targeted with an increase of €8 per month which places the threshold at €78. This will add to the burden of chronically ill people, adding nearly €100 per year to their medical bills. We were promised 200,000 extra medical cards. Given that Ireland has the highest level of respiratory ailments in Europe, I appeal to the Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív, to ask the Minister for Finance to consider giving medical cards to the many asthma sufferers throughout the country who have been ignored by the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrat Government during the past six years.

We have seen other silent increases in hospital bed charges and accident and emergency charges. If the Minister for Health and Children gets his way, the people of Clare will be exempt from accident and emergency charges because we will not have an accident and emergency service. The 15,000 people who marched in Ennis last Saturday will not accept his proposals and will send a clear message to the Government at the local and European elections.

As Fine Gael junior spokesperson on transport and wearing my constituency shirt, I congratulate the Minister for Transport on his commitment to begin construction of the Ennis bypass in 2004. This was achieved by intense lobbying by Government and Opposition Members and by the county council. I welcome this commitment, although it is two years behind schedule and we have lost much business because of the delay. The bypass will be a tremendous help to the west, especially Shannon Airport. Eleven other road projects, including Monaghan, Castleblayney, Mullingar and Cavan, are not included this year because there has been no increase in funding. I sympathise with these communities.

The Government has made no commitment to the railways or the western rail link, despite the fact that the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs fully supports the West on Track campaign. This is a pity. With the upgrading of the line, we now have a good service from Ennis to Limerick. My colleague, Deputy Connaughton, would be delighted if the Ennis to Athenry line could be upgraded in the next few years. I urge the Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív, to appeal to the Minister for Finance on this matter.

Last year saw the passing of the Railway Safety Bill, yet this year the Minister for Transport proposes to cut funding by 23%. How can he say safety is his priority? Let us consider local authorities, which have been hit badly by the Minister's refusal to grant extra moneys to fund benchmarking and the recommendations of Sustaining Progress. Most local authorities are under financial pressure and they have to paddle their own canoes. As a result of the Government's policy, local authorities will have to impose higher rates for businesses and young couples will have to pay up to €9,000 for planning permission. It was only in last year's budget that the first-time buyer's grant was abolished by the Government.

Other charges have been imposed which I do not have time to address. The extra gardaí that were promised and the 7% drop in respect of sewerage schemes have also to be considered. This latter drop will delay the development of certain sewerage schemes for another year or two, and this will be a hindrance to local communities. People will continue to get poorer under the policies of this Government.

Tá áthas orm deis a fháil labhairt ar na Meastacháin. Caithfidh an Stát €40 billiúin sa chéad bhliain eile ar sheirbhísí don phobal. Tá sé seo mar ardú sula dtiocfaidh na hathraithe a thiocfaidh sa gcáinaisnéis. Méadú 5% atá i gceist sna Meastacháin. Bíonn ardaithe i gcónaí i gceist ar caitheachas sa gcáinaisnéis. Caithfear é sin a chur i gcomparáid le boilsciú de 2.3%. Tá sé deacair a thuiscint cén fath go bhfuil daoine ag caint ar ghearrtha nuair atá an ráta fáis dhá oiread níos mó ná ráta an bhoilscithe.

Bíonn an Fhreasúra i gcónaí ag caint ar an tosaíocht ar cheart a thabhairt d'oideachas, do shláinte agus do chúrsaí leasa shóisialaigh. Is díol súntais é go bhfuil 67% den chaiteachais dírithe ar an trí Roinn seo. Tá an pictiúr níos soiléire fós nuair a chuirtear na figiúirí don trí Roinn seo i gcomparáid leis an gcaiteachas i 1997. I 1997 bhí €5.7 billiúin caite ar leasa shóisialaigh. Roimh an gcáinaisnéis beidh €10.6 billiúin caite ag an Rialtas agus ardófar é sin sa gcáinaisnéis. Tá caiteachas sláinte imithe ó chaiteachais de €3.6 bhilliúin i 1997 go os cionn €10 mbilliúin i 2004 agus caiteachas ar oideachas imithe ó €3.2 bhilliúin go €6.5 bhilliúin i rith an thréimhse céanna. Cruthaíonn sé seo go bhfuil tosaíochtaí soiléir ag an Rialtas agus go bhfuil i gceist aige seasamh leo.

I am delighted to have an opportunity to speak on the Estimates and to make a few brief comments on them. It is amazing how, within one year, the agenda keeps moving as we in Government solve problems. Last year we were told that the big issue was the rate of inflation. Now that it is less than half of that of one year ago, at 2.3%, this issue has disappeared from the radar screen.

Similarly with unemployment, despite dire predictions from commentators and Opposition spokespersons regarding a likely increase in unemployment, the Government has a very enviable record in European terms and has had singular success in maintaining our very high level of employment. When I was in Salsburg last week I spoke to people from other countries and noted that they are quite amazed that we have managed to maintain this level.

On the Estimates, before budget day adjustments, the increase in spending is already twice the rate of inflation and amounts to €40 billion. Of this, 67% will be spent on health, education and social welfare, thus outlining clearly the Government's commitment to these three very important expenditure areas.

It is important to note that there have been massive increases in expenditure, even allowing for inflation, since 1997 in expenditure in these three Departments. Social welfare expenditure has increased from €5.7 billion to €10.6 billion before the Estimates, while health expenditure has trebled from €3.6 billion to over €10 billion in the same period. Education expenditure has increased from €3.2 billion to €6.5 billion.

Let us consider the Estimates pertaining to my own Department. The expenditure for my Department represents a 5% increase on the Revised Estimates Volume for 2003. Included is a funding increase of 5% for community affairs, 18% for islands – this is the greatest amount ever spent on the islands – and a 5% increase for the drugs programme.

I am delighted that a new subhead called RAPID has been introduced into the Estimates for my Department. A provision of €5.8 million has been provided for it. I have consistently said in the past year that it was my intention to have a radical overhaul of the RAPID programme in place by the 1 January 2004.

It was badly needed.

I agree. I always stick by the dates I give and they are always realistic. The main element of this process is a separation of the major items identified in the area action plans of each area action team from the minor items that should be dealt with at local level. A dedicated capital fund of €4.5 million is now provided for in the Estimates to ensure that the area action teams, in consultation with the other statutory agencies, can deal with local issues at a local level. This money will be used as leverage money similar to the way that the CLÁR programme operates and it will fast-track many of the small issues that require resolution on the ground. In addition to the money ring-fenced in the plan for the disbursement of the dormant accounts for RAPID, CLÁR and drugs task force areas, amounting to €15 million in 2004, significant progress will be made in RAPID areas in tackling social inclusion in the coming years.

It is important to put these figures in context. The sum of €15 million and the €4.5 million, which, based on the experience of CLÁR, should lever out about €6 million or €7 million, amount to well over €20 million in direct new spend within the CLÁR areas and the RAPID areas in particular. This will break down the logjam that has been created. One of the weaknesses of the RAPID programme as it existed was that there were about 1,000 actions Departments had to deal with, some of which were very small, such as the necessity for ramps in housing estates. However, central government should not have to make decisions on such issues. It is much better to localise the decisions in this regard through the local fund. This would allow us to deal, on an interdepartmental basis, with the bigger issues that need to be dealt with at the top level of Government. I am very confident this new approach will make a significant difference on the ground to the people in the RAPID areas next year.

The Estimates for my Department provide for a doubling of the funding for the western investment fund from €2 million in 2003 to €4 million in 2004. I made a commitment at the time of the publication of the Estimates last year that my Department would continue to monitor the performance of this fund. I am delighted I have been able to facilitate the fund with a full programme of work this year and I am confident that the €4 million provided in next year's will be adequate to meet all demands on the fund in 2004.

Tá áthas orm go bhfuil airgead ar fáil sna Meastacháin le hOifig Coimisinéir Teanga a bhunú. Tá obair ar bun go leanúnach maidir le feidhmiú an Achta agus taispeáineann sé uair amháin eile chomh dáiríre agus atá an Rialtas seo maidir le cursaí Gaeilge agus go bhfuil an t-airgead seo curtha ar fáil don oifig seo don bhliain 2004.

Maidir leis an bhForas Teangan, tá ardú 18% a thabhairt don fhoras don bhliain 2004 agus cuirfidh sé seo ar chumas an fhorais clár iomlán foirfe bliana a chur i bhfeidhim an bhliain seo chugainn. Tá fáilte curtha ag an bhForas Teanga roimh an bhfógra seo. Maidir le cursaí Gaeltachta, tá cinneadh straitéiseach déanta agam maidir le hathrú treo, thar tréimhse ama, i gcaiteachas na Roinne. Tá €1.9 milliún breise a chur ar fáil sa mbliain 2004 le haghaidh cur chun cinn na teanga agus láidriú gréasain pobal sa Ghaeltacht. Tá athbhreithniú iomlán á dhéanamh ar na scéimeanna éagsúla tacaíochta teanga de thoradh ar mholtaí Coimisiúin na Gaeltachta agus tá i gceist agam iad seo a fheidhmiú thar tréimhse ama.

Maidir le hÚdarás na Gaeltachta, tá me sasta go bhfuil dóthan airgead caipitil aige le clár iomlán oibre a chur i gcrích. Tá ráite agam arís agus arís eile go bhfuil tábhacht faoi leith ag baint le smacht a choinneáil ar chostaisí riaracháin. Tá súil á coinneáil ar chaiteachais taobh istigh de mo Roinn agus beidh muid ag coinneáil súil ghéar ar chaiteachais riaracháin sna heagraisí éagsula atá ag obair faoi churam na Roinne. Ní críoch an-fhéin é riaracháin ach bealach le seirbhísí a chur ar fáil agus ba cheart dúinn déanamh cinnte, agus muide ag plé cursaí riarachán, go ndéanfaidh muid é a thomhas, ní ar an méid airgead a chaithfear air, ach chomh simplí agus chomh héifeachtacht agus chomh pobal-chairdiúil agus atá na scéimeanna atá a riaradh againn. Tá áthas orm go raibh an deis seo agam labhairt ar na Meastacháin. Tá eacnamaíocht na tíre seo láidir agus tá obair fhónta déanta ag an Rialtas ag stiúradh cúrsaí airgid na tíre seo le cinntiú nach mbeidh muidne ag caitheamh lenár linn airgid ár gcuid gasúr. Seo é an rud a bhíonn a mholadh acu siúd a bhíonn ag rá go mba cheart dúinn airgead breise a chaitheamh gan a rá linn cé as a thiocfaidh sé.

The way one spends money is as important as the amount one has. We seem to have lost sight of how money is spent, particularly with regard to Údarás na Gaeltachta. I am more than happy to note the need for a change in direction in the way it does its business. From my days as a co-operative manager, I have been constantly critical of Údarás na Gaeltachta, particularly the manner in which it funded building projects for community groups and local entrepreneurs. For the State to do the building work when it has no use for the assets in terms of collateral, rather than giving assistance to build, was wasteful of public resources and denied community groups the collateral they so badly needed to allow them to raise working capital finances from the banks.

In discussing the Estimates, it is important we have a rational, mature debate. While we all agree in private that changes are needed, sometimes when we stand up in public, we allow the cheap political shot to cloud the more rational debate needed to ensure we obtain full value for the public money we spend.Mr. Connaughton: I wish to share time with Deputy Kehoe.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Is that agreed? Agreed.

I fully appreciate the Minister's comments on value for money. It was a pity, however, that the Ministers for Finance and Agriculture and Food did not consider value for money when they provided €14 million for an events centre in Punchestown.

I am sure it will prove good value for money.

Having just returned from it, it will be a miracle if it proves to be value for money.

What is the Government trying to do to young people trying to build a house? Since this time last year, it has made it extraordinarily difficult to get planning permission for once off houses.

We made it easy compared to what the Labour Party did in government.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Order, please.

County councillors made it easy. The Government sent down the relevant direction and the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív, and the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Fahey, are now running for cover. While I do not have time to debate the issue with the Minister now, we will discuss it again in wide open spaces.

The Minister cannot deny that the Government abolished the first-time buyer's grant of £3,000 and increased VAT on building by 1%, which was nothing compared to the damage it has done by not financing local authorities. The Government's financing system for local government has led directly to people in County Galway paying an additional €15,000 for a house, instead of receiving a grant of £3,000. Moreover, in the Estimates, it has withdrawn the rent subsidy from many of those who have a roof over their heads and are renting. I cannot understand the reason a Government which is supposed to be in touch with the people has decided to steamroll over the very people least able to look after themselves.

What happened to the decentralisation programme?

It has been shelved.

The Estimates do not contain a single word about the decentralisation of Departments. Their relocation costs money. One cannot expect to be able to set up a Department in a rural or provincial town at no cost. In other words, no decentralisation will take place in 2004, although we will hear of the issue again when promises of decentralisation are made before the county council elections next June. This is another major commitment on which the Government has reneged since the general election.

What happened to youth services? I have often heard the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Dermot Ahern, who is present, and several of his colleagues talk about such services. This is supposed to be a nation which takes pride in its youth and the way in which we try to help out our young people. No funding has been provided in the Estimates which leaves all of the youth organisations, the 40,000 volunteers, on the side of the road. We should not cod ourselves that this is good government.

Like many of my colleagues, I cannot understand the reason the Government expects the people of the Ballinasloe area of County Galway, for instance, to accept the Hanly report in any circumstances, given that it will obviously result in a worse level of service. How can anyone expect any section of the population to buy a pig in a bag? The basis of the Hanly report is hospitals of excellence but we will not have them until our local hospitals have been downgraded. As far as I and the Minister's party colleagues in my constituency are concerned, we will not, under any circumstances, allow Portiuncula Hospital, to use the words of the Minister for Defence, Deputy Michael Smith, to be sacrificed on the altar of Hanly.

I agree with everything my colleague, Deputy Connaughton, said. The Book of Estimates is a scandal which should be ripped up and put in the bin of the Minister for Defence, Deputy Michael Smith. In a five minute speech to the House this morning he did not mention his Department once – other Deputies also remarked on this omission – because he was so ashamed of the cuts the Estimates imposed on it.

Earlier, we had the three tenors, Deputies Fleming, Cassidy and Johnny Brady, on the Government back benches rebutting everything said on this side of the House. I assume the Taoiseach or the Minister for Finance told them at the Fianna Fáil Party parliamentary party meeting to go into the Chamber and do this. They were not able to stand up for the cuts which every Minister must impose on his or her Department.

I do not know how I will explain the cuts to the less well-off in my constituency. How will I explain to lone parents, coeliacs and those who are unemployed, disabled or homeless that the disabled person's grant, the essential repairs for the elderly grant, rent allowance, respite care grants, nursing home subvention and the schools building programme have been cut? How will I explain that the number of medical cards is limited or the position regarding the Wexford bypass and St. John's Hospital in Enniscorthy? The Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Brian Lenihan, informed the House that a new unit for elderly people would be built at the hospital. I became worried when I saw its position on the list. The unit will be built some time in the future. Reading through old newspaper cuttings today, I discovered it was first promised in 1982. We are now in 2003 and the project team is still sitting around a table. Will the Minister for Health and Children or his Minister of State tell me the position of the project on the list?

The Minister for Transport did not once mention County Wexford. Three towns in the county, Gorey, Enniscorthy and New Ross, are waiting for a bypass. I do not know whether it has been decided to construct a tunnel or bypass to cross the river at New Ross. In Gorey, traffic is backed up for up to an hour and a half every day from Wednesday to Sunday. It is a scandal. Other backbenchers tell the House that various bypasses are going ahead but the Gorey bypass has been shelved.

This Government looks after the rich. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. When the Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy, makes his Budget Statement he will tell us what he will give to the less well-off but what he gives with one hand, he will take back with the other through stealth taxes. Look at refuse collection charges, development charges and the increases in charges for accident and emergency services, the drugs refund scheme, the television licence and car tax. Deputy Connaughton spoke about the abolition of the first-time buyer's grant. After that, VAT charges were increased and now development charges are being imposed.

This Government looks after the rich, not the poor. Of course, the poor will not be going to the Galway races or paying up to €300 per plate for dinner in the tent. The rich people will do it. The Government will look after the rich because it will get the money back from them at the Galway races. Every party has to do its share of fundraising but it should not be done by looking after the rich and telling the poor that since they cannot give any money, they will not be given anything in return.

This Government has always claimed to look after the poor. However, as Deputy Ring pointed out this morning, it takes better care of animals than people. That is certainly true when one sees what happened at Punchestown and what the Minister, Deputy McCreevy, did for his horsey friends in Kildare. Deputy Stagg had a major row with him about it and I agree with Deputy Stagg. Deputy McCreevy has looked after his friends and partners over the last few years and we are fed up with it.

I cannot recommend these Estimates to the House. They should be torn up. A Fine Gael-led Government would do a far better job than the present Government. The Minister present, Deputy Dermot Ahern, takes every chance to criticise but given the amount of money and the good times this Government has enjoyed, can the Minister point to anything that it has improved? The Luas is on the road to nowhere. I agree with everything said by the Opposition Members in this debate. Hopefully, the Minister and the Government parties will see the light when the House votes at 7 p.m.

Unfortunately, the Deputy is living in cloud cuckoo land when he refers to a Fine Gael Government.

Like many Fianna Fáil people.

The party does not have enough numbers to form a Government.

We will have them the next time.

It would be a rag-tag group of parties comprising Fine Gael, the Labour Party, the Green Party, Sinn Féin and a few Independents.

This Government is a rag-tag group.

God help the country if that group ever took office.

They left Fianna Fáil and then returned.

The Estimates underline the Government's determination to maintain pros perity and, in the third year of a global economic downturn, we have taken tough decisions to do that. The Government has rejected calls from the Opposition for massive increases across every budgetary subhead, without saying where the money will be found. It has rejected the short-termism adopted by Opposition Deputies which cost the country so dear in the past. We cannot and will not risk the increases in taxation and borrowing which ruined this country in the 1980s. To take the wrong decisions now means putting people on the dole queues. It is that simple.

In these Estimates, and in the forthcoming budget, we set the strategic tone for the next few years. We will ensure that this economy does not go the way of other tiger economies. We will not allow bust to follow boom. The Estimates provide €457 million for my Department. This allocation will provide for a wide range of services. The budget for marine services is up 119% since 1997, the budget for fishery harbours is up 527% since 1997 and the budget for marine research is up 109%.

In the telecommunications sector, the Department will spend €32.5 million rolling out the metropolitan area broadband network. Deputy Kehoe will welcome that, given that it will go to his constituents. He will probably be there to cut the tape or to welcome the Fianna Fáil Minister when he cuts it.

We will be in power and cut the tape.

The MANS project is on budget and on target for delivery to 19 areas throughout the country. A sum of €30.48 million is provided in the Estimates for critical marine safety services. This is in keeping with my strong commitment to delivery in this priority area. Almost €26 million is being provided for the Irish Coast Guard. This includes over €20 million to meet the contracted cost of marine search and rescue helicopter provision at Shannon, Dublin and Waterford. Years ago we relied on the UK for these services. Now the UK relies on us for cover as a result of the huge investment made in this area since 1997.

Over €28.5 million is being provided next year for fishery harbour and sea port infrastructure, coastal protection, foreshore development and marine and natural resources tourism initiatives. The €22 million allocation in respect of fishery harbour development in 2004 will provide €10 million for the completion of the new harbour development at Killybegs. This €50 million development is strategically significant for the Irish fishing sector not only in Killybegs but in the north-west region and will underpin economic activity in the seafood sector. It will allow a considerable amount to be made available to commence other priority fishery harbour infrastructure developments in 2004. The Estimates underpin my commitment to regional development both in the area of technology and communications and in the seafood and fisheries sector.

In a difficult public finances climate, my objectives are clear. I will commit and deploy available resources to programmes which will continue to contribute to economic competitiveness, sustainability and social and regional balance. This Government's agenda is clear. We want to hold onto the gains made, continue the policies which have served us well, keep public spending increases in line with the increases in resources and keep debt and taxation low. In times of economic downturn our message is clear – what we have, we hold. Although times are tough we have a great deal.

On Friday, the OECD released its latest unemployment statistics. They show that for the euro area, the standardised unemployment rate stands at 8.8%. In the US, it is 6.1%; in France it is 9.5%; in Germany it is 9.4%; and in Ireland it is 4.5%. The challenge now is to think strategically and to maintain prosperity. We must invest in areas which will drive further growth and development. This is not the time to support policies of punitive taxation, massive borrowing and permanent deficits.

However, these are the concomitants of the policies advanced by the Opposition. It pays lip-service to the notion that spending must be curtailed while at the same time criticises every attempt by the Government to stabilise spending. This is the shallow double-think which plunged this country into depression in the 1980s and which guides Opposition policy today. It would make this country an economic basket case again, as it was in the early 1980s. Putting this Opposition into Government is akin to putting a duck in a desert. It does not work.

I am not sure if the Opposition Members are familiar with the BBC series, "The Office". They should watch it. Deputy Rabbitte and Deputy Kenny are the David Brent and Gareth Keenan of Irish politics, spending their days dreaming of witticisms for the next Order of Business. Where are the policies? Where are the skills to manage a Government among that rag-tag group? Even in Opposition, the Members cannot agree on Private Members' business. They are not a credible alternative. One could not let them run an office, let alone a country.

A postage stamp will get rid of the Minister.

It is 18 months since the last election and I have waited patiently—

The Minister's arrogance knows no bounds.

—for a costed, practical plan from the Opposition. I am still waiting. Apart from the comedy, the catch phrases and the Order of Business witticisms, nothing has come from the Opposition. Members of the Government do not have that luxury.

The Estimates will ensure continued progress next year on critical priorities across the range of programmes within my brief. Today, after three years of global economic downturn, the national debt is half the euro zone average and there is 4.5% unemployment. Some 700,000 more people are working today than in the early 1990s. We have shown the world that Ireland did not go the way of many other tiger economies, and the job of the Government is to ensure this prosperity is permanent. This is the political decision the Government has made. The Estimates flow from that decision. It is about good management, securing long-term prosperity and not the short-term splurge the Deputies opposite advance. These are not the uncaring, unjust Opposition policies which offer Irish workers two choices, either the dole queue or the boat, which it did when in office, particularly in the mid-1980s. We offer jobs and refuse the short-term splurge of scarce resources. That is the difference between parties on this side of the House and the parties on the opposite side.

The House will be aware that my Department has a wide-ranging economic remit. It has a key contribution to make in terms of growth, competitiveness and balanced regional development. The 2004 Estimate reflects the vital role the energy, telecommunications and maritime transport sectors play in delivering competitiveness in the Irish economy on the global stage. The Estimate will also address the challenges for indigenous marine and natural resource-based industry in terms of sustainable development and job creation in rural and coastal regions.

My Department, like the rest of the Government, is about maintaining prosperity. There is no arguing with that fact. Since 1997, Fianna Fáil has slashed personal tax rates by 12%. The rainbow Government just managed a 1% cut. Unemployment today stands at 4.5%. This compares with 10.3% in 1997 and the day the rainbow Government left office. Most significant of all, Ireland's standard of living is estimated to have been 122% of the EU average in 2002. This compares with estimates of 103% for Germany, 102% for France and 103% for the United Kingdom. I remind Deputies that is 122% of the EU average.

How about forestry cuts?

Over the past six years, with Mr. Ahern as Taoiseach, Ireland has finally caught up with and is now surpassing average EU living standards. These Estimates build on that progress. In today's more difficult economic climate, the importance of the significant reduction made in the national debt means that each year there is an additional €1 billion available for investment in vital public services such as health and education, previously paid for by debt servicing by the parties opposite.

What about the schools building programme?

If in the near future the people get an opportunity – which they will not get – to put the Opposition back in office, they will revert back to borrowing and incredible taxation. I laugh on the Order of Business each morning when reference is made to social welfare issues. We were in Opposition when Proinsias De Rossa decided to bring forward £1.50 for old age pensioners. We got a whiff of it that morning at our party meeting.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

The Minister to conclude.

We could not believe our ears that a so-called socialist Minister in a Democratic Left-Labour-Fine Gael Government would even think of bringing forward £1.50 for old age pensioners. Thankfully, that was the end of it.

The Minister's time is up.

I know the Deputy wants me to stop because he does not like to hear what I have to say. Thankfully we got that Government out of office.

What about the back to education scheme? What did the Minister do about the social welfare allowances?

Over the past six years we have increased the old age pension dramatically. We have increased child benefit dramatically.

(Interruptions).

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Order, please. I am calling Deputy Gilmore.

(Interruptions).

The builders in the tent in Galway.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Deputy Gilmore has the floor.

Wherever Fianna Fáil are they are not in Government. These are not Fianna Fáil Estimates. These are the Estimates of the Progressive Democrats, declared as such by the leader of that party six years ago, and now supported by the PD wing of Fianna Fáil of which the Minister present appears to be an enthusiastic member. The Government appears to be fixated with 1997. It is as if 1997 was the beginning of history. We are led to believe that it is since then all the jobs and prosperity have been created. If one asks the Taoiseach a question on the Order of Business or during Question Time he can give statistics on anything that dates from 1997. What the Government forgets is that in 1997 it inherited the government of this country from its predecessors with the public finances put back in the black by Deputy Quinn, new jobs being created at a rate of 50,000 per week and with the country teed up to provide the kind of revenues that have flowed into the State coffers for the past six years, which have been misspent and mismanaged by the present Government. The question is what did it do with the money and how was it spent.

There are a set of statistics dating from 1997 about which we never hear from the Government. In 1997 the average price of a new house was €93,583. Today it is €222,532, an increase of 140%. In 1997 a tenant could rent a family size dwelling for €400 or €500, which today costs €1,200. In 1997 there were 26,000 applicants on local authority housing waiting lists. Today there are 60,000 on these waiting lists, more than double the number.

Fianna Fáil developers are making money.

In 1997 the average working family in this country could afford to buy a home of their own and today they cannot do so. In the past year the Government has made it even more difficult for young families to buy a home of their own. The Government abolished the first-time buyer's grant, increased building materials by putting an extra 1% VAT on them and introduced new development levies. It caved in to the building lobby by abolishing and undermining the affordable housing sites that should now be coming on stream with legislation which was introduced this time last year. Last year the Government cut the budget for social housing.

I see what is in the Estimates for housing. There is an increase on the capital side for social housing from €931 million to €957 million, an increase of €26 million. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, by throwing in all the current spending, managed to make it €33 million at his press conference. He then announced that for €33 million he would build 500 additional dwellings. That works out at an average unit cost of €66,000 per dwelling. How on earth does one build, including site costs, a unit of housing anywhere of any kind for €66,000? The reality is that the Estimate will not provide for additional social housing. Neither will it provide the money committed to in the NDP for the voluntary housing sector, allowing it to build an additional 1,000 houses per year. It is geared up to do so but it has not been provided with the money with which to do it.

The result is that there are 60,000 families on council waiting lists, who will be waiting an average of 12 to 15 years for local authority housing because of the Government's failure to provide for their needs. How will these people wait? In some cases they will wait in overcrowded conditions in the family home and in other cases they will wait by paying high rents to private landlords for rented accommodation. These are the people who are being targeted by the Government for a most savage cut. Some 60,000 people cannot afford to pay the high rents being charged for private accommodation. This is why they are receiving rent allowance in the first instance. These are the people who have been targeted by the Government for the biggest cut in this year's Estimates. The decision to prohibit people from receiving rent allowance until they have been renting for six months in effect means that the rent allowance is being abolished. It is a savage cut which affects those at the lowest end of the earnings ladder. It is an attack by the Government on the men and women who have no property. What has happened to Fianna Fáil which used to boast that it was the party which was interested in such men and women and their concerns?

There is no screed of evidence of concern in the Estimates. When the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources tells the House hard decisions have to be made to maintain our prosperity, what he means is that hard decisions have to be inflicted on the poor to maintain the prosperity of the rich. No Government can justify spending more on prizes for horse races than on providing for the housing needs of the poor. It is a shameful and scandalous decision. I cannot understand the reason members of the Fianna Fáil Party, in particular, will support the Book of Estimates.

I wish to share time with the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Deputy Walsh.

Is that agreed? Agreed.

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate. In framing the Estimates the Government obviously kept in mind the priority of maintaining the conditions necessary for the economy to be strongly positioned to benefit from future economic growth. Recent indications from the United States and our own figures show an upturn, not only in the Ieconomy but also in the world economy. It is interesting to note that the German economy which has been stagnant for some years is witnessing new life.

The prudent management of public expenditure, necessary to protect the significant economic progress of the past ten years, remains the single most important aim of the Government. One does not have to go back too many years when our complete income tax take was used to service the national debt. I do not think any honest Member wants to return to those dark days. The Minister for Finance has said rolling back our tax reforms is not an option. He has also said lower taxation has been good for the country and that he intends to stick to this path. Those are strong words. He is reflecting the views of the Government and all Government Deputies in that statement. The vast majority of the public will welcome this firm commitment by him. Given that over 500,000 more are in employment since 1987, it is sweet music to their ears also. The vast majority of workers would like to see the top rate of income tax reduced further by 2% to 40%. Perhaps by the time the Government leaves office in three years' time, this goal will have been achieved.

Economic growth has slowed significantly during the past two years. This lower economic growth means lower Revenue growth which acts as a constraint on the Government in the area of expenditure. It is curious to listen to members of the Opposition speak about increased Government spending, yet they are not prepared to commit themselves to a higher tax regime or identify where savings can be made in the Government's expenditure programme. Limiting public expenditure to agreed targets means we can avoid a return to the higher levels of taxation and the excessive levels of borrowing common in the 1980s. I am pleased the Minister has confirmed that close scrutiny will be kept on public spending during the course of the next year.

The Estimates confirm the priority this Administration has given to areas such as health, education, social welfare and infrastructural development. It is extraordinary that spending on health, education and social welfare will account for over two thirds of Government's expenditure in 2004. That is a commitment, if one wants evidence of a commitment to these areas.

While the country has prospered and the vast majority of its citizens have benefited from the increased wealth generated in the past ten years, we have a social obligation to look after the less fortunate in society. In this regard I was pleased to hear from the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Coughlan, that the Government had committed €10 billion to the Department of Social and Family Affairs for 2004. On top of this, the Minister for Finance in his Budget Statement next month will announce increases in social welfare payments. There is an obvious saving to the Exchequer when unemployment levels are of the order of 4.4% because the more in employment the more that will be paid in taxes reducing the drain on the public purse.

One area about which I am disappointed is that of capital expenditure for infrastructural purposes. In this regard I would like a commitment that work on the intercity routes promised under the national development plan will proceed. I have in mind the N9 route from Dublin to Waterford and the chronic situation in my constituency in Carlow where bottlenecks which used to be frequent at weekends are now a daily occurrence in Carlow town due to the volume of Dublin and Waterford traffic.

I welcome the Estimates and commend the Minister for Finance on bringing them to Government. I trust he will continue to hold a tight rein on public expenditure in 2004.

I thank my colleague, Deputy Nolan, for sharing his time with me.

The Estimates provision for my Department for 2004 is €1.39 billion. The gross Estimate figure includes a sum of €108 million in respect of forestry, responsibility for which will be transferred from the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources to my Department from 1 January 2004.

The gross allocation for 2004 represents an increase of €62.2 million or 5% over the corresponding 2003 figures, of which just over €25 million relates to forestry and €37 million to agriculture and food. However, when account is taken of the reduced expenditure requirements related to BSE in 2004 and the improved disease situation, the gross expenditure provision for the Department of Agriculture and Food in 2004 has been increased by 8%. After projected receipts, the corresponding estimated net expenditure allocation for 2004 is €935.1 million.

I welcome the increased Exchequer funding for my Department in 2004 but in addition to the figure of €1.39 billion in the Estimates, my Department is responsible for expending a further €1.6 billion on EU funded agricultural measures. This will bring total expenditure to approximately €3 billion in 2004. It also equates to direct payments amounting to an average of approximately €13,000 per farmer in 2004. This is a high level of public expenditure and underlines the continuing commitment of the Government to the agri-food and forestry sectors.

While most areas of my Department will receive increased allocations in 2004, the gross Estimate also contains lower provisions for some areas, particularly general disease control and market supports. These lower provisions are due to positive developments such as the ongoing improvements in the BSE position and improved market conditions for agricultural products. The improvements in these areas are welcome and will boost farm income generally.

Next year's overall provision for animal health, disease eradication and related measures is approximately €165 million. Within this figure, I am providing €68.88 million for the operational costs of the TB and brucellosis eradication schemes. As regards TB, the number of reactors removed has decreased steadily in recent years, dropping from just under 45,000 in 1998 to 28,900 last year, a reduction of approximately one third. The improvement in the brucellosis situation in recent years is continuing with new restrictions so far this year down by 66% on the comparable date in 1998. While the position on both diseases is encouraging, it is imperative that the stringent regimes in place are continued for some time yet.

The 2004 Estimates include a provision of €80.455 million for general disease control. This represents a reduction of €68 million on the 2003 allocation and reflects ongoing improvements in Ireland's BSE situation. For example, latest figures available show that the number of BSE cases for this year is 161 compared with 293 for the same period in 2002, which equates to a 45% reduction in BSE figures. The effectiveness of Ireland's BSE controls was recognised by the EU scientific steering committee which indicated in a report on Ireland's BSE risk, published in May 2000, that controls were stable from 1996 onwards, very stable from 1997 on and optimally stable since 1 January 1998.

The 2004 allocation also reflects a decision to end Exchequer funding for BSE testing during 2004 which will transfer additional costs to the industry in the coming year of approximately €2.9 million. EU funding of approximately €5 million will continue to be passed on, and therefore the industry will not bear the full costs of these tests.

The single largest increase in funding in 2004 for which the Estimates provide, is for the rural environmental protection scheme. That is an increase of €70 million on the 2003 allocation. This is a good scheme in which I encourage all farmers to participate. We are reducing the amount of bureaucracy associated with it and making it as simple as possible. There is €260 million available for farmers next year and the more farmers who apply for that the happier I will be. It is 75% funded from the EU. Last year €190 million was allocated and only €170 million spent because too few farmers applied.

I am pleased also that the 2004 allocations for my Department's two main on-farm investment schemes, the farm waste management and the dairy hygiene schemes, have been increased by 58% and 67% respectively.

In conclusion, the overall allocation for agriculture, food and forestry is substantial. The Estimate for my Department must be looked at alongside the €1.6 billion we are spending on agriculture, that is a total of €3 billion. This is directly comparable with last year's figures. Forestry is included this year but that was factored into the accounts. The decoupling of support from production will create an environment which will be more orientated towards consumer needs and should allow clear market signals. This augurs well for the future of Irish agriculture which is entering a new and interesting phase in its development. I am greatly encouraged by the positive attitudes and determination of all the stakeholders involved to make the best of the new circumstances.

I will be sharing time with Deputies Cowley and Gormley. I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. The actions of this Government in deciding on a further raft of stealth taxes and social welfare cuts can be compared to the activities of Fagin and his band of pickpockets. The Minister for Finance is a postgraduate of the Fagin academy, magna cum ignominia, for introducing the most comprehensive range of pickpocket taxes against the most needy and vulnerable in our society. The mind boggles at the thought of Fagin in a hairshirt. The entire Government could be said to be members of the graduate class of 2004 from this august seat of learning because pickpocket taxes extend across the full range of Government services and most Departments. Pickpockets by nature operate stealthily and these extra taxes are designed in such a way that people pay them unwittingly.

At the same time the Minister's hand is in the pocket of every family in the country to the tune of over €1,300 a year, or €91 million in all. Local authority housing waiting lists standing at over 52,000 families are likely to lengthen with the proposed housing levy of between €10,000 and €20,000 amounting to a reconstructed poll tax reminiscent of the worst aspects of Thatcher's Britain. Undoubtedly those seeking to secure a foothold on the housing ladder will be driven into local authority housing schemes with consequent pressure on the authorities. They have recently confessed to failure in their efforts to trim housing lists and have indicated that the future is in apartments following the lead of Central Europe. The vision of the founder of the original Sinn Féin party and the apostle of self-sufficiency, Arthur Griffith, that every family would have a house and garden appears to have been discarded in favour of assembly line uniformity.

Education has been clobbered once again, on top of last year's 69% increase in college registration fees, there is another hit of €80, or 12%, and exam fees are up by 15%. The unfortunate motorist has to cough up a further 12% in motor tax while TV licences, VHI premiums, hospital accident and emergency charges and even passports have risen by 32%. The drug refund threshold has been raised by 11% together with earnings thresholds for unemployment benefit and disability benefit. Deputy Rabbitte documented the 16 social welfare cuts today. What is really facing people 18 months into the Government's promise of "A lot done more to do"? People may ask where extra taxes are going because they observe public services getting worse. Parents see their children's schools disintegrating due to neglect. Motorists know that the roads are more congested than ever and that every journey into the country is an ordeal. Hospital patients are required to wait for days on end on trolleys in hospitals and accident and emergency departments, that is in hospitals which still have those departments.

Tá mé an-bhuíoch as bheith in ann caint ar an rud seo. Ar an gcéad dul síos, ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil le hÉamon Ó Cuív as an airgead a thug sé don western development fund, doubling that. It is very small, but still, tá fáilte roimhe.

The north-west of Mayo is the most deprived area in Ireland as proved by the figures in the census. Horses are receiving prize money of €67 million and there is funding of €50 million for the Punchestown centre. If we were treated like animals we might do better. We could survive. Our regional airport in Knock is underresourced while significant sums of money are going into the other international airports. Knock Airport has existed for 17 years, was built for very little and run on very little. It is the one great hope we have in the BMW area but it has been seriously underfunded.

I thank the Government for its support of the Safe Home organisation which has brought home, or provided accommodation for 226 people, but when one considers the large amount of money that our emigrants gave to this country when it had no other support, this is a minuscule contribution to our emigrants. DÍON is doing wonderful work but it has much the same funding. The Minister is giving it an extra €1 million. The emigrants would have sent back about £300 million over two decades which is just the tip of the iceberg because they gave so much in the past and kept this country alive when it had no other hope. In his forward to the task force report the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Cowen, said that it represented a new approach to meeting the needs of our emigrants, particularly the most vulnerable who have the greatest need. The Minister may be very sincere but it is a pity this was not matched by the funding he said would be available. He said that in year 1, 2003, there would be €18 million rising to €34 million in 2005 but the figure in the Estimate falls far short of that.

If those emigrants had stayed at home and we had to look after them they could not have sent the money they did. We are now benefiting from the fact that they went. Substantial expenditure would have been needed to support them in their old age. In 1999 the elderly in Ireland represented 11.4% of the total population compared to the EU average of 16.1% so they are gone and we do not have to pay for them, yet we should recognise them. The expenditure on public pensions amounted to 3.4% of GDP compared to the EU average of 12.1% which shows what we would have had to pay had they stayed, in contrast to what they have given us. I hope that this can be changed in the budget but that will not happen unless the Minister brings in another Estimate.

I think it was Deputy Nolan who spoke briefly about the German economy and how it is now re-emerging from the doldrums. In fact the German economy under Hans Eichel has had to make huge cuts, particularly in public services. I do not see that as a particularly good model any longer because the Germans now see us as a model, a society that has for years indulged in huge cuts, which have clearly affected our public services.

Today we see the effect on our own society. A Supreme Court decision today awarded huge costs against women who were asserting their right to home births. This was an appalling decision. They were simply challenging our two-tiered health system so that they could have home births regardless of their financial circumstances. These women had medical cards.

One judges a society on the basis of its health service. It is now clear that we are indeed moving closer to Boston than Berlin. That can be seen in our health service. I ask the Tánaiste what has happened to the 200,000 people who were to qualify for medical cards. The promise was made in the Fianna Fáil manifesto. What has happened the 3,000 beds promised under the health strategy? What has happened all the strategies to deal with the accident and emergency crisis? We see people on trolleys. The Estimates tackle none of this.

When the Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy, launched the Fianna Fáil economic manifesto, he promised that there would be an additional €1,102 million for health capital funding. That was his promise. For 2004 he promised an additional €1,141 million for that same funding. The Estimates tell a completely different story. Unfortunately, what we are again witnessing are election promises, a series of lies and people reneging totally on those promises.

The drugs payment refund threshold has now increased by 46%. Once again, people are suffering as a consequence. This is right-wing ideology gone mad, and no party represents that better than the Progressive Democrats.

The Estimates provide for over €40 billion in public spending next year. That is well over €10,000 for every man, woman and child in the country. This €40 billion is provided by the hard work of Irish people. The Government's first job is to manage and invest public money wisely on their behalf. That means delivering the public services they expect. It means getting value for public money and spending money within a sustainable social and economic strategy. Within these Estimates we have set priorities with limited and precious public resources. We are maintaining overall public spending in line with our capacity to pay and economic growth.

At 5% growth pre-budget, we are increasing public spending at a moderate rate that will not put a strain on jobs and the economy. We are maintaining steady progress within the speed limits for our economy. We are neither braking hard nor accelerating dangerously. Our economic progress means we can still grow public spending at twice the average expected for European countries next year. For example, general Government spending in France is expected to increase by 2.7%, in Germany by 1.5%, in Finland by 3.5% and in Britain by 5.5%. To grow public spending in line with our economic ability to pay puts the focus on the policies to achieve our economic potential. We have shown in recent years that economic performance is the engine of social justice, public resources and sustainable public services. We will continue to give priority to policies and actions that maximise our economic growth potential, including investment, competition, and low taxes. In the Estimates, we have prioritised investment in our social and economic future in the areas of health, education and infrastructure. Each of these investments will build a sustainable and successful society and economy. Our social commitment will be sustained next year by further increases in social welfare to be finalised on budget day.

Our €340 million investment in research and development, across Science Foundation Ireland, health research and Teagasc, will also deliver long-term rewards. Next year, we will spend €10 billion on health services. Our health spending is up 43% in the three years since 2001, the most recent year for OECD statistics. No other European country has increased health spending at this rate. In France, for example, the Government indicated that there were "particularly steep increases" in 2001 and 2002, referring to health spending increases of 4% at constant prices. We are a young population and we are devoting a lot of resources already to health. We are making the investment. We have brought forward the reform package. Now it is time for action and results.

The Government is totally determined to implement the health reforms that put patients first. It will be step by step, beginning now, over the coming years, backed by sustained political will. I am also confident that the 100,000 people working in health can, and will, deliver results.

As regards the full public service, we are providing for a considerable increase of €1.1 billion for pay and pensions. The Government will meet its side of the bargain under benchmarking and Sustaining Progress. Now it is up to every part of the public sector to step up to the plate and deliver the returns on this investment of scarce public resources. We are making provision for 50% of the benchmarking award, amounting to €305 million. This is one sixth of the overall increase in public spending next year. Let us be clear about it and not exaggerate it. It is one sixth of the increase in public spending, and not, as some Fine Gael people have suggested, the entirety of it. There are 1.8 million people at work in Ireland, with 300,000 of them eligible for benchmarking increases. To be fair, the results must be seen by all 4 million of us in our country.

In every area of economic life we demand more value for our money. Our jobs and our prosperity depend on delivering higher value added products and services. Countries work very hard to achieve productivity improvements of 3%. It is not easy. It is not achieved by trivial changes. It takes hard work, innovation and a willingness to embrace substantial change as a normal part of working life.

This applies also to the public sector, even though it is more difficult to measure productivity there. The public is entitled to see significant and continuous change in our public services in return for the generous benchmarking awards. The benchmarking awards were not agreed by the Government in the hope of substantial change, but rather, in return for substantial and continuous change. Unlike some others, I believe the public service can meet this challenge next year and in the years ahead.

I turn now to my own Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The Estimate under Vote 34 for 2004 is €1.124 billion. This is an overall increase of 3% over 2003. Clearly, within the overall increase, the Government has taken decisions on increases and reductions based on economic and social priorities. As regards community employment, the Government has decided, in the context of the Estimates, that there will be no further reduction in the number of places to be supported under the community employment scheme next year. The number of places to be supported next year will not drop below the end 2003 target of 20,000. The total allocation for employment schemes in 2004 has been fixed at €351 million, which will support up to 25,000 places across three employment schemes, namely, community employment, jobs initiative and the social economy programme. FÁS is being given some flexibility in the management of this financial allocation to maximise progression to the labour market while at the same time facilitating the support of community services.

Our industrial promotion strategy is now augmented by a significant increase in funding for research and development. This is a critical part of our economic strategy going forward. We are very clear that Ireland will compete in the future on the basis of higher value added activities. These in turn are based on leading edge research and development, the foundation of what we call a "knowledge economy".

Overall spending on science and technology will increase by 36% over 2003 levels. The budget for Science Foundation Ireland has been increased by €53 million to bring it up to €201million. This will fund the ambitious research programme it is now putting in place. It is an investment in jobs and knowledge for the future. Enterprise Ireland will also see a significant increase in the moneys available to it to support innovation and research within industry. Funding to promote greater awareness of science, particularly among young people, is also being increased.

The Estimates provide for modest reductions in funding for industry grants through the development agencies. This is appropriate given the changing nature of our employment profile, increased emphasis on research and development and the reduced need for traditional grant supports for industry. Over €138 million in grants will be provided for industry through IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Shannon Development.

The Estimates provide funding to facilitate the establishment on a statutory basis of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board. The Government has now published the Bill. With the support of the Oireachtas, I expect the board to be up and running early in 2004. Once fully operational, it will be funded on an ongoing basis by fees levied on respondents and it is the intention that Exchequer funding will not be required beyond 2004. I am fully confident that the board will deliver excellent value for money. It will be effective in processing the claims of injured parties as well as in keeping insurance costs down.

I commend to the House the Government's decision to increase overseas aid this year by €25 million bringing it to €399 million. The people around the world who receive the benefit of our aid will receive real additional help from Ireland. Some see our aid budget as a luxury when spending is being controlled elsewhere. I believe it fits with the values and wishes of the people. We are staying true to our commitment to help the poorest people of the world. I commend the Estimates to the House.

I wish to share my time with my colleague, Deputy O'Dowd.

If evidence is required of the Government's political and economic philosophy, one need only look at the Book of Estimates as published last week. The public will yet again be subjected to another raft of stealth taxes, bringing in a total of €91 million for the year. Everyone agrees that these taxes are most regressive. They usually impinge hardest on those who are least able to pay and ability to pay does not arise. Hospital accident and emergency charges are to go up by €5 to €45 per visit. Nightly in-patient charges are to go up by €5 to €45 per night while the drugs payment refund threshold has been increased by another €8 to €78, almost double the figure in recent years.

The motorist does not escape either. Motor tax for a 1.4 litre car is increased by €14 to €292 per annum. This is rich coming from a party which abolished road tax on motor vehicles in 1977, also to purchase an election.

Young people and students are not to be spared. In recent months an attempt was made to reintroduce third level fees, a proposal on which the jury seems to be out. However, the Government has now decided to burden already hard-pressed students by imposing further charges. Student registration fees are being increased by €80 on this occasion bringing them to a total of €750. This is a cruel decision.

Even those attending second level schools are not spared. Fees for the junior and leaving certificate examinations are being increased by €10 bringing them to €82 and €86, respectively. This is a vicious form of stealth tax on our youth and the very essence of education. How can the Minister justify such a regressive tax?

Even passports are not exempt. The fee for a ten year passport is being increased by €18 bringing it to a total of €75.

The real scandal is to be found in the area of social and family affairs. It is estimated that €58 million will be saved by the Exchequer by way of 16 separate reductions in eligibility for various allowances which include lone parent's allowance, rent allowance, back-to-education allowance and special dietary needs allowance. How can the Government justify such cruel cuts being inflicted on the poorest and most vulnerable sections of our community?

While total spending is being increased in the Estimates by 5% or almost €1.9 billion, most of this amount, approximately €1.2 billion, will go towards pay increases and benchmarking.

There is a shortfall of €42 million in the annual Exchequer allowance to local authorities. We know this will result in increases in commercial rates, development levies and other charges. An already overburdened commercial sector will find it difficult to meet these extra charges. Local authorities are already strapped for cash and will be expected to come with another €42 million. Schemes such as the essential repairs grant schemes, housing aid for the elderly and disabled person's grants have been virtually abolished and are at a standstill.

My colleague, Deputy Keogh, noted that the Minister for Defence had spoken in the House this morning. It is amazing that he did not refer to the situation in his Department.

He is moving out soon.

I can understand the reason he did not because his Department has again taken another knock. There is a net reduction in its allocations. When one considers €40 million was knocked off its Estimates last year, one understands very well the reason the Minister did not feel like or have the courage to speak about his Department when he came into the House this morning, which must be a first for a Minister. As a result of the cuts made last year, a number of schemes had to be cancelled. Orders for search and rescue helicopters, personnel carriers and pistols were cancelled while the scheme for deafness claims was curtailed. The strength of the Defence Forces is now at an all-time low with approximately 10,000 members. There is a significant cutback in the Defence Forces' Estimates. There is a reduction of 22% in the Estimate for the Naval Service at a time when the Naval Service ships are confined to port. This requires an explanation. I understand very well the reason the Minister did not mention his Department when he spoke in the House this morning.

The Tánaiste stated the Government was determined to implement the health reforms that put patients first. It will be step by step over the coming year backed by sustained political will. I ask the House to examine the step by step approach of the Government in the Estimates to those who are sick. I ask the Tánaiste if the step by step increases in charges for those who are sick are acceptable to her and her colleagues in the Government. They clearly are but they are not acceptable to the people, particularly to those who are ill.

One of the most savage and unacceptable decisions of the Government in the last two years has been to amend the drugs refund scheme. When it took office in 2002, the monthly charge for medicines was €65. The Government met the remainder of the cost. It then increased to €70 the threshold which now stands at €78 out of a very small income in the case of those who did not receive a medical card as the Government had promised. They are on low incomes and very ill. Under the Government, the sicker one is, the more one pays. This is utterly shameful and unacceptable. I do not understand how the Government reached the decision to tax the sick. Asthma is a common illness which results in the hospitalisation of many thousands when it is not treatable at community level. Many will go without inhalers because they cannot afford to buy them.

Doctors' fees are increasing, in some cases unacceptably so. Although market forces are involved, there should be a regulatory ceiling for doctors' fees because in some cases they are unacceptably high.

Look at the step by step approach of the Minister for Health and Children in the North-Eastern Health Board following the last budget. The North-Eastern Health Board rejected the plan last year to cut 80,000 hours from the home help service for counties Louth, Meath, Cavan and Monaghan but the Minister signed off on that decision. As a result of the policies of this Government, on 80,000 occasions people who were sick, who had been discharged from hospital and were in need of care did not get it. It is reprehensible that the savage cuts made by this Government impact on the sick and the poor.

The attack on those on low incomes is also savage. A single mother with one or two children often wants to stay in the family home but cannot do so due to other pressures. The Government now says that it will pay rent allowance provided that person can rent a place outside the home for six months. These people will find it increasingly difficult and the health of the mother and the children will suffer. The Minister's cut will drive people back into the rat infested hovels of the past that had disappeared in recent years. They will re-open their doors to the poor who cannot get rent allowance from the Government.

In today's edition of The Irish Times, Dr. Chris Luke stated that cocaine represents an appalling hazard, “the most worrisome of all hazards facing Irish young people”, as he put it, and is behind some of the hideous atrocities that have happened in Ireland in recent times. What is this Government doing to combat cocaine abuse? It is not making any additional funding available under the national drugs strategy to fight it. This Government is a shambles.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Estimates for 2004 which further reflect the consolidation and prioritisation of Government spending after several years of unprecedented growth. I am particularly pleased that the allocation of over €430 million to my Department, an increase of 8% on the 2003 allo cation of €399.5 million, will enable me to maintain the thrust of State support for the arts, sports and tourism sectors.

I am happy to announce significantly increased funding of €52.5 million for the Arts Council in 2004, an increase of 19% on the 2003 provision. Artists and arts organisations have every reason to be optimistic about their sector. I have appointed a new Arts Council, the composition of which has been widely and warmly welcomed. Members of the Arts Council have a record of distinguished service and achievement in many walks of life and they will bring energy and dynamism to the arts.

I have secured an increase of 9% in funding for the Irish Film Board in 2004. The board is at the heart of the Government's strategy to promote indigenous films and film makers and the funding being provided for 2004 is solid evidence of this fact.

As a reflection of my responsibility under the Arts Act 2003 to promote Irish art at home and abroad, a total of €6.7 million has been provided for the promotion of Irish art abroad in 2004. Apart from the ongoing funding of the cultural relations committee, €2.1 million is being provided for the festivals of Irish culture to take place in Beijing and Shanghai in May and June 2004 and for the incoming festival of Chinese culture in Ireland later in the year.

The Estimates for my Department also include the provision of €3.9 million for the organisation of the cultural programme that will surround the Irish Presidency of the European Union. The forthcoming Irish Presidency will be unique in that the ten accession countries will formally join the Union on 1 May and it is intended to mark this event across Ireland in a special way. It is also the intention to use the period of the Presidency to forge new cultural links with the accession countries.

Next year marks the 100th anniversary of Bloomsday. Last year I appointed a special committee to co-ordinate the many events that will be organised in celebration of that anniversary. An exciting cultural and tourism programme is being developed under the title "ReJoyce Dublin 2004" and it is being promoted internationally. The Estimate includes €900,000 to support the efforts of the committee. The centrepiece of these celebrations will be a major exhibition in the National Library of Ireland, the leading repository in the world of Joycean material, for which an allocation of €1.8 has been provided.

The 2004 allocations will also enable the National Museum of Ireland to proceed with a planned military history exhibition to be held in Collins Barracks in 2005. This exhibition will tell the story of the ordinary Irish soldier at home and abroad from the late 16th century until today.

Also included in the Estimate for my Department is a provision of €3.175 million by way of a first instalment of the Government's committee to the Cork city of culture in 2005.

The value of sport to the nation cannot be over-emphasised. An active, healthy population is the backbone of a stable and secure society. Additionally, all of us take great satisfaction from outstanding performances by Irish sports people in the sporting arenas of the world. The provision of €176 million for sport in 2004, in comparison with the allocation of €17 million in 1997, is indicative of the Government's commitment to sport.

I am particularly pleased that the allocation for the local authority swimming pool scheme has been improved to €15 million in the 2004 Estimates. Under the sports capital programme €267 million has been allocated to 3,500 projects across the State. The combined provisions of €30.75 million in respect of the Irish Sports Council will enable it to continue to support and enhance its wide range of programmes in the coming year.

Following the publication of the Estimates for public services last week, some commentators, particularly Deputy Rabbitte, sought to portray in the most misplaced and negative terms the provision in the Estimates for my Department of funding for Bord na gCon and Horse Racing Ireland. The level of funding proposed in 2004 is based on the provisions of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act 2001 and is in accordance with legislation.

Horse racing and greyhound racing are major industries that provide significant employment and create wealth for the economy. Direct and indirect employment in horse racing and associated industries amounts to 25,000 people. There are more people employed in the equine sector in County Kildare than in information technology, despite the location of the Intel and Hewlett Packard enterprises in that county. The comparative employment figure for greyhound racing is 6,000 direct full-time jobs and 10,000 indirect and part-time jobs. The breeding and racing of thoroughbreds generates significant economic activity in Ireland, contributing to gross national product. The value of assets employed in breeding and racing is conservatively estimated to be €2.5 billion.

It is incorrect to say that the bloodstock industry is exempt from tax. Breeders and owners are liable for tax in the same way as all other sectors of farming. Profits made by Irish tax residents from trading in bloodstock in Ireland or overseas are liable for taxation here.

One sector of the industry has enjoyed a tax concession since the late 1960s, namely, income from stallion fees. It is the location of the stallions that attracts the mares and the inward investment of overseas owners and breeders, with consequent benefits for rural employment and the balance of payments. The tax concession can be equated to incentives for other industries, such as the 1% manufacturing relief and IDA and Forfás grants, and undoubtedly gives Ireland a competitive edge over international competitors. Thoroughbred breeding is one area where Ireland is a genuine world leader, with only the US state of Kentucky comparable in terms of intensity and economic importance. Despite our relative size, only America and Australia produce more foals annually. We account for 42% of the total EU output of thoroughbreds and more foals are born in Ireland annually than in Britain and France combined.

While the top stallions can be phenomenally successful, the majority of the 382 at stud in Ireland do not succeed and their owners struggle to recover their investment. The growth output of the breeding sector alone is estimated to be worth €180 million per annum, accounting for 4% of total gross agricultural output.

The betting industry also generates substantial economic activity. Off-course betting in 2002 totalled €1.6 billion and total betting on-course amount to €208 million.

It is interesting to note these figures because they show that Deputy Rabbitte is wrong. He does not have to take my word for it. I will quote from an informed contribution on Second Stage of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Bill to be found in the Official Report, 17 May 2001, vol. 536, cols. 863-868. This might finally enlighten Deputy Rabbitte:

There are 30,000 people gainfully employed, either directly or indirectly, by the industry. It is, therefore, a significant contributor to the Exchequer; the benefits permeate through the economy and help to sustain rural villages. I hope everyone gains from the Bill: those who work in the yards, the head lads, grooms and stable boys and stable girls. Sometimes they were not overpaid – let us put it that way – and though they are now looked after by the minimum wage I hope everyone now shares in the prosperity. That is very important.

Increased funding of both industries on a sustained, guaranteed basis, most importantly, for their ongoing development is to be heartily welcomed.

The contribution of horse racing to the State. . . . is particularly important in terms of employment. I concur with the Minister on the significant contribution of horse racing to rural development in particular. It has been a significant alternative industry and will probably assume greater significance because of the alternative enterprise scheme. . . . It is an important source of income for farms both as a principal and supporting enterprise, particularly in my area.

Horse Racing Ireland and Bord na gCon. . . . will receive a sum equivalent to the revenue generated from excise duty in the preceding year, or else £46 million as indexed from the Consumer Price Index. I am glad there is a base and that the bodies will receive whatever sum is greater.

These are the words of a Labour Deputy on 17 May 2001 in this House. Hopefully this has educated Deputy Rabbitte as it is the considered opinion of the man whom he supported for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party last year, Deputy Penrose. However, political connoisseurs and cynics alike will have no difficulty—

The poor man's Willie O'Dea.

—in identifying the philosophy underlining the difference of opinion on the horse racing industry which exists between the leader of the Labour Party and his erstwhile championship contender.

The Labour Party of Deputy Penrose is not the Labour Party of Deputy Rabbitte. Deputy Rabbitte's Labour Party is ruled by the political morality which always infused the Democratic Left troika which now rules the Labour Party. I said it before and I will say it again – Sinn Féin, the Workers Party, they have not gone away you know. In the Labour Party's parlance, it would appear that one man's horse is another man's camel.

Good man John.

Minister of State at the Department of Finance (Mr. Parlon): To listen to the contributions of the Opposition speakers on the Estimates for 2004 one might be forgiven for forming the impression that the Estimates are simply a combination of cutbacks and stealth taxes aimed at the poor and designed to undermine the economic and social progress achieved in recent years, with no economic strategy underpinning them. Nothing could be further from the reality.

The 2004 Estimates provide for a total expenditure on public services of €40.4 billion in 2004, an increase of €1.9 billion or a 5% increase on the forecast outturn for 2003. The overall increase in provision for public spending is ahead of the rate of inflation which is currently running at 2.3 %.

The Government has given priority in the Estimates to the key areas of health, education, social welfare and infrastructural investment. The provision for health spending is over €10 billion, an increase of €739 million, or 8%, over the forecast outturn for 2003. The gross allocation for education and science is €6.5 billion, an increase of €674 million, or 11%, on the forecast outturn for 2003. The total pre-budget allocation for social welfare, at €10.6 billion, is the single biggest expenditure provision in the Estimates – this before the budget day additions for social welfare rate increases. As the Minister for Finance pointed out in his address, there has been a very significant increase in real terms in the level of social welfare provision since 1997 which has resulted in real increases in benefits for social welfare recipients.

The changes in eligibility conditions for some social welfare payments arise from ongoing reviews of relevant schemes to ensure that they continue to meet their objectives. The economies arising will amount to an estimated €56 million which represents just over a half of 1% of the total gross pre-budget provision of €10.6 billion for social welfare.

Opposition speakers have accused the Government of seeking to introduce stealth taxes and promoting increased charges in order to fund the proposed increases in public spending. The total value of additional charges, including motor tax increases, is estimated at some €91 million. This represents less than 0.3% of the total gross provision of over €40 billion in public spending provided for in the 2004 Estimates.

The cost of the increase in health charges amounts to €35 million which is not even 0.5% of the gross 2004 health budget of €10 billion. The cost of the increase in examination charges and third level student registration charges is estimated at €5.8 million which represents less than 0.1 % of the gross provision for public spending in education in 2004. The increases are, for the most part, adjustments to cover a small part of the costs of providing the relevant services and form part of a measured approach to ensuring the provision of these services.

A number of the Opposition Deputies have criticised the level of investment proposed for infrastructure. The Government is accused by Deputy Richard Bruton of adopting a "stop-go approach" to infrastructural provision which could undermine attempts to address the country's infrastructural deficit and our competitiveness. The reality is that the Government has deliberately ratcheted up and maintained annual Exchequer capital investment at around 5% of GNP in the past few years in order to give priority to addressing the infrastructural deficit.

While the rate of increase in latter years is not as dramatic as that in earlier years, this reflects concerns about the impact that the levels of increases in those early years were having on construction cost inflation. The ESRI has stressed the importance of ensuring that similar inflationary pressures to those of the 1999-2001 period do not arise again over the remainder of the national development plan.

The 2004 Exchequer provision of €5.5 billion for capital investment is two and three quarter times the 1997 expenditure of €2 billion. As a result, annual Exchequer investment in infrastructure is currently running at historically high levels. It is twice the current EU average. Subject to an overall sustainable budgetary situation, the Government is committed to maintaining capital investment in public infrastructure at similarly high levels in the medium term.

The acceleration in capital spending has helped fund the infrastructure programme of the national development plan. The ESRI, in its independent mid-term evaluation of the NDP, found that overall expenditure under the key economic and social infrastructure operational programme was ahead of the plan target by 5%. It also found that expenditure on local infrastructure under the regional operational programmes was also performing well, with expenditure on non-national roads in particular being well ahead of targeted spend.

The ESRI has recommended that investment in infrastructure should continue to be the key priority under the plan. The Government has accepted its recommendation in this regard and the 2004 NDP provision for economic and social infrastructure is broadly in line with the ESRI's recommendation.

As regards the ESRI criticisms of capital project overruns and programme management, the Minister for Finance has indicated in his contribution to this debate that the value for money issues are being addressed through the revision of the Department of Finance guidelines for the appraisal and management of capital projects in the public sector. He also stated that he favours the introduction of a multiannual capital investment framework to give greater certainty to Departments and public bodies as to the availability of resources for capital investment in the medium term and that he will return to this subject on budget day.

Deputy Boyle claims that there is no vision underpinning the 2004 Estimate while Deputy Richard Bruton indicated that the opportunity of unprecedented growth levels of the late 1990s to 2002 have been squandered and that there were no structural reforms in the 2004 Estimates. It was the sensible economic and budgetary policies of the Government which contributed in no small way to the achievement of unprecedented growth levels of the order of 10%, referred to by Deputy Bruton, which continued to ensure that the economy performs comparatively well.

Ireland is a small, open economy and cannot be immune to the impact of developments in the international economy. Despite the international economic downturn in recent years, Ireland's growth rate is still well above the EU average. The EU Commission projects GDP growth for Ireland of 3.7% in 2004, compared to growth in the EU 15 of just 2%. Our unemployment rate of 4.4%, down from 10.3% in 1997, is currently half that of the EU rate and our general Government debt level, at an estimated 34% of GDP, is the second lowest. This is an impressive performance and is the reason the Government can continue to provide for increases in public expenditure without having to resort to tax increases or excessive levels of borrowings.

The Estimates have been prepared against the background this year of a slower than expected upturn in the international economy.

On a point of order, according to the order of the House today the Minister would have a period of time to reply to the debate which would be no more than ten minutes. The Opposition spokespersons were offering at that time and were entitled to be called.

The Minister is actually only entitled to one minute under the order of the House, not ten.

Acting Chairman

No. I was obliged to call the Minister at 6.50 p.m.

The Chair is wrong. The Chair was not so obliged. The Chair is making the wrong ruling.

Acting Chairman

I am ruling that I was obliged to call the Minister.

I am just making the point that the Chair was not so obliged.

Why was I precluded from speaking?

Acting Chairman

When the time came for the Deputy to have his turn, the time allowed had expired and I was obliged to call the Minister.

Is there an effort to silence me from properly raising the issue of the 16 cuts, which are a disgrace—

Acting Chairman

I have dealt with the point of order. The Minister of State to continue.

I will deal with them elsewhere.

We are seeking to consolidate the progress we have achieved and to ensure that we are well placed to take advantage of the economic upturn which now appears to be developing.

We find ourselves in the situation where, on the one hand, many Opposition Deputies are advocating additional spending without regard to the availability of resources to fund them while, on the other hand, some of those on the Opposition benches would advocate that we breach social partnership by not honouring the agreed terms of Sustaining Progress.

Partnership has served the country well during the years and the Government is committed to honouring its pay commitments, provided that the conditions in the agreement are met. The conclusions of the performance verification groups which have been established to monitor progress in implementing change will be examined in this regard. If groups or sectors breach the terms of Sustaining Progress, payments will not be made in those areas. To provide quality public services which benefit all sectors of society, we must continue to pay public servants at reasonably comparable rates to the private sector if we are to continue to attract and retain good quality public servants.

The commitment shown by Ministers with the support of Government Deputies to implementing Government economic and social policies and the sound management of the public finances, as displayed in this debate, will be to the benefit of the people in coming years. Our approach of sound management of the public finances and seeking to consolidate the progress of recent years in order that we position the econ omy to reap the maximum benefits of the expected upturn in the international economy is the only sensible way forward. I commend the motion to the House.

Can I move the Labour Party amendment now?

Acting Chairman

No. I must put the question.

On a point of order, yesterday both Deputy Burton, on behalf of the Labour Party, and I, on behalf of the Green Party, asked to move our amendments. The Chair told us we could speak to them and that we would be allowed to move them later.

Acting Chairman

I cannot take a point of order when the motion has been moved. The Deputy must raise that matter at another level.

This is the most relevant place in which to raise it.

Acting Chairman

I must put the question.

Question put

"That the words proposed to be deleted stand."

Ahern, Dermot.Ahern, Michael.Ahern, Noel.Andrews, Barry.Ardagh, Seán.Aylward, Liam.Blaney, Niall.Brady, Johnny.Callanan, Joe.Callely, Ivor.Carey, Pat.Carty, John.Cassidy, Donie.Collins, Michael.Cooper-Flynn, Beverley.Coughlan, Mary.Cregan, John.Curran, John.Dempsey, Tony.Dennehy, John.Devins, Jimmy.Finneran, Michael.Fleming, Seán.Glennon, Jim.Grealish, Noel.Hanafin, Mary.Harney, Mary.Haughey, Seán.Hoctor, Máire.Jacob, Joe.Keaveney, Cecilia.Kelleher, Billy.Kelly, Peter.

Killeen, Tony.Kirk, Seamus.Lenihan, Brian.Lenihan, Conor.McCreevy, Charlie.McDowell, Michael.McEllistrim, Thomas.McGuinness, John.Martin, Micheál.Moloney, John.Moynihan, Donal.Moynihan, Michael.Mulcahy, Michael.Nolan, M.J.Ó Cuív, Éamon.Ó Fearghaíl, Seán.O'Connor, Charlie.O'Dea, Willie.O'Donnell, Liz.O'Donovan, Denis.O'Flynn, Noel.O'Keeffe, Batt.O'Keeffe, Ned.O'Malley, Fiona.O'Malley, Tim.Parlon, Tom.Power, Peter.Sexton, Mae.Smith, Brendan.Smith, Michael.Wallace, Dan.Wallace, Mary.Walsh, Joe.Wilkinson, Ollie.

Níl

Allen, Bernard.Boyle, Dan.Breen, James.Breen, Pat.Broughan, Thomas P.Bruton, Richard.Burton, Joan.Connaughton, Paul.Connolly, Paudge.Costello, Joe.Coveney, Simon.Cowley, Jerry.Crawford, Seymour.Crowe, Seán.Cuffe, Ciarán.Deasy, John.Deenihan, Jimmy.Durkan, Bernard J.Gilmore, Eamon.Gogarty, Paul.Gormley, John.

Harkin, Marian.Healy, Seamus.Higgins, Michael D.Howlin, Brendan.Lynch, Kathleen.McCormack, Padraic.McGinley, Dinny.McGrath, Finian.McGrath, Paul.McHugh, Paddy.Mitchell, Gay.Mitchell, Olivia.Moynihan-Cronin, Breeda.Murphy, Gerard.Neville, Dan.Noonan, Michael.Ó Caoláin, Caoimhghín.Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.O'Dowd, Fergus.O'Keeffe, Jim.

Níl– continued

O'Shea, Brian.Pattison, Seamus.Penrose, Willie.Quinn, Ruairi.Ring, Michael.Ryan, Eamon.Ryan, Seán.

Sargent, Trevor.Sherlock, Joe.Stagg, Emmet.Stanton, David.Timmins, Billy.Upton, Mary.Wall, Jack.

Tellers: Tá, Deputies Hanafin and Kelleher; Níl, Deputies Durkan and Stagg.

Question declared carried.
Amendment declared lost.
Amendments Nos. 2 and 3 not moved.
Motion put and declared carried.
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