I expect to be able to share a little of my time with my colleague, Deputy Ring, who I understand is on his way to the Chamber.
Estimates for Public Services 2007: Motion (Resumed).
The following motion was moved by the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, on Tuesday, 21 November 2006:
That Dáil Éireann commends the 2007 Estimates for Public Services (Abridged) published by the Minister for Finance on 16 November 2006.
The Deputy has five minutes remaining. Am I to understand he wishes to share that time with Deputy Ring?
A small portion. I will indicate when I am ready.
That is hardly enough for Deputy Ring.
It is not enough for me either, but we will let him in somehow.
Yesterday evening, when speaking on the Book of Estimates, I referred to the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, who had entered the Chamber without her script. When I asked her for it, the usual procedure when a Minister speaks on the Estimates or on any other important occasion, she told me she was not obliged to furnish it. That is not the approach we should have in this House, since it lowers the standards previously adhered to.
I pointed out to the Minister her foolish spending on prefabs. We have prefab villages growing up around schools across the country and this year the Minister is spending more than €20 million on renting them. If that money was spent on providing permanent extensions to schools, we would achieve far better value for money. It is a scandal that we pay approximately €60,000 per annum to rent a prefab at a school but will not provide the same amount to it for a permanent extension. It is wasteful and shows the Minister failing to address the relevant issues; I regret that she is not here to hear that point.
I welcome the increase of which the Minister spoke regarding her departmental Estimates for the coming year. She outlined many areas where it will be felt. However, she must urgently address the fact that over the next five years there will be approximately 60,000 extra children at primary school, equating to 2,300 classrooms. Planning for those additional schools should now be well advanced. We will have a situation like that in Mullingar, where there are no places for children at primary school. Parents must drive six, eight or ten miles out of town with their children to find a school at which they might be enrolled and that is not good enough. There must be a forward planning section in the Department that can examine those areas of expansion and plan in advance so that we do not end up with this ridiculous situation permanently.
The Minister trumpeted an increase of 17% for the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, and I also welcome it. However, she did not mention that 50% of schools in the country do not have access to NEPS. At the same time, we have a NEPS office in Mullingar, only one third of which is being used, despite the fact that rent is being paid for its entirety. That is an absolute waste of money. Why did the Department, in co-operation with the Office of Public Works, OPW, rent that large space without using it? There is a crying need to expand NEPS and that is not good enough.
Since the Department of Education and Science has this space, why is it not using it for an advance party in the context of it being decentralised to Mullingar? Would that not be the best use of taxpayers' money? That does not seem to matter where the Minister is concerned. It is a question of throwing the money around and seeing what happens to it.
My time is drawing to a close but Deputy Ring has indicated that he will wait until later, when he will make his major contribution.
Regarding value for money in primary schools, an excellent service provides special needs assistance across the country, but the Minister must establish a structure within schools into which special needs assistants doing good work can fit. In many schools, they are not sure where they fit in and neither are the principals. There is no programme to assess their effectiveness, use or how they might be best deployed around schools. It is crucial that the 8,000 special needs assistants be absorbed into a formal structure so that we might know how they are being looked after.
It is outrageous that approximately 150 students have been refused higher education grants because their parents happen to have availed of the special savings incentive accounts, SSIA, scheme. I am aware of three such cases in a single local authority area. Since there are approximately 60 local authorities processing grants for students across the country, we can estimate that there are perhaps 150 or 200 such students.
The SSIA payment, which came from the Government, was meant to be a tax rebate. When one has one's P60 and asks the Department of Finance whether it will add in the tax rebate that one is receiving through the SSIA, it answers in the negative. However, the Department of Education and Science takes it into account. It is backward-looking and prevents genuine students from attending college. The Minister should have addressed it.
I am pleased to have this opportunity to speak on the Abridged Estimates of public expenditure for 2007, which reflect further consolidation and prioritisation of Government spending after several years of unprecedented growth. I am particularly pleased that the allocation of more than €698 million available to the arts, sport and tourism sectors, an increase of 17.6% on the 2006 allocation, will enable me to maintain the thrust of State support for these sectors. The 2007 Estimates provide for a combined allocation of more than €216.5 million for my Department and the National Gallery of Ireland, an increase of 8.65% over 2006.
The Arts Council is the main vehicle through which State support is channelled to the arts and the Government's ongoing commitment to this sector is demonstrated with a further increase of 11% in funding to the council in 2007. This means total funding for the council will have increased by some 52% in just three years, from €52.5 million in 2004 to €80 million in 2007. The Government is conscious of the significant benefits to quality of life that accrue to all levels of society in every area from investment in the arts. Artists and arts organisations should see this increase in the Arts Council funding as proof of the Government's continuing commitment to supporting the valuable contribution they make to Irish life and society.
Schemes designed to lead to the provision of a high-standard arts and culture infrastructure and allow greater access to the participation of arts and culture activities on as broad a geographic basis as possible have been in operation for some time. The 2007 capital allocation of €43 million for cultural infrastructure will allow continued funding of the arts and culture capital enhancement support scheme, ACCESS, covering some 44 ongoing capital projects, most of which are now at an advanced stage. It will also facilitate the commencement of a new ACCESS II scheme, for which over 150 applications were received by the deadline of Friday last. It will also allow me to fund a range of other capital projects, chief among them the rebuilding of the Wexford Theatre Royal and the refurbishment of the Gaiety and Gate theatres in Dublin.
In the 2007 Estimates, funding for national cultural institutions and projects has increased by 9.4% over the 2006 allocation. Of particular note is the 70% increase in the capital provision for the National Library of Ireland, which will facilitate its exhibition and acquisitions programme. I have also secured major increases in the current and capital allocations provided to the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the National Concert Hall, the Chester Beatty Library and the Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, averaging 29% in current funding and 38% in capital funding.
These major increases will facilitate the implementation of acquisition policies and enhance outreach and educational programmes at these institutions, and enable the National Concert Hall to replace obsolescent musical equipment. Of particular note is my determination to enhance the facilities of Crawford Art Gallery, which is now a national cultural institution. To this end, I am providing a 71% increase in current funding and a 60% increase in capital funding for this new national cultural institution. I have also secured an allocation of more than €11.7 million for the National Gallery of Ireland, an increase of almost 25% on the provision made available to the gallery in 2006.
The National Archives of Ireland holds the household returns of the 1901 and 1911 censuses for the island of Ireland. These returns are of great interest because they are the earliest returns that still exist in their entirety and also because they cover the entire island. The digitisation of the 1901 and 1911 census records will proceed with the provision of €1.1 million.
I have also decided to support the day-to-day working costs of Exploration Station, the National Children's Science Museum, with €250,000 in current funding for 2007. The museum will encourage children to explore and discover at their own pace. One of Exploration Station's core goals is to provide the opportunity for children to explore and discover science, history, culture and the arts. The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment will provide the capital requirements of the museum.
The Irish film industry continues to be an important medium through which to showcase not only Ireland itself, but its culture and indigenous talent. The total Estimates provision for 2007 for the Irish Film Board represents an increase of 15% on the original 2006 allocation. This increase will enable the board to continue its essential role of developing and supporting the Irish film sector. It will facilitate the board in marketing Ireland as a film location and, in particular, will assist the work of the newly opened office in Los Angeles in raising the profile of the Irish audiovisual industry abroad. This provision underlies the sustained Government support for the board, which has seen its total allocations increase by 60% since 2002.
I will also increase the funding available to Culture Ireland, which works to promote Irish culture and the arts abroad, from €3 million to €4.5 million, a 50% increase over the 2006 allocation.
A total budget of more than €316 million will be made available to the sports sector in 2007, an increase of 30% over 2006. Sport plays a vital role in our society in promoting healthy lifestyles, creating a sense of identity and belonging, channelling energy in rewarding activity and bringing people together. The Government has spent more than €900 million on sport since 1997. This unprecedented level of investment is clear evidence of the importance the Government attaches to the establishment of modern, well-equipped and well-managed sporting facilities supported by a wide range of programmes. These developments are of significant benefit to communities.
The 2007 budget for the Irish Sports Council has increased by 20%, or more than €8 million, to more than €49 million. The continued increased level of funding will allow the council to realise fully the commitments in its strategic plan to increase participation in sport and improve the levels of performance by our elite athletes in world-class competition.
Funding is also being provided for the Institute of Sport, which was launched in July. In the lead up to the 2008 Olympics and Paralympics, the institute will concentrate on 14 focus sports, with some 90 athletes involved under the carding scheme. 2007 will see the institute up and running with increased funding and key professional and scientific staff in place to ensure optimum preparations are under way for Beijing 2008.
The newly established national governing body, Horse Sport Ireland, will be responsible for devising and implementing strategies for the development and promotion of an internationally competitive Irish horse sport industry. Provision for funding for this new body is included in the 2007 budget for the Irish Sports Council.
In addition, the Irish Sports Council will be in a position to extend the network of local sports partnerships through which sports initiatives at local level are delivered and co-ordinated, as well as maintaining support for specific initiatives for which I earmarked funding in previous years. These include the development of hurling and camogie on a nationwide basis, the development of Gaelic games in Dublin and programmes to attract more women to participate in sport.
The Government has provided tangible support for the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road stadium with a 2007 provision of €76 million. Although it is not possible to estimate the length of time that will be required to complete the planning process, the project has proceeded on schedule up to this point. I am hopeful that by the end of 2009, we will see the completion of the redevelopment of the stadium, which will cater for the international rugby and soccer requirements of the IRFU and FAI. Ireland's international rugby and soccer squads will then have a platform on which to showcase their skills and supporters will be able to view these games in a modern and comfortable environment. The recent announcement by UEFA that a European club football final could take place in the new stadium is also a major boost to the project and to sport, especially soccer, in Ireland.
A capital allocation of €30 million has been set aside in 2007 towards phase one of a campus of sports facilities at Abbotstown. This first phase will provide for the development of modern facilities, including pitches and support facilities, for the three major field sports, rugby, soccer and Gaelic games, with shared core facilities including accommodation, fitness area, medical and gym facilities. Facilities to cater for more than 30 indoor sports as well as community playing pitches and support facilities are also included in the plan.
The Government has made a considerable effort to bring our sporting infrastructure into line with best international standards. In many ways, the sports campus can be seen as a real and tangible symbol of Ireland's determination to compete on the international stage by ensuring our sports men and women have at their disposal cutting edge sporting facilities. It is a vital component in our developing sporting infrastructure and will provide the ideal venue for our elite athletes in their preparations for future sporting events. I am optimistic the provision of such modern and well-equipped sporting facilities will give our sportsmen and women the edge in international competition in years to come.
The refurbishment of the former State laboratory at Abbotstown as the new headquarters for the FAI is under way and this will be the first tangible evidence of the sports campus becoming a reality. It is anticipated the FAI will relocate to its new headquarters by the middle of next year.
Funds will be set aside in 2007 for the operation and management of the National Aquatic Centre. The recent Supreme Court order means the current operators of the National Aquatic Centre, Dublin Waterworld Limited, will leave the centre with effect from 30 November and that possession will be restored to the State company, Campus and Stadium Ireland Development Limited. Once under new management, an immediate examination of the centre will be undertaken so we can all be reassured it is safe and sound.
With regard to the provision of quality sports and recreational facilities throughout the country, the total 2007 capital budget for grants for sports facilities, including swimming pools, will be almost €88 million. This will be used to meet payments in respect of commitments already made as well as those to be made in 2007 under the sports capital and local authority swimming pool programmes. Between 1998 and 2006, almost €470 million has been allocated to more than 5,700 projects throughout the country under the sports capital programme. Under the local authority swimming pool programme, 23 swimming pool projects have been completed since 2000 and a further 15 are under construction.
I have secured an allocation of €154 million, an increase of 9% in the 2006 budget, for the tourism sector. This increased allocation is the largest ever Exchequer budget for the tourism industry, representing the Government's strong commitment to it. The international market continues to present intense and increasing competition. The 12.5% increase in the tourism marketing fund to €45 million builds on the increased funding provided in previous years, representing the largest ever marketing budget for the promotion of Irish tourism. This record budget will enable Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland to ratchet up their marketing activities in 2007, with a particular emphasis on an enhanced regional focus and new marketing strategies for North America and new and developing markets.
The past four and a half years have been tough for tourism and travel worldwide. We have responded to these challenges through a programme of reform of the State's tourism structures and their operational strategies in human resources. It has resulted in encouraging figures. Last week's CSO figures show overall trips to Ireland for the year to end-September up 11.2%, Britain by 7.6%, mainland Europe by 18.8%, North America by 11% and other long-haul destinations by 7.5%. Revenue earnings are up 7% for the first half of the year. There were 90,000 extra visitors for the Ryder Cup. Domestic tourism is growing and average hotel room occupancy rates increased from 62% to 66% in the first eight months of 2006.
I commend the Estimates to the House.
While a more in-depth debate on these Estimates will occur at the Select Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, I want to give an overview of the three main sectors for which the Minister has responsibility.
Despite the increase in the numbers of tourists entering Ireland, the level of tourism spend has remained static. People are visiting Ireland for shorter stays and are, therefore, spending less. Many of these extra visitors come from Poland, Latvia and Lithuania to visit their relatives and friends working in Ireland. They do not have the same disposable income as, say, American or UK visitors.
Dublin's tourism industry has been transformed into a buoyant market with tourists visiting it throughout the year. Some 20 years ago, it was seasonal but now tourist coaches are parked outside Trinity College Dublin all year round. Traditionally, the west and the south west depended on tourism revenue. With the decline in farming and fishing and the closure of many light engineering industries, the south west and west are now more dependent on tourism. Unfortunately, the number of visitors coming into these areas is in decline. Between 1999 and 2004, the west lost over 3 million bed-nights. Major pressure has been brought to bear on tourism enterprises such as hotels, bed and breakfasts, guesthouses and restaurants. Only for the domestic tourism market and the spending power of the domestic consumer, tourism in Kilkenny, Westport and many places in County Kerry would be under serious threat. Westport, for example, is 90% dependent on the domestic tourist. If interest rates rise again, the domestic tourism market may slow down with consequences for restaurants and tourism accommodation outside Dublin.
The Government claims it has a low taxation policy but it piles on taxes indirectly. The number of stealth taxes affecting the tourism industry has put it under pressure. Local authorities must increase rates, water and service charges to business because they are not getting enough funding from central Government. As the Minister is aware, County Kerry has the highest rates, next to Limerick. This puts extraordinary pressure on bed and breakfasts and hotels in the region.
Much has to be said for the restructuring of the State's tourism institutions. The regional tourism authorities were not working. Most of their powers have been taken away and centralised in Fáilte Ireland. Will the RTAs be just talking shops or will they give direction? Consultants could easily produce similar reports and not cost half as much. I hope the Minister will give the committee a detailed breakdown of what will be their role.
This year the Arts Council applied for overall funding of €120 million. It received €8 million, an increase of 11% in last year's funding. I accept that is more than the average but the council must provide for theatrical tours for the Abbey and Druid. There will be more theatrical tours using the facilities provided in, say, Portlaoise and Letterkenny, for the past 20 years. Recently the Druid Theatre toured in Kerry with "The Year of the Hiker". However, funding of €2 million will not be made available to the council until next year. I understand the council has another commitment to the Abbey for €1.7 million and a small grant of €1.7 million for product development. The increase, therefore, has already nearly been spent. This year only one in three individuals who apply for funding from the Arts Council will receive it. The Minister should consider how many artists and groups will be disappointed.
Arts centres around the country are under considerable pressure to survive and to pay their managers. I thought a scheme might be introduced to provide subsistence to managers, funded through the Arts Council. There is an indirect system but no direct subsistence. That will not happen now.
The pre-budget Estimate for the arts is not as good as it seems. Many people will be very disappointed. There will be no increases on last year to those who receive funding, although the stealth taxes that affect tourism will also affect those working in the arts. This is not the utopia that the Minister would have us believe. How much time do I have left?
The Deputy has 30 seconds.
In respect of sports, I am delighted that the Minister is spending money from the national lottery that Fine Gael and Labour set up so well in the 1980s. That much-maligned coalition Government had the vision which enables this Minister and his colleagues to look good as they distribute money all over the country. I welcome that fact.
Does the Deputy welcome the fact that we look good all over the country?
I welcome the fact that money is being spent to develop the profile of sport. However, there are problems. In a survey I conducted of 1,400 primary schools, only 23% had sports halls. I appealed to the Minister a few weeks ago to give priority to any applications he receives from schools and local sports clubs.
This alone will not resolve the problem. There must be a national commitment to installing sports halls in schools. There is a major obesity problem with 300,000 young people identified as obese or overweight, a figure increasing by 10,000 annually.
Acting Chairman
The Deputy has gone one minute over his time.
The Minister had three so I will cut it to one.
Acting Chairman
Two minutes.
According to a recent report in The Irish Times from a conference on this subject, young people need to have at least two hours of physical education a week. In most of our schools, there is none.
Part one of the saga of the National Aquatic Centre has come to an end but the problem is rooted in the fact that while the building looks fine, it is defective and leaking.
It is not leaking.
There are structural faults in the building. I have called on the Minister several times to commission a proper structural engineer's report. He mentioned this today. One would not expect 25 sq. m. of the roof of a modern building to blow off. It is crazy to say that there was no structural fault in this building. I acknowledge the merits of the building from several points of view and it will be a great facility, but it needs to be repaired. I hope the Minister brings in an independent, reputable, perhaps international, group that will have no prejudice coming into the examination. It should carry out a fair examination so that we all know once and for all whether there are defects in the building. If so, we should repair them.
I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion regarding the pre-budget Estimates. Unlike the two previous speakers, I wish to address it in general rather than confine my comments to one Department. The 2007 gross pre-budget Estimates provide for expenditure of just over €54 billion, comprising €46.7 billion in current expenditure and €7.6 billion in capital expenditure. In real terms, that is an increase on the forecasted outturn for this year of €4 billion, or a little over 8%.
A good balance has been struck between making necessary provision for public services and ensuring that we maintain a prudent and sustainable budgetary position. The actions of the Minister for Finance must meet several criteria but should not be seen to be inflationary. The capital expenditure meets the growing demand for infrastructure which is being met through various projects but specifically Transport 21.
Between 1997 and 2005, the average annual growth rate has been 7%. Our debt to GDP ratio has declined. In 1997, it was 65%; it is now down to 27% or 28%. The level of employment exceeds 2 million for the first time in the history of the State. It is hard to believe that 15 years ago only 1 million people worked. Unemployment has fallen from 10% in 1997 to a little over 4%. There has been considerable debate about pensions but the pensions reserve fund was valued at €17.5 billion at the end of September.
Some Opposition Members have commented in the past that the country's economic success would have happened irrespective of who was in government and is due to external factors. Nothing could be further from the truth. As a people, and as a Government, we created the economic conditions, in fiscal policy, and through education and training. Social partnership agreements in particular have enabled the economy to develop.
There is a real increase in expenditure across all Departments in this Book of Estimates. That is in excess of the outturn for the rate of inflation, indicating that there will be no reduction in any service provided by the existing programmes and providing scope for all Departments to increase their activity.
Between 2000 and 2005, some 78 new schools were built at primary and post-primary levels and 23 new schools were under construction. Almost 400 large-scale refurbishments took place and approximately 50 new schools or projects are under construction. These figures may sound meaningless but in my area, Lucan, during that period they included three new primary schools, Lucan Educate Together, Griffeen Valley Educate Together and Archbishop Ryan national school, and one secondary school. This year, two secondary schools, Coláiste cois Life in Lucan, and Coláiste Bríd in Clondalkin have opened with capacities of 600 and 800 respectively. That is the real development into which the Book of Estimates translates for the people I represent.
There has been much talk about the rapid population growth in the west of Dublin due to economic success. That is the area I represent and its change from a three to a four seat constituency reflects the rise in population. The list of new schools, in addition to those that were extended, shows we are meeting the demands of the people coming to live in this area. I was taken by a point made by Deputy Paul McGrath earlier. He spoke about the need for better forward planning by the Department in regard to schools and education. He is right, but this is not only a matter for the Department of Education and Science; local authorities must put together sustainable plans and make site and other provision for schools rather than having ad hoc development.
It is difficult to believe we are living in the same country. Last Friday, the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, was in my constituency to turn the sod for a brand new school in Adamstown. What was most interesting and unique about this is that while so many hundred housing units are built, they are all currently unoccupied. The sod for this new school was turned before there is a single resident in Adamstown. The school will be built and operational by September 2007. That is an example of proper planning and development working hand in hand. Adamstown was probably the first strategic development zone to come on stream but——
It is the exception, not the rule.
I use it as a model. I take Deputy Costello's point fully. We can all look at examples of where things have not worked in the past but, specifically, this is a model where the sod was turned before a single person is living in the area and by September of next year that school will be operational. That is the way it should be done. The Department of Education and Science, to which Deputy Paul McGrath referred earlier, is only one of the elements — other partners such as the local authority are required to engage in this process also. I agree that this is the way we need to strategically plan and develop.
I have been a member of a school board of management for a number of years. The proposed increase in capitation is more significant than in previous years. At primary level the basic rate will increase by €18 per pupil next year. That is 50% more than the rate of increase last year. That means that every primary school will get €163.50 from January to cover expenses. In addition, the ancillary services grant is going up by €6.50 to €145.50 per pupil. The overall increase is approximately €24.50.
A 300 pupil school, which is a little smaller than my local school, would receive in excess of €90,000 per annum. That is, effectively, an increase of €7,000 or €8,000 which is a significant amount. It is probably the largest single increase we have ever received by way of capitation. My local school's board of management considers this is a realistic budget from which to deliver the necessary services of caretaking, cleaning, heating, lighting, etc.
It is a pity the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Deputy O'Donoghue, has left the Chamber as I wished to compliment him. At the end of his speech he briefly referred to the provision of €88 million for local recreational facilities. That includes the swimming pool programme, the sports capital programme etc. I have lived all my life in Clondalkin and I still live there. My 14 year old son, who is a sports enthusiast, is enjoying facilities that did not exist in my time. When I was his age there was not a single sports hall in Clondalkin and not a single sports club had a changing facility. When I was 14, the first swimming pool was opened in Clondalkin. Next year, it will be replaced by a brand new swimming pool.
Members on all sides would acknowledge that the sports capital programme has delivered local sporting facilities around the country that could never have been envisaged. The advent of changing facilities has afforded girls an opportunity to participate in sports, especially soccer and GAA games. The level of female membership of sports clubs is increasing because the facilities are in place. I acknowledge what the Minister has achieved but I wish to speak with him about a couple of key projects.
Funding is in place and every year the stock of sporting and recreational facilities is increasing significantly. It is probably time for the Minister to commence a second swimming pool programme because, as other speakers like Deputy Deenihan have stated, obesity is a major problem. It is important for children to be involved in sport from a young age. The existing swimming pool programme is very successful and popular. It is co-funded by the Department and local authorities. There has been a keen interest in this programme. Local authorities such as South Dublin County Council have bought into the programme. It has two swimming pools, one in Tallaght and one in Clondalkin, both well advanced in construction. I would like to see phase two of the swimming pool programme initiated.
I compliment the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, on the Book of Estimates. He has achieved a balance between capital and current expenditure without having a negative or inflationary impact on the economy. I commend the Estimates to the House.
Never has so much money been available to a Government to provide every man, woman and child in this tiny nation of 4 million people with sufficient resources to live in comfort, yet never has so much taxpayers' money been wasted and squandered.
Since the then Minister for Finance, Deputy Quinn, gave us a budget surplus ten years ago, each successive Minister for Finance has had an abundance of riches. Ten years of prosperity should have been harnessed into a great plan to eliminate poverty. Alas, there was no one in Government with a grand vision. The one big initiative of the Government was the setting aside of €2 billion in the national development plan in 2000 for large-scale national, structural and project development in the 37 RAPID or disadvantaged areas throughout the country, rural and urban. Project co-ordinators were employed, communities were mobilised, projects were identified and €2 billion was to be set aside for spending on the programme. It was all smoke and mirrors. It was a lie. Only €5 million was spent on preparatory work up to 2002. When the general election took place in 2002 and the Government was re-elected, the RAPID programme was jettisoned and the €2 billion vanished into thin air. A trickle of dormant accounts funding is all that remains to keep the dream alive — the miserly largesse of the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs that is doled out in smoky committee rooms around the country as the gift of the Minister.
The Progressive Democrats philosophy of the unfettered marketplace became the order of the day and has remained so throughout the past decade. Fianna Fáil has accepted without question the major Progressive Democrats input into the approach to the economy. The reneging on the RAPID programme was the defining moment of ten years of Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats Government. Instead of endeavouring to build a strong cohesive society, the Government's role has been primarily to facilitate the private sector with tax breaks, to curtail regulation and inspection of product and employment and to deprive the public sector of resources and supports. The Government's policy mantra is straight out of Animal Farm, “Private is good, public is bad.”
The ugly face of capitalism is evident in the sale of public lands for private hospitals by the Minister for Health and Children and the sale of local authorities' land banks to private developers and speculators when tens of thousands of households are desperately seeking to acquire homes. There are 60,000 more applicants on the housing list. That is double the level of ten years ago. Profit at all costs is the name of the game. Instead of a caring society we have a vulgar economy.
Meanwhile, gangland killings, drug and alcohol abuse, wanton violence and mindless vandalism destroy the quality of life for many urban communities. The rape of young children, the assassination of a young mother in north County Dublin and the gangland execution of a man in my constituency last week are now common occurrences that were unthinkable ten years ago. I raised the issue of anti-social behaviour on the Adjournment last night. On Sunday morning, the windscreens of 14 cars were smashed in the Stoneybatter-Oxmantown area. A Polish national was beaten up on the same morning. On the previous Wednesday, tyres were slashed in the same area. These types of events are happening on a regular basis the length and breadth of the country and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has nothing except bluff and bluster to offer to deal with it.
The treatment of our elderly in nursing homes is a scandal as is the appalling condition of accident and emergency units for patients throughout the country. These are the real monuments and legacies of the Government. The estimated cost of running the State next year is €54 million. It is a large sum of money but will it make life better for young people who are in need of child care and smaller school classes?
Will it make life better for workers who have to travel increasingly longer distances and spend more hours dealing with congestion on polluted streets to get to work? Will it make life better for young families who cannot afford to buy a home of their own? Will it make life better for people with a disability who cannot access independent living or for the elderly who fear the neglect and inadequacy of nursing home care or the sick who dread the trolleys of the accident and emergency departments, MRSA and the winter vomiting bug on a hospital ward in the coming months?
The Government has wasted and squandered for ten years. These are the real issues that put people before profit, that determine whether a set of Estimates and a new budget benefit society or just the economy, and a certain cosseted section of that society. The Estimates for each Department give some indication of the Government's true intentions. We must wait for the budget to get the full picture and see the extent to which the forthcoming election colours the final figures and the final allocations. The Departments of Justice, Equality, and Law Reform, Education and Science and Health and Children have received substantial increases in the region of 10% while the Department of Defence has received less than half this amount.
Undoubtedly, the Minister for Finance is bowing to pressure from his backbenchers to spend generously in the big spending Departments which are election sensitive. Despite his protestations to the contrary, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, has already signalled in the Estimates his willingness to splurge in 2007, as his predecessor, Charlie McCreevy, did in 2002 to buy the forthcoming election.
When the crunch comes, as it always does in an election year, Fianna Fáil has an unerring ability to metamorphose Fianna Fáil's electoral interests into the national interest. I wait with bated breath for an election budget giveaway that will be packaged with protestations of prudency, the national interest and national responsibility.
Nothing can hide the fact that the Department of Defence is the Cinderella of the spending Departments. The increase in the 2007 Book of Estimates is a mere 4.6% compared to an average of more than 8% in all Departments. This increase does not compensate for the steady erosion of funding for the Defence Forces over the past ten years. A 4.6% increase will barely keep pace with inflation which has been approaching this mark over the past six months. Therefore, the Estimates for the Department of Defence represent no significant increase in year-on spending.
Moreover, while the Minister, Deputy O'Dea, indulges in self-congratulations, the reality remains that, over the past ten years, Defence spending has fallen by 50% from 1.3% of GNP to only 0.65% of GNP today. This is having a damaging effect on the morale of officers and ordinary members of the Defence Forces who believe that the Government does not attach sufficient importance to their needs. Contrast with the larger budgets supplied for defence spending among other European Governments.
Ireland's commitments to United Nations missions overseas have increased substantially in recent years. At present, our troops are deployed to every trouble spot around the globe. The Defence Force quota of 10% of the Permanent Defence Forces on United Nations duty and missions is stretched to its upper limit. At such a time, Defence spending should also be increased to meet these responsibilities and to ensure our soldiers have the best equipment, best training and knowledge to carry out their international duties.
We are likely to get another "squandermania" from the Government in the forthcoming budget. What has been spent hitherto has been spent badly. The quality of society has disimproved. Following on from what the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism said in regard to Lansdowne Road and Croke Park, the amount of money provided to those national stadia is welcome, but nothing has been given to improve the quality of life for the people in the areas. Croke Park is an 82,000 plus stadium and yet not a cent has been made available to provide a single parking place for those 82,000 people. There are no park and ride facilities or car parks. No attempt has been made to get public transport to take people to Croke Park. In other words, people have not been a consideration for the Government.
I welcome the publication of the abridged Estimates for 2007 and, in particular, the commitment shown to maintaining high levels of provision for the wide range of essential public services and for the continued growth of infrastructural programmes across all Departments in response to the needs of an expanding population and a growing vibrant economy.
Almost €2.9 billion is being provided for my Department in 2007. This is an overall increase of 6% over the provision for 2006, providing the biggest ever Government spend on local government. It is appropriate that this should be the case. We face phenomenal challenges across the functional areas for which my Department is responsible.
The major global problem of climate change, the pressures that arise from rapid population growth, the challenge of providing housing in record quantities, the ongoing challenge of providing the infrastructure to support sustainable communities, responsibility for securing and enhancing our environment and for protecting our very considerable built heritage and the critical responsibility for protecting Ireland's biodiversity to the less elevated but equally important responsibility for waste policy all fall within the extraordinary broad range of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The list does not stop there. Local government, the point at which citizens interface with the State in so many ways, also falls within the remit of the Department.
In my two years as Minister of State in the Department, I have placed strong emphasis on promoting more effective performance and adopting best practice to maximise the benefits of the considerable resources being made available. Value for money is a core principle and I will continue to provide a sharp focus on this in terms of achieving the programme objectives in 2007.
By any objective yardstick, my Department has made massive progress across the full range of its operations. The overall provision of €2.9 billion for 2007 equips my Department and our local authorities well to continue the momentum on key capital programmes and service provision for which we are responsible. This is particularly important in 2007, the first year of the new national development plan. We are well placed to build on the achievements made during the past five years.
It is worth briefly looking back at some of the achievements before we look forward to what remains to be done. A total of more than €3.5 billion has been invested in Ireland's water services infrastructure between 1997 and 2006. Government investment in recent years has resulted in increased waste water treatment capacity equivalent to the needs of a population of 3.1 million and additional drinking water capacity for a population equivalent to more than 1 million. The EPA has verified improvements in drinking water quality during the past three years and also improvements in river water quality. We have a record number of blue flag beaches. We are 90% compliant with the urban waste water treatment directive compared to just 20% compliance in 2000. The recycling rate for municipal waste was just less than 34% in 2004, compared to 9% in 1997, and figures should show we surpassed our 2013 target last year. Recycling of packaging waste has risen from 15% to 56%. Construction and demolition recycling is at a high of 85% and waste going to landfill generally has fallen by 9% in four years, in spite of an expanding economy. The recycling scheme for electronic waste, which came in for considerable criticism from the Opposition, has collected 2.3 million pieces of equipment since I introduced it in August 2005.
Some 14% of the national territory is now protected for habitat or species conservation, and this year I have designated new marine conservation areas covering an area the size of County Wexford. Increased resources have been allocated to An Bord Pleanála, the Heritage Council and the EPA to ensure that these key agencies continue to deliver high quality services, which are crucial to our continued economic and infrastructural development. Some 170 capital projects are completed annually by the national parks and wildlife service. These are aimed at developing and maintaining our six national parks and 78 nature reserves.
A major component of the Department's Estimate relates to housing, a matter that will be addressed this evening by the Minister of State, Deputy Noel Ahern, during debate on the Private Members' motion. The Government's approach to housing aims to address the wide spectrum of housing needs. Our success in increasing housing supply is fundamental to this objective and is well reflected with more than 81,000 housing units supplied in 2005. This year we are on course to achieve approximately 90,000 units. One third of all houses in the State has been provided during the ten years of this Government and its predecessor. The Government is also determined to maintain the momentum on social and affordable housing provision. The total Exchequer provision for housing in 2007 is almost €1.5 billion — an increase of 9%, €125 million, on the 2006 provision. This increased level of funding is in line with the housing commitments contained in Towards 2016 and demonstrates the Government's determination to honour these commitments fully.
We have prioritised investment on non-national roads and good results are being achieved. By the end of last year, almost 80% of deficient non-national roads, as identified in 1996, had been restored. Almost €560 million in State aid is being invested this year in our non-national roads. This represents a 13% increase on 2005 and we will be in a position to announce further increases in this programme in January when the local authorities will be notified of their 2007 allocations.
At this stage, the vast majority of the busiest fire stations in the country are modern up-to-date buildings with all the necessary facilities required by today's fire brigade standards. We will continue to invest in fire-fighting facilities in 2007.
The provision of €427 million on water and wastewater infrastructure in 2007 represents an increase of 7% on the 2006 provision of €399 million. Since 2000, some €9 billion has been spent on new water and wastewater projects, including the major new sewerage schemes in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway, and in other locations too numerous to mention. Funding of more than €5 billion covering 899 projects, including projects at planning stage, is provided for the projects in the Government's current investment programme. The increased funding for 2007 reflects the importance the Government attaches to water services infrastructure as a facilitator of economic growth. Not only does the provision of this infrastructure meet essential environmental needs, it also gives us a competitive advantage in attracting inward investment and supports new house building for the benefit of all communities, big and small, throughout the country.
The resources the Government has provided to local authorities through the local government fund have risen dramatically since the fund was established in 1999. The fund will deliver €1.48 billion to local authorities next year, compared with €800 million in 1999. This level of resources has enabled the Minister, and his predecessors, to double the level of general purpose grants from the fund between 1999 and 2006 and I am pleased to say that we intend to continue this trend and increase grant levels further in 2007.
I know, from my close and long involvement with local government, that the demands on the sector have increased substantially in the past decade and it is requisite that we should meet that demand. These increased demands are due to a number of factors, including population growth, servicing of an expanding industrial and commercial sector, higher standards required in areas such as waste management and water treatment, quality, maintenance and operation of new infrastructure provided through public capital programmes, better planning enforcement, as well as the rising levels of expectations by the population. Local authorities have risen to the challenge.
We will be notifying local authorities of their general purpose grant allocations shortly so that they can adopt their budgets for next year. In framing these budgets I want local authorities to keep two matters in mind. While the level of increase in the rate on valuation and other charges is, of course, a matter for elected members, I urge councillors to be mindful of the need to maintain competitiveness within the local economy when they are making decisions. Minimising increases will, in the long term, contribute to local enterprise and employment growth and in turn ensure the long-term sustainability of their commercial rates base. I urge elected members to insist that their councils pay greater heed to efficiency and value for money. Between capital and current expenditure, the local government sector will spend €9 billion in 2007. While efficiencies have been delivered by the sector in recent times, significant potential remains for further efficiencies to be achieved.
The 2007 spending provisions confirm the Government's strong commitment to the development of the local government sector and will allow continuation of the high levels of activity achieved in addressing social needs and providing the necessary infrastructure to assist sustainable development and improve the quality of life of our citizens.
Tá mé ag roinnt ama leis na Teachtaí Connolly agus Sargent.
Acting Chairman
Is that agreed? Agreed.
Ós rud é nach bhfuil ach trí nóiméad agam, ní féidir liom ach sciuird ghasta a thabhairt ar na Meastacháin, i leith na Gaeilge agus chúrsaí dlí agus cirt ach go háirithe. Is trua nach bhfuil níos mó ama agam.
Tá sé scannalach nach bhfuil ach ardú 1% ag dul d'Fhoras na Gaeilge, eagras ar oibir mé dó roimhe seo. Is ardú suntasach ar chóir dúinn a thabhairt don eagras sin, ach go háirithe mar gheall ar an obair mhór atá roimhe. Ba cheart dúinn smaoineamh go raibh sé geallta ag Rialtas Shasana go mbeadh Acht Gaeilge ann do na Sé Chontae amach anseo agus an obair bhreise a thiocfadh don Fhoras dá réir. Is é píonós do na heagrais phobail a oibríonn leis an Ghaeilge a bheadh i gceist leis an ghearradh siar seo, mar tá ardú 1% cosúil le gearradh siar mar gheall ar an ráta boilscithe, atá ag rith ag breis is 4%. Tarlaíonn sé seo in ainneoin na ngealltanas a tugadh do na heagrais Ghaeilge nuair a d'aistrigh an Dáil deontais chuig an Fhoras.
Fáiltím roimh an ardú suntasach sa deontas do TG4, ach feictear dom nach leor é nuair a fhéachaim ar an sórt sceidil atá á chur ar fáil aige agus ar mhaith leis a chur ar fáil amach anseo.
The Tánaiste's right-wing priorities and disdain for justice and human rights are crystal clear in the Estimates for the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The so-called Independent Monitoring Commission, a politically biased body established outside and in breach of the Good Friday Agreement, is to receive another €1.5 million in funding next year, which shows the Government's faith in the St. Andrews Agreement, whereas the Human Rights Commission, a body established on foot of the Good Friday Agreement and tasked with advocating respect for human rights of 4.2 million people in this State, is to receive just €2 million. The Human Rights Commission needs significantly greater resources if it is to carry out its large remit.
We were promised that the Garda Ombudsman Commission would also be fully operational in January 2007. However, the Estimates contradict that promise. The completely ineffective and unacceptable Garda Complaints Board, which should be winding down next year, is being given an increase. If the Garda Ombudsman Commission is to be properly funded next year, why is it receiving virtually the same amount of money that it received last year, when it was inoperative? This does not instil confidence that the target of 1 January 2007 will be met. That is a great pity because the commission is obviously needed. Furthermore, if the Garda Ombudsman Commission is to have any opportunity of being effective and realising its potential, the €10 million provided will not be adequate. The Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland receives an additional €500,000 over and above that amount but the Garda Ombudsman Commission will be responsible for overseeing a force which is almost twice the size of the PSNI, which is responsible for a geographical area that is nearly three times the size of that of the North of Ireland and which must deal with a population that is three times the size of that which obtains in the North.
Where are the additional funds for the civilianisation of An Garda Síochána, its operations and its stations? Priority is being given to doubling the number of fully trained crime fighters who are being deployed on traffic duties.
I again wish to raise questions with regard to the Secret Service Vote, which, for the fifth successive year and despite it having a significant surplus annually, will increase. The Minister must indicate why some of these bizarre funding decisions continue to appear in the Estimates, with no one being held accountable for them.
When one looks at the Book of Estimates and sees that an additional €4 billion will be spent, one would imagine that all one's problems will be solved. The 11% increase, to €14 billion, in spending on health looks good, as does the additional 8% in respect of teachers. Indicating that an additional 800 teachers will be appointed also looks good. However, as regards the 11% increase in respect of health, provision has not been made to provide additional beds in the health service. A marker should be laid down in respect of that matter. What will be the percentage gain to the health system by the closure of smaller hospitals and how much of this will be spent on feeding the fat cats? This is the greatest deceit of all within the health service.
I will concentrate on the health service because it was on that ticket that I was elected. The money being invested will not change the direction in which the health service is heading. Several problems exist. The first of these relates to communications and what one is told by different Departments. It also relates to what one is told by the Government, the HSE and those at general manager level. They all say different things.
On Thursday of last week, the Minister for Health and Children indicated that the implementation team is proceeding with plans that will effectively demolish and finish off Monaghan General Hospital. We were informed that there would be vast volumes of work carried out at the hospital. Day services will continue to be offered there but the 24-hour, seven-day accident and emergency and X-ray services are being removed, as are acute medical care and the new acute unit. We have been informed that there will be a better service on offer, without one additional bed being put in place. People are expected to travel to Cavan General Hospital, which is already overcrowded and its staff overworked, for treatment. The position is similar in respect of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.
What is happening does not make sense. The co-authors of the report presented to the Joint Committee on Health Children on Thursday last agree with me in that regard. Mr. John Saunders stated that it does not make sense to remove services before other services are put in place. Mr. Saunders's important statement should be examined because he obviously does not agree with what is happening. Anyone with a brain would not agree with taking a 24-hour service away. A test run of what it is proposed to do at Monaghan General Hospital was carried out between June 2002 and January 2005. In June 2002 there were five patients in the hospital, which was well on the way to being closed and which was off-call. During the period in which it was off-call — it is proposed to take the hospital off call again — 17 lives were lost. Numerous other lives were saved because people insisted on bringing loved ones and others to hospital by car.
When we raised this issue at ministerial, Department of Health and Children and hospital CEO level, we were informed that we were scaremongering and that we should not worry. That is a matter of Dáil record. In my view we should examine the Teamwork report to which I refer before matters go too far.
I smiled when the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government said that councillors must heed the need for competitiveness. When they look at the Estimates, councillors will find that statement difficult to take. The Estimates involved quite an amount of inaction. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, referred to spending on transport but he failed to come to grips with the cost of congestion. The latter costs businesses approximately €3 billion per year. In an IBEC survey, 89% of businesses indicated that they bear the cost of congestion and that it has an adverse effect on their operations. The Minister of State's direction to councillors to heed the need for competitiveness and extract large amounts of money from businesses through rates will not go down well with such businesses, particularly when one considers the effect of congestion on their operations. The Government should go back to the drawing board before dictating to councillors on the importance of competitiveness.
The Minister for Finance did not refer to the biggest elephant in the room. He spoke about water and waste but he never mentioned climate change. The cost of the latter will really affect the Estimates in the future. That cost already stands at €1 billion in respect of carbon and it is growing all the time. We will be obliged to pay this amount — or between €2 million and €4 million each week — in addition to the country's normal running costs in the period 2008 to 2012 on foot of ineffective Government. That matter must be tackled but the Estimates do not appear to take account of it. Perhaps action will be taken in the budget.
Money is certainly being spent on water services. However, it is not being invested in water conservation and is being spent instead on supply. The position is similar to one having a leaky tap and being obliged to keep the plug in the bath. We would save a great deal of money if we were to examine the possibilities with regard to water conservation.
The happy campers in all of this are the builders. They are making a great deal of money and the Government is benefiting as a result. The revenue being accrued is welcome but the cost involved is being levied on taxpayers who are obliged to pay high energy bills and who must take account of the amount of water they use because the houses being built do not include conservation mechanisms. In international terms, housing standards in Ireland are extremely poor. That is one of the reasons builders would resist Fianna Fáil getting its act together. As a result, they continue to benefit.
I also smiled when the Minister of State referred to the value for money principle. Value for money does not seem to have impinged to any great degree on the Department of Transport, which wants to construct a new runway at Dublin Airport. A cost-benefit analysis was not carried out in that regard and billions of euro are going to be poured into that black hole. In light of the fact that traffic congestion in the Dublin area will make it extremely difficult to proceed with and operate the proposed runway, it is ironic that the Minister of State referred to the need to obtain value for money. Perhaps the Minister for Finance will call on his colleagues in Government to insist that cost-benefit analyses should be carried out before vast amounts of money are spent. We could thereby avoid a great deal of waste.
The debate on the Estimates gives us the opportunity to examine a number of matters in respect of which money is being provided. In 2007, €54 billion will be spent by various Government agencies and Departments and this is comprised of €47 billion in current expenditure and €7.6 billion in capital expenditure. These are the sort of amounts that many of us who were Members of the Houses upwards of 20 years ago never dreamed would be available to deal with certain of the country's problems.
It would be easy for Members to talk for an hour about any of the headings contained in the Estimates.
Sitting suspended at 1.30 p.m. and resumed at 2.30 p.m.
Debate adjourned.