The Minister of State is most welcome. He has ten minutes. Group spokespersons will have seven minutes and all other Senators will have four.
Budget 2024 (Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform): Statements
I am pleased to have the opportunity to appear before the Seanad to contribute to the debate on budget 2024, which the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform presented to the Dáil earlier today. Budget 2024 is a budget that invests in the country’s future, in its people, in its infrastructure and in its public services. At the same time, the Government recognises the need to address peoples’ concerns about the pressures and additional costs they are facing every day.
We are acutely aware of the challenges that people are facing with increases in the cost of living, particularly as we face into the winter months. The Government provided €12 billion in cost-of-living supports over the past two years to address these challenges and budget 2024 seeks to build on the work that has already been done. Today, the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, announced a package of immediate and substantial one-off measures worth €2.3 billion to provide households with support to meet these challenges throughout the rest of the year and into 2024. All households will receive a further set of credits to assist with energy bills over the winter period. Three credits of €150 each will be provided between the end of this year and April of 2024. A €300 lump-sum payment will be made to recipients of the fuel allowance in the final quarter of 2024. An additional €200 will be paid this year to recipients of the living alone allowance.
In addition, the Christmas bonus will be paid in early December for those in receipt of regular social protection payments, a once-off double-week cost-of-living support payment will be paid in January to all qualifying social protection recipients and a special once-off payment of €400 will be made before Christmas to those who receive the carer’s support grant, disability allowance, blind pension, invalidity pension or domiciliary care allowance. A double payment of child payment worth an additional €140 for each child will be made to all qualifying households before Christmas. A double payment of the foster care allowance will also be made this year and a €400 lump-sum payment will be made to recipients of the working family payment later this year. For the first time, the budget provides a lump-sum payment to each child in receipt of the qualified child increase.
The budget also provides for a reduction of the student contribution fee of up to €1,000 for free-fees students, a once-off reduction of approximately 33% in the contribution fee for apprentices in higher education and an increase in the postgraduate tuition fee contribution of €1,000 for student grant recipients. To support businesses impacted by rising costs, budget 2024 includes a scheme of business supports worth €250 million. This package of supports is substantial but takes into account the fact that inflation is falling and wages and core rates are increasing to meet that gap.
In that vein, I will touch on the approach taken to our public spending in budget 2024, an approach rooted in a commitment to safe public finances. The expenditure management policies taken by the Government allowed us to enter 2023 in a strong position, remaining resilient in the aftermath of the pandemic and energy price shocks. This balanced and planned approach has allowed us to invest in public services while smoothing the impact of inflation. An overall budgetary package of €91.2 billion for 2024 was announced this summer. An additional €900 million in capital is being made available under the national development plan to support the delivery of the most ambitious and green infrastructure plan in the history of the State. Some €250 million from windfall corporation tax receipts will further support this ambition.
In addition to the temporary cost-of-living measures already outlined, budget 2024 includes further non-core funding of €4.5 billion. This will support the country’s response to exceptional circumstances including the ongoing impact of Covid-19 and the increased demand for international protection in this country, particularly as a result of the war in Ukraine. Supporting those who come to this country seeking refuge does not mean that we are limiting our investment in those who are already living here. There is opportunity for all of us to flourish and thrive together.
The measures outlined in budget 2024 will support the people living in this country both today and into the future. They will support them in addressing their current needs and will act as a springboard for further improvements in how public services are delivered into the future.
This budget is focused on building a better future for the people who live in this country and that starts with our children. To meet the Government’s goal of making this country the best place on earth to be a child, we have to tackle the issue of child poverty head-on and ensure that every child in Ireland has the opportunity to lead a happy and healthy childhood. Budget 2024 includes a number of permanent changes to social protection payments that specifically target the well-being of children. First, the rate of the qualified child increase is rising by €4 to €46 per week for the under-12s and to €54 per week for the over-12s. Second, the hot school meals programme will be expanded to a further 900 primary schools in April 2024. Third, parent's benefit will be extended to nine weeks from August 2024. Fourth, the monthly rate of domiciliary care allowance will be increased by €10. Fifth, the child benefit payment will be extended to 18-year-olds in full-time education. Sixth and last, the income threshold for the working family payment will be raised by €54 per week.
To further support families, the national childcare scheme will see an additional 25% reduction in childcare costs and, by the end of 2024, the statutory foster care rate will be increased to €400 per week for children under 12 and to €425 per week for children over 12. Further investment in disability services will provide increased support to families. This includes 1,400 day places for school leavers and increased personal assistance hours.
The Department of Education has been allocated €10.5 billion in 2024. This includes a capital budget of €940 million for school building projects and funding to prioritise special education, including funding for 740 additional teachers and 1,200 additional special needs assistants. To further support the reduction in the cost of education, the free school books scheme has been extended. This will benefit more than 200,000 junior cycle pupils across Ireland.
In addition to the cost-of-living measures announced by the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, a further social protection package for 2024 worth almost €1.1 billion will support those who need it most. Individuals in receipt of a weekly social protection payment will receive an increase of €12 per week. The carer's allowance means test disregard will be increased to €450 for a single person and €900 for a couple. Additional funds will be allocated to provide free travel for people medically certified unfit to drive. The minimum weekly hours threshold for eligibility for the wage subsidy scheme is going to be reduced from 21 hours to 15.
The provision of housing remains a key priority for the Government and just under €7 billion of funding has been allocated to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. There will be a range of measures supported by this funding in 2024, including the delivery of 9,300 new-build social homes, the delivery of 6,400 affordable homes, the retrofitting of social housing and the expansion of housing first supports.
We engage with the health services in this country when we are at our most vulnerable and when we need them most. The Government has prioritised significant investment in the health sector, which continues to feel the aftershocks of the Covid-19 pandemic. Some €22.5 billion has been allocated to our public health system, which includes an €808 million increase in core current funding to address demographic and service pressures. This record level of investment must be reflected in a focus on productivity, better financial governance and consolidation of funded capacity.
The national development plan outlines the vision for a more sustainable and forward-facing Ireland. Budget 2024 provides an additional €900 million in 2024 for essential investment to provide more schools, hospitals and infrastructure and better public and road transport, as well as an additional €250 million from windfall corporation tax receipts.
As a society, we have never been more aware of the need to take action to address the climate crisis.
To help households with the green transition, this budget provides €380 million to residential and community energy schemes, which will reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and energy bills. As we work to meet our climate goals, applying an appropriate price to the harmful climate effects of carbon through the carbon tax remains an important measure. An additional €165 million of carbon tax revenues will be available to support the green transition and to address fuel poverty. This brings the total carbon tax revenue available for investment to €788 million, almost half of which will be invested in improving the energy efficiency of our homes. An additional €32 million in carbon tax funding will be provided to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine next year to support up to 50,000 farmers to improve biodiversity, climate, air and water quality outcomes.
A total of €3.5 billion has been provided to the Department of Transport and €892 million of this will be current funding, which will provide for the continuation of the temporary 20% fare reductions until the end of 2024, the roll-out of further services such as BusConnects, Connecting Ireland, new town service plans, and the transition to a world-class fuel efficient maritime and inland aviation rescue service. Capital funding of €2.7 billion will provide for the construction of MetroLink, the Cork area commuter rail project and investment in electric and hybrid-electric buses, along with the essential infrastructure needed for new bus and rail fleets.
As we move towards an increasingly digitised society, universal broadband will ensure that nobody is left behind. In 2024, a further €348 million will be invested to give an additional 100,000 homes the opportunity to connect to fibre broadband.
The agrifood sector plays a vital role in supporting our economy, producing world-class food and protecting our landscape. Budget 2024 allocates €1.9 billion for the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine in 2024. In addition to this allocation, the Department will administer more than €1.2 billion of EU funding in direct payments to farmers.
It is a priority for the Government that people not only are safe in their communities but also that they feel safe. Budget 2024 commits €172 million in 2024 to enable continued investment in existing services, along with funding for recruitment in 2024 of 1,000 gardaí. A €25 million increase in the annual overtime budget will mean that gardaí can be deployed as needed to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour.
In the vein of our safety and security, €1.23 billion has been allocated for the defence sector in 2024. This allocation will provide for the recruitment, training and support of an additional 400 military personnel in 2024, along with significant investment in equipment and infrastructure.
Finally, this budget provides €776.5 million in funding to Irish Aid in the Department of Foreign Affairs, which represents an increase of 8.4% on the level of funding provided in 2023. This increased funding will allow overseas development assistance through the Department of Foreign Affairs to reach record high levels.
Budget 2024 is a budget that continues the planned and balanced approach taken by the Government to approach its public finances. It is intended to address the cost-of-living concerns, to support better public services and to give children in this country the opportunity to grow up happy and healthy. I commend the budget to the House and I look forward to engaging with colleagues on these important matters.
I thank the Minister of State for coming to Seanad Éireann this evening.
Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. This budget is quite comprehensive and it addresses not just the short-term challenges but indeed the long-term challenges and opportunities for Ireland. I will start by addressing specifically some of the areas within the Minister of State's own brief and where he has an interest. I welcome that under the circular economy an additional €3 million is provided for the roll-out of the circular economy strategy. The legislation the Government enacted last year under the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act does provide for greater emphasis on recycling and up-cycling. The additional moneys there are quite welcome. The Minister of State will be aware that under that legislation, there is provision for local authorities to be able to use CCTV to deal with illegal dumping. I am conscious of the ongoing delays with the negotiations between the Local Government Management Agency, LGMA, and the Data Protection Commission but when we roll out that strategy next year, I would like to see as part of the additional funding provided to local government in this regard that funding for a campaign to tackle illegal dumping will be prioritised.
The Minister of State is very strongly aware of the importance of the National Cyber Security Centre, NCSC. There is a clear commitment within the budget today to expand the level of staffing at the NCSC. The importance of defence in this area cannot be underestimated. We are conscious today of the deliberate attack on pipelines into Finland. Ensuring that Ireland is cyber safe as well as having strong Defence Forces is critical.
I want to raise a number of other issues, in particular the very welcome increase in support for foster carers. This is the first time since 2009 there will be a double payment this winter and an increase, depending on the age of the child, of either €73 or €75 from next year. My understanding is the €25 increase will be in January and the balance later in the year. I urge the Minister of State to take it back and try to front-load this to bring in as much of the increase as early as possible in the next year. As we have a serious challenge in recruitment and retention in the foster care sector, it is important to move on that. I also welcome in the budget the provision with regard to foster children's inheritance and that their position for tax purposes will be changed.
There are a lot of real positives in education, including the extension of free school books to junior cycle. I hope over the lifetime of this Government we will deliver on free school books right across the school sector. With regard to the Minister of State's point around special education, it should not be underestimated that as a result of this budget we are seeing an additional 744 teachers in the special education needs, SEN, sector and 1,216 additional special needs assistants, SNAs. That will bring the total number of SNAs supporting our school system as they do vital work to 21,600. That is a very significant achievement by this Government and shows a very clear commitment to support special education.
On the question of the higher education package, I welcome the real difference that has been made this year on Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grants. The non-adjacent maintenance grants will be increased by €615 per annum, which is a real difference for those students. Those who receive adjacent grants will get a 10% increase, as well as the thresholds being increased. We are aware that students are facing significant costs and that makes a real difference, as will the extension of the half-price travel for young people.
I have one concern around Funding the Future, which is the overall higher education package. The Government identified that the shortfall in higher education funding was €307 million. Last year €40 million was provided towards it and €60 million is provided for it this year. That still leaves a €207 million gap when compared to the €307 million shortfall. I hoped the money perhaps could have gone a bit further. I welcome that as part of the budget commitment here we will see universities being reimbursed the full cost of all public pay awards. That will go some way towards addressing some of those shortfalls.
I will comment on the two funds that are being created. The future Ireland fund and the infrastructure climate and nature fund will have long-term positive implications for this country. These are the sovereign wealth funds that are being established by the Government. Given how strong the economy is and the level of tax take, it could be very easy for us to just look at investing in short-term projects. These funds, however, are looking at Ireland's future, not just over this decade but into the decades to come. The measure will be seen into the future as one of the most significant budgetary decisions that has ever been made by a Government. I hope there will be some level of parliamentary scrutiny and oversight in the development of these funds. I suggest that we might look to Finland, where the Finnish Parliament has a statutory committee for the future that looks at these big challenges, whether they are the green revolution, the technological revolution, or the demographic challenges we face, and set out the opportunities that are to be provided.
I will make a final point on local government. I welcome the very clear commitment in that regard. There is a commitment to investment in our fire services. I hope that will go some way towards addressing recruitment and retention challenges there. I welcome the fact there is a clear commitment within tonight's votes to additional investment in fire services and fire stations.
I congratulate the Government. It has at last sent out a signal to foreign direct investment in this country that we do not get defence and security and have no interest whatsoever in it. The miserable additional €55 million increase in defence spending will just about allow the Defence Forces to tread water. There is nothing in it for them. The Government simply does not get it and has not got it over the past ten years I have speaking about this. My colleague, Deputy Berry, has been speaking about it for the past four years.
We keep talking about recruitment. What about retention? What about holding on to the experts we have and paying them the money they are worth? We talk about increasing the number. A net increase of 400 military personnel was announced. We have to recruit a couple of thousand before we start to see a net increase. Military personnel are walking out the gate day after day. We talk about bringing in an additional 400 people. The Government should first recruit the 1,000 who left in recent times and then start talking about a net increase. When we bring these people in they will need instructors to train them. The bottom line on it is the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, as far as I know, has refused to pay the instructors allowance to officers. I just do not understand what that is about.
Representatives from the Defence Forces and the Department of Defence were before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence recently. One of the things we spoke about was the Naval Service. That is the Naval Service that is collapsing and has €300 million worth of ships tied up in Cork with nowhere to go because there is no crew. What is the problem? The problem is if a Revenue Commissioner or other Government official is put on a Naval Service ship to sail out overnight, they get an allowance of €167 for the night, while the sailor gets €60 before tax. The bottom line on it is we were told there would be an increase in patrol duty allowance, which would go some way towards retaining people in the navy. I see nothing in the budget to assure me that anything is coming that will bring that forward.
The next issue is the level of ambition 2 that we spoke about so much in the context of the Commission on the Defence Forces. It was going to be great. We were going to increase the money up to 2028. As I said, I do not see any increase. Inflation has probably taken the €55 million at this stage. It is unfair to ask the Minister of State this because he is not the Minister for Defence but, unfortunately, he is the Minister in the chair. Have we now abandoned level of ambition 2 and just decided that we will slowly unwind the Defence Forces? There was talk of an increased tax credit. I see nothing in the budget for that. As I said, there is nothing there in respect of patrol duty allowance and nothing there to retain sailors.
To make things look respectable, somehow or other the authors of the budget have managed to tie in a number for an unknown quantum that may or may not come into the Defence Forces budget as a result of public sector pay talks. I am a little confused as to why that is. I see absolutely nothing that will fund the implementation of the working time directive. What is happening is we are hoping we will talk down the clock on the working time directive and push it out to the next government to solve. It has been sitting on the table for years. It is time to put it right but unless there is funding to support it, it is going nowhere.
On the patrol duty allowance, the recent operation was multiagency, as the Minister of State knows. The Garda, Coast Guard, Naval Service and Revenue Commissioners were involved in it. All of the people involved in that massive drugs bust that we all speak so proudly about were paid the overnight subsistence allowance, except for the members of the Naval Service. In that particular situation, and I do not know whether the Minister of State has been watching international commentary, we are now quite a laughing stock. We sent three ships to capture a small yacht and we sent one ship to capture a massive ship. Something is terribly wrong in the way we are doing things.
As I listened to the Minister speak on the defence side of the budget, I heard him say some of the money allocated to the Defence Forces will be taken and used for the tribunal that is about to be put together as a result of the independent review group report. Furthermore, more of the money will be taken to try to implement some of the findings of the independent review group. Maybe that €55 million I talked about will not materialise at all at the end of the day.
We have to get our act together. I recently attended an intelligence and security forum conference in London. People are absolutely horrified that we are in such a poor state. We cannot defend our sky. We cannot see what is up there. We have been told primary radar will not be here until 2028 now. We have no idea what is going on in our waters. We depend on other people to tell us what is going on. When we do find something that needs to be dealt with, we only have one ship at a time to deal with it. We are talking about increasing equipment and infrastructure. Who will use it? What will we do with it? Will it be tied up with the other €300 million worth of ships in Cork? It is simply not on.
I look at how we can spend money in other Departments, for example, the Department of Transport's search and rescue contract recently allocated to Bristow. At a recent shareholders' meeting, Bristow hailed the fact that it was buying five AW189 helicopters, which are the ones the Air Corps was told were not suitable for Irish waters. Bristow is buying five of them for €135 million and guess who is paying for them? We are. At the end of their contract, like the Sikorsky S-92s, they will be flown out of this country and it will be a case of thank you very much for your time and money. That contract was worth €800 million. It can be imagined what €800 million would have done for the Defence Forces if they got their hands on it.
The bottom line is I am deeply concerned about the way money is thrown out. The Minister of State spoke about the additional money going out in foreign affairs. The time has come for a complete audit of the money we are putting into NGOs. Where is that money going? What is it funding? We need to do that.
I am delighted to see that the cyber side is coming along. I know the Minister of State has a specific interest in that.
On the issue of local government, we are the most centralised government in the world at this stage. What are we funding our county councils for? Please give them some powers.
I wish to share my time with Senator Maria Byrne.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
The Minister of State is welcome to the Chamber. I acknowledge and commend his role and that of the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, in the publication and preparation of the budget, in addition to all the officials in the Department and their Government colleagues for their input. This is clearly a budget that accounts for our growing population, an ageing population and the once-off cost-of-living measures that are vital to provide for families and single people throughout our State.
One area I will mention is that while there is a huge increase in the budget, there was no mention of debt in today's discussions. Debt is real and we cannot ignore it. While it is manageable in a growing economy, that is still an important point to note.
The budget will see an overall spend of some €22.5 billion in the Department of Health, €25.2 billion in the Department of Social Protection, and €10.47 billion in the Department of Education. Those are the three big-spending Departments. I welcome the recognition of and necessity for once-off payments for families.
The energy payments, which are vital, are payable to all households. That is important because in many cases households are concerned that they do not receive benefits and this is a universal payment for all households. The postponing of the increase in the duties until next March-April is important as well because that was a concern of people facing increased costs coming into the winter period. I certainly welcome that.
I welcome the €300 cost-of-living lump sum to all households getting the fuel allowance, the €200 cost-of-living lump sum for pensioners and people with a disability who are getting the living alone allowance, the €400 cost-of-living lump sum to all families getting the working family payment, the double payment of child benefit, the €400 cost-of-living lump sum payment for people getting the carer's support, the Christmas bonus, which will be paid to 1.3 million recipients including pensioners, carers and people with disabilities, as well as the January cost-of-living bonus, which will be paid to most people who get a weekly social welfare rate. That is very important. I welcome the €12 increase in the payment to pensioners as well, as I said, as the €300 cost-of-living payment for the fuel allowance.
The extension of the child benefit to 18-year-olds in full-time education is welcome as well because when we have transition year now in so many schools, it means there is an extra year in full-time education for the majority of students depending on when one starts. That is a welcome recognition of the changes in terms of the education system.
I welcome the extension of the school meals on a phased basis in 2024, to all non-DEIS primary schools that applied as part of the expression of interest. That is certainly welcome as well as part of initiatives to support and address child poverty.
Another area I would like to acknowledge, as others have said, is the Minister of State's own role in securing additional funding for the continued expansion of the National Cyber Security Centre. We see that as having an increasingly important role with the increase, obviously, in technology and online running of our society and our world.
I welcome the reduction in childcare costs. In the past week, I met a SIPTU-organised group of people involved in the childcare sector. While there have been a number of areas of concern in relation to childcare, costs being the first, accessibility being the second, the pay of childcare staff on which there were measures last year as well being the third, and the small providers being the fourth, there is concern that the childcare workers are undervalued in society. If one compares them to other groups, they do a very important job and their level of recompense is less, for example, than SNAs and others, who do equally important work in society. They are not being recognised to the same extent. I hope, in future budgets. that this can be addressed in conjunction with the providers.
I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Smith. In the two minutes that are left to me, I will highlight one or two areas.
Continuing on where Senator Kyne left off in terms of childcare, I am au fait with what goes on in a community crèche, as I am involved in a community centre. Certainly, the small childcare providers still fear issues around costs, salaries and services. It is an area that needs to be looked at. Overall, I welcome the fact that by 2024, childcare costs will be halved. That is most welcome.
There was much emphasis mentioned in terms of transport but one measure I want to welcome is the inclusion of the Coonagh to Knockalisheen road in Limerick. The road has been three quarters built. It has been a real bone of contention for quite a while as the road was going nowhere. It was stopped. I welcome the fact that this is actually mentioned in budget 2024 in terms of delivering on the national development plan.
In terms of housing, for 2024, it is expected there will be 9,300 new-build social houses and the delivery of 6,400 affordable homes. Affordable homes are something that is top of our agenda.
In terms of health, I acknowledge that spending will be up to €22.5 billion, an €808 million increase since the previous budget. Certainly, we need to see an increase in services and delivery and people need to feel safe going to our hospitals. The funding needs to be spent wisely.
Lastly, in terms of agriculture, the agrifood sector plays a vital role in supporting our economy. Culturally, agriculture has played a key role. I welcome that €1.9 billion has been allocated to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. In addition to this allocation, the Department will be administering over €1.2 billion of EU funding in direct payment to farmers. That is most welcome.
I welcome the Minister of State to the House.
The increasing threat of climate crisis and our responsibility to shift towards a low-carbon economy present challenges and opportunities to our society and the broader economy. Despite the rhetoric, the current Government is falling short on taking effective climate action. At the outset of this year, we held the highest greenhouse gas emissions rate in the EU. Under the leadership of this Government, our emissions continue to rise. Where is the alternative for households?
Public housing needs to be retrofitted first and could provide quick wins. There is only an increase in retrofitting of public housing of €3 million. Sinn Féin plans, in contrast, deliver on the scale and ambition necessary to support those who need the most support in retrofitting their homes. We would increase the budget by €45 million, bringing the total investment to €132 million.
On the other retrofitting schemes, the Government would only increase spending by €24 million to a total of €380 million. We would have gone further and would have contributed €514 million, all the while prioritising those on the lowest incomes, ensuring affordability and access.
The current national retrofit plan disproportionately benefits those with the greater means, instead of those in greatest need. We believe it is time for change in terms of how we do this. We have outlined our proposals to address these issues and ensure a fair and equitable approach to home energy upgrades in our alternative budget and policy documents.
The carbon tax, as we have said on numerous occasions, is in our view regressive. We have shown how alternatives exist. Our plan demonstrates one can retrofit houses without increasing the carbon tax on ordinary people. We would not increase the carbon tax in 2024.
It is a myth that the only way to fund climate action is through a carbon tax. Measures can be funded through general taxation. A clear difference between our approaches is that we will fund climate through more progressive taxation on income by asking those who benefit most from the economy to contribute that little bit more. We propose a 3% solidarity tax on the portion of individual income above €140,000 - raising €386 million in 2024. We also propose removing tax credits on a tapered basis on individual incomes of between €100,000 and €140,000 - raising €325 million in 2024.
The climate benefits of a progressive taxation system are acknowledged widely, not least by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, in its the Working Group III special report that stated, "Higher income inequality is associated with higher carbon emissions, ... reducing inequality in high-income countries helps to reduce emissions".
Despite our opposition to the carbon tax, we are not opposed to behavioural taxes. We are in favour of ones where feasible alternatives exist, for example, a tax on private jets, which are a total luxury and not necessary. There are obviously more sustainable alternative ways to get around besides a private jet. That is why we propose a €3,000 levy on all private jet departures.
Without feasible alternatives in place for people, however, a carbon tax is not incentivising behavioural change; it is only a punishment. Climate justice and fairness need to be at the heart of climate action if we are to succeed in making the transition to a sustainable economy.
I thank the Minister of State for his time and for coming in today.
The Minister of State is very welcome. It is great to see him here. Overall, this is a very positive budget. It is no surprise that we were all a bit concerned and worried, as we would be, because we meet constituents all the time who are worried about their futures, their families, and about the cost of living. This budget very much aligns with Green Party policies and principles, which are about protecting the most vulnerable, progressive systems of taxation and social welfare, while also ensuring the future is a greener future. We do not just put in place nice words and policies but ultimately we underpin all of that with the long-term funding that will be in place long after this term of Government. That is what we see in this budget. It is a responsible, competent budget with a responsible, competent set of policies backed up with money.
The Minister of State has gone through the detail himself but a number of things stood out to me, one of which is about microgeneration. There has been a solar revolution in this country that has been brought about because people really care about the environment and about making sure they have something cost-effective when it comes to energy. They want to be part of the solution. When we took the VAT off solar panels and ended the requirement for planning permission, and retained grants and extended them to businesses, farms, schools, community buildings, all of those things have led to a 250% increase in solar panels across this country. There was a time maybe a year ago when people would have said all Ireland was good for was wind. What we are seeing is that a huge amount of the energy being produced now is coming from solar panels. One really positive thing in this budget is giving back to people who are doing that. This is rewarding people in their pockets and saying that there is a tax disregard of €400 instead of €200 when it comes to what people bring back to the grid. It is about how they play their part for other people and producing energy for those who do not have solar panels at all. We announced a scheme of solar panels on all school buildings last year. I brought it up in the education committee last week and I acknowledge the Minister of State personally has been doing a huge amount of work on solar panels for school buildings. It is time now for the Department of Education to use the funding that Green Party Ministers have put in place. It was time a year ago but at the very least, it is time now because young people who might not have solar panels on their homes want to also play their part when it comes to this revolution.
I also mention, as the Minister of State did, the climate and nature fund. We have heard the concerns from a lot of environmental NGOs around the fact that we need to bring people with us when it comes to climate action and action on nature. There was concern in Europe regarding the EU's nature restoration law, for example; a lot of which was unfounded and based on misinformation. However, what we did was said that the action would be backed up by a fund that would support farmers and local communities. One example of something that can be done with a fund like this is to open a new national park like the national park that is being opened in Dowth, in County Louth and across the border in County Meath. We will see a transformation, not only based on green policies, but based on money backing those up.
When there is a difficult period for people, such as we have seen with the aggression towards, and the illegal invasion of, Ukraine, the amount of power Putin ended up having while controlling our resources, and the global inflation and cost-of-living challenge, who are the people who suffer most? The most vulnerable suffer but it is also people who have children. Children do not earn any money and they only cost you money. In difficult times, when there are extra people who are being fed and clothed, those are the people who really need the supports. I was going through the budget and we had the great little brief guide. Apart from the big measures that are mentioned, when we go through the items and look at the temporary cost-of-living measures, half of those are to do with children and those in schools. There is an extra €100 for the back-to-school clothing allowance; more money for school transport; free books now extended up to third year in secondary school; 900 more schools to benefit from hot meals; and the waiving of all fees for junior certificate and leaving certificate. All of these things demonstrate the Government's acknowledgement that we know who our constituents are and who the electorate is. We know who is struggling and we are trying to do the absolute best we can in a sensible way with the money that is available. I was also delighted to see some of the measures for young people in this budget. As people will remember, the Green Party put a measure in place last year and the year before which would reduce public transport costs by 20% for everyone but we reduced them by 50% for young people up to the age of 23. In this budget, we have increased that for 24-year-olds and 25-year-olds who will be brought in under that as well.
On top of that, we have the announcements from the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris - and I hope there will be more by the end of the week - on expanding the SUSI grants, where there is a huge expansion, and on a reduction of fees in third level. All of these things have an impact on the most vulnerable, namely, young people, children and families. All of the measures relating to social welfare, which have been outlined, impact these people, as well as those middle-income families who are struggling. My time is up. We will undoubtedly discuss some of the issues because we want to make sure we follow up in order that everything gets over the line.
I always welcome measures that improve people's lives. However, while many short-term, one-off measures in this budget may allow people to keep their heads above water for a few hours and get people out of a dark space for a short period, they will not make a real long-term difference to highly vulnerable people. This budget has definitely not future-proofed life for people who are living in poverty. Of course, we welcome the news about the cost of living. The Government is saying there is a fall in that but it is not seen on the ground among ordinary people. Listening to the Ministers talk about the budget throughout the day, it was all about the children of today and the children of tomorrow. What about the children of next week and the children of the future who are being born into poverty? This Government is doing very little. It is all talk. We have seen so many pieces of policy and suggestions around poverty but there is still no end to poverty in sight. This budget guarantees that a child born into poverty today will still be in poverty tomorrow because there is little or no support for long-term sustainable solutions for people living in poverty. I know every household will be receiving €150 in electricity credits and that is very welcome but we also know that there are many people from the Traveller community, and many others as well, who were left behind with those payments last year. The National Traveller Money Advice and Budgeting Service, MABS, and I have raised this issue many times with the Minister of State. We have to make sure nobody gets left behind. I heard the Minister of State speak last week in the Dáil Chamber about legislation that is coming before the Houses very soon. He spoke of having Travellers specifically named in the Bill, putting special measures in place for Travellers and ensuring they will receive the credit and not miss out due to not having their own meters. We welcome that legislation.
On another note, I add that civil society groups called for a significant increase to qualified children payments and an additional welfare payment for children whose parents are receiving social welfare.
The Government has committed to an increase of €4 per week but this does not go far enough. If we are serious about breaking the cycle of poverty, we need to see a significant increase in targeted permanent payments like the qualified child payment to make sure that we reach all children who are most in need.
This budget will give something to everybody in the audience. It did not give anything to lone parents. We know that children living with one parent are more at risk than children living with two parents. Why have lone parents not received the one-off payment of €400 as well?
There are 10,000 children in kinship care, with more than 7,000 in kinship care and placement in kinship placements, who are not in receipt of the guardian’s payment so the people who are looking after those children are getting no supports from the State. This is something we did not take into consideration.
Senator Craughwell spoke about NGOs. He seems to have a big problem with NGOs but I know that NGOs can work if they are run properly and that community development organisations can and do work. In its pre-budget submission, Social Justice Ireland said that that cuts to the community and voluntary sector since 2008 have never been fully restored. We did not look at that in the budget this year.
I welcome the supports for more recruitment of gardaí. However, we should be investing in our communities, including our young people, to empower them. I have not heard anything about measures for Traveller mental health. I know the Minister noted that today was national mental health day but that was it. There was nothing more about mental health in the budget except for that acknowledgement of mental health. Travellers were not named specifically in respect of mental health. When this Government was formed, it said that it would set up a national plan for Traveller mental health but Travellers have been let down again in this budget, as they were last year. We got the insulting figure of €300,000 for Traveller mental health. We do not know how that money was spent. I know that €1 million was allocated to Traveller well-being last year. Where has this money gone because it has not delivered on the ground? Traveller men are seven times more likely to die by suicide than men in the general population, while Traveller women are six times more likely to die by suicide than women in the general population. Again, and I will keep repeating this, this Government has promised us a ring-fenced budget to support Traveller mental health but this is nowhere to be seen.
Mental health in general was not mentioned in this budget if we look at CAMHS. We have a mental health crisis that needs to be recognised We need to invest in our young and older people when it comes to mental health. Travellers were not mentioned in the budget. The Traveller community was just thrown in with the Department of Social Protection. Again, we have been left out of the most important day of the year for investing in communities. These one-off payments will keep people's heads above water for a few hours or days but will not get people out of poverty.
I thank the Minister of State and his colleagues for their work on budget 2024. As I said in the previous debate, the fact that only three Opposition Members have spoken in the House this evening is testament to the fact that the Government has clearly put significant measures in place to be able to assist the public with the cost-of-living pressures they face.
The budget is framed with a series of universal measures as well as targeted supports for the most vulnerable, none more so than the €12 increase for pensioners, carers and those with a disability. We are introducing €2.3 billion in a cost-of-living support package that has a series of lump sum payments in addition to the weekly increases we are seeing across the board. These include the €400 lump sum in the working family payment, which rewards those lower income families who go out to work and work hard every day of the week; the €400 lump sum for carers, those on a disability payment and those on an invalidity pension; the €200 lump sum for those on the living alone allowance, taking account of the fact that it costs the same amount to run a home regardless of whether there are one or two people living in it; the €100 lump sum for every child; and the €300 lump sum for those on the fuel allowance, which commenced a couple of weeks ago. There were also universal supports to help people across the board such as the €450 in three €150 sums in respect of the electricity credit and the double child benefit payment before Christmas. All of these measures are being introduced by the Government to assist those who need it most and those in the middle, who often do not get the benefit of many of the measures that have been implemented.
I welcome the reductions that have been flagged for childcare fees and I commend the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth on that. On the move towards paying nine weeks of parent's benefit, we have moved that payment from zero a number of years ago to nine weeks, alongside parental leave and paternity leave. This is a step change in how we treat families with children. Child benefit is being extended to 18-year-olds in full-time education, an issue that is often raised by families who feel they miss out on that even though they have even higher costs in reality for those children who are still in education.
The provision of free secondary school books up to junior cycle is a really welcome measure. As a former teacher, it is a very welcome move, which builds on the progress we made with primary schools last year. The expansion of hot school meals to a further 900 schools is a welcome move. Physical education was my subject. Ensuring children have nutritious meals in school certainly assists them not only in being well fed but also helps them concentrate on their education and not have to worry about the food they are taking into their bodies. It really helps. There is a lot of research that supports that view. I also welcome the reduction in college fees.
I have barely touched the surface of a host of areas. I commend the Minister of State and his colleagues on their work and I commend today's budget.
I will address all the comments I heard in as far as I can. Senator Cummins presented a general view of the budget. This budget is designed to protect people, invest for the future and make investments in infrastructure, our young people and education, which is the most important area in which to invest, and at the same time avoid generating more inflation. We are not used to having inflation in Ireland.
We had a decade with an average of 0.5% inflation; it was 6% last year. We run the risk, at full employment, of spending money in an area and instead of getting anything back, all we do is push up prices and wages. That is our risk, so we have to cut a balance between spending enough money to protect people and to invest in infrastructure for the future, then not overspending and spending windfall money that cannot be relied on in the future. We have said this again and again about corporate taxes. We cannot rely on having that income in the future, so we are putting aside €10 billion a year. We have this balance between the two. I think we have broadly got it right. I thank Senator Cummins for pointing out what we are doing.
Senator Flynn spoke about the budget in previous years. I want to go through some of the points that she made on this. Specifically on the electricity credits, we had a number of meetings with each other, and also with National Traveller MABS, and we met at forums and conference. We tried to thrash out what we can do to improve that. Some people did not receive their electricity credits despite all the efforts that were made. The credits reached 99% of people but, unfortunately, some of the people who did not receive them were the people who most needed them, whether they were living in a bedsit or in a mobile home, including people who are maybe not Travellers but have mobile homes, and some Travellers who did not get the credits for one reason or another. We got to many Travellers by putting money through local authorities, but we did not reach everybody. On the other hand, some people received the money twice. Some people owned empty properties and received electricity credits where they were not needed and found that their electricity accounts were in credit.
We have made a big effort, which I started in spring, to make sure that people with homes or properties that are vacant do not receive credits and, at the same time, that those who fell through the cracks last time are reached. A lot of work has been done in that regard with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities and the retail electricity section of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. Although the scheme was fair already, I am happy that it is fairer, that people who were wrongly excluded will be included and that people who got double payments will not get them.
Senator Flynn pointed out that living alone or being a lone parent is a poverty indicator. Senator Pauline O'Reilly pointed out that having children is a poverty indicator. The two big factors that tend to put people at risk are having kids and living alone. That is why so many payments are targeted at them, including the living alone allowance and the fact that nearly half of the increased welfare payments and the targeted one-off payments are focused on children. There are also measures such as providing free schoolbooks that are focused on children, which is so that they can directly tackle poverty, particularly child poverty and energy poverty. Senator Flynn said she was worried that lone parents were not being provided for. I am not sure what the issue is there but I am happy to take it up with her afterwards.
She made a point about mental health and the very high rate of suicide in the Traveller community, which is shameful and true. She said that a national Traveller plan on mental health was supposed to be done and asked where it is. I will inquire about that. She also asked about an allocation of €300,000 for Traveller mental health and how that was spent. These are all fair questions. I can ask for an audit or reports on any of those items from the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. I will come back to the Senator on those issues and circulate information.
Senator Flynn said that Travellers were not specifically named in the budget. The Department responsible for Travellers is the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth under the Minister, Deputy Roderic O'Gorman. Each Department will produce very detailed budgets tomorrow. They will go down to their line items. I do not know what will be in it, but this may be. We will see tomorrow.
Senator Pauline O'Reilly discussed the solar revolution and asked about the solar panels on schools project, which I have met the Department of Education about. That is due to launch in the next fortnight or so. On the fund for nature and climate, we have a large surplus of approximately €10 billion this year. A little more than that is expected next year. A portion of that money is going to go into a special fund for nature and climate. That will mostly provide payments for farmers to transition away from traditional farming towards environmentally-friendly farming. That fund is a very long-term measure, with €3 billion going into it.
The Senator also pointed out that half the cost-of-living measures are focused on children because children are associated with poverty. She pointed out that the young adult card has been extended. She mentioned half-price travel for young people. In fact, it is 60% off, because it is 20% off all travel for everybody in the whole population and a further 50% off for young people, so anybody aged 24 or 25, including some people working on my team, will find that their cost of travel has gone down by nearly two thirds.
Senators Maria Byrne and Kyne mentioned the challenges in childcare. Senator Byrne has specific experience in that area. We are trying to do three things on childcare. One is to cut the price for parents. Another is to make the sector sustainable for providers by providing them with increased grants. Finally, we are trying to make sure that workers get a good deal. The Senators know that, for the first time, a sectoral pay deal was done last year to provide workers with a higher wage than the minimum wage. In all three areas, more investment is going on. As the Senators know, we are going to bring down the cost of childcare to parents by a further 25%. It will have halved in the lifetime of the Government, which is very significant. That needs to be backed up with sufficient money to make sure that sufficient providers stay in business. That involves much negotiation with providers, which is done by the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman's, Department. While he does not get everybody on board, I understand that he has 90% of people on board.
Senator Byrne asked about transport. She pointed out the Coonagh to Knockalisheen road in Limerick and welcomed it. Regarding Local Link public transport services, the Department Transport has provided 105 new Local Link services across the country in the past two years. Every week, it opens a new Local Link service. Anytime I am in the west, I use Local Link services. I can use them with a Leap card. I can top up my Leap card in any post office in Ireland. Leap cards used to be something that were used in Dublin but not in the rest of the country. There has been a significant increase in the number of people using rural public transport in Ireland, which is reflected in the CSO figures.
I liked Senator Fintan Warfield's contribution. There was a lot in it. Specifically, he asked why Ireland's emissions are still rising. In fact, our emissions fell last year, according to the EPA. It withdrew the initial estimate. Our emissions are currently 4.6% below pre-Covid levels. They need to fall further but I just wanted to put on the record that our emissions are falling. The Senator asked for a fairer version of the retrofit scheme. We can always make the retrofit scheme fairer. I agree that we need to work towards that. The majority of the €333 million for retrofitting goes towards free upgrades for either people living in council housing or people living on welfare payments. The better energy warmer homes scheme, combined with the local authority retrofits, comes to 60% of the retrofit funding. This year, we are providing €90 million to local authorities to fund retrofitting council houses. When I started here, just three years ago, it was €25 million. To give the Senator an idea, it has pretty much quadrupled. That is targeted at people who need it most. People living in local authority housing will not be able to afford to retrofit their properties. What about people who are in between? They can get a 50% grant to retrofit their house if they own their own home. What if someone is a homeowner on a low income who does not fit into that category, is not on welfare, not a local authority tenant, and just cannot afford it? That is why we are bringing in a low-cost loan scheme with the help of the European Investment Bank in the coming months. That will be welcome.
Senator Warfield said the carbon tax is regressive. The thing is that the Sinn Féin alternative budget includes the carbon tax. I do not believe it is Sinn Féin's policy to abolish the carbon tax. I know that, every year, it says the tax should be deferred a little but, in general, I do not believe the Senator's party is against carbon tax. If I have got that wrong, tell me, but Sinn Féin is not proposing to abolish it and its spending programme in its alternative budget relies on carbon tax revenues, which are substantial, at €770 million. Unless it can find another place to get that money, it will rely on carbon tax.
Senator Warfield mentioned tax on private jets. I have spoken with the Department of Finance on this. We are working on that. Of course, there is a range of taxes on private jets. There is a suggestion at EU level that we levy a special landing fee on all private jets. We are researching how we will do that in Ireland. We may bring it in before the rest of the EU. I agree with that.
Senator Kyne asked rightly about debt and said we are not talking about debt very much. Thankfully, our debt fell last year by €11 billion. It is very unusual in a developed economy to reduce debt. One usually just lets the debt reduce as a percentage of GDP.
Our debt is falling in nominal terms and as a percentage of GDP, which is a good thing. At the same time, we are also saving money. We are putting aside €10 billion this year in national savings. However, our cost of debt is rising and the cost of an Irish bond and the yield on Irish debt is much higher than it was. The relevant amount now is approximately 3.3%. That is significant. It is right to pay down our debt if we can and to be careful when we are refinancing it. One thing we are doing is going out to the markets. The National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA, wants to borrow money to use for green investments. Since these are certified green investments and the NTMA has done all the necessary due diligence, it is able to raise money at a lower rate than if it made a normal offering of debt. The rate is half a percent below regular rates. The NTMA recently raised €1 billion and has plans. When it is refinancing debt that is reaching maturity, it can refinance as green debt and get money at lower rates, thereby saving money.
Senator Craughwell made some points about defence spending. He pointed out that we are recruiting people but have difficulty with retention. Our ability to retain people may not be entirely related to pay. It may not be entirely a budgetary matter. It may be about conditions, culture and so on. The issue may need to be addressed in other ways. I had the honour of being on board Naval Service's LÉ William Butler Yeats. I was shown around it. That is the same ship that was involved in a large and successful drugs operation recently. The Senator pointed out that the patrol duty allowance, the amount of money that is paid per day to sailors who are on board Naval Service vessels, is lower than is paid to other divisions of the Government, such as the Revenue and so on. I am aware that is the case. The Senator also mentioned the level of ambition in the report on the future of the Defence Forces. He said we had the option to do nothing, to do level of ambition 2 or level of ambition 3 and chose the centre one, which was level of ambition 2. He asked if that is still the case and I believe it is. Specific questions about defence funding ought to be addressed to the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence, who can answer them better than I.
The Senator also asked for better funding for local government in general, which is fair enough, although local government does have the power to alter some of its own funding.
Senator Malcolm Byrne asked about CCTV. As he acknowledged, I am waiting for the Local Government Management Agency, LGMA, to come back to me with a report on the code of practice for how local authorities will use CCTV. It needs to do that by law. I am waiting for that report. I understand there is a meeting on 15 November. When the LGMA comes back to me with a code of practice, I will sign it off, lay it before the Dáil and local authorities can start putting in CCTV to catch people dumping. I want that to happen as much as the Senator does.
Senators Malcolm Byrne and Craughwell pointed out that our cybersecurity function is going well and received €10 million in funding this year. It has doubled its staff since the attack of the HSE and has a new headquarters to move into. We are better protected than we were.
Senator Malcolm Byrne also noted we have increased the foster care payment for the first time in 13 years. It it wrong that it took so long for that to happen but I am glad it is happening. There is also a one-off payment for foster care.
There have also been enormous increases in education, with an additional 744 teachers and 1,216 special needs assistants, SNAs. That will make a considerable difference to people's lives. It is a measure targeted at children and young people.
The Senator also asked about the funds we are investing in and putting our surplus into. They are, effectively, sovereign wealth funds. He asked what level of oversight we are going to have, which is a very good question. We need to be absolutely sure the money is being invested fairly and independently. We must ensure that what the money goes into is transparent to everybody. He suggested speaking to the Finns and perhaps we should also speak to the Norwegians. I agree with that. The Senator has the right idea in that regard.
The Senator also asked about fire services' retained firefighters. Progress is being made to resolve the industrial relations issues. We need to invest in those services and that is accepted across the Department.
I think I have covered everything. I thank Senators.
When is it proposed to sit again?
Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar athló ar 7.45 p.m. go dtí 10.30 a.m., Dé Céadaoin, an 11 Deireadh Fómhair 2023.
The Seanad adjourned at 7.45 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 11 October 2023.