Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is very welcome. I welcome the announcements in budget 2025. We have certainly come a long way from my first years in these Houses in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. It was a different world back then, but we put in place the foundation stone to allow for the budgets we see now and the necessary increase in spending to account for demographic changes. If you look at the projections provided in the budget brief, you will learn that our population has been growing at a rate faster than previously projected. The labour force is projected to increase by 485,000 to 3.2 million by 2037. These figures have to be taken into account when planning for the future, deciding whether changes have to be made to the national planning framework, considering measures which determine the level of capital expenditure and deciding on the areas to which expenditure is directed. I refer not only to the various areas within government but also to the parts of the country where that expenditure would be accounted for. That is important. With a growing population, we will have pressures on schools, childcare, Garda resources, health services and universities. We must always plan for the future of this country, which has a growing population. That is an important starting point in respect of where we are.

It is right and prudent that the windfall taxes from Apple, which were unexpected, would be directed towards capital projects rather than day-to-day spending. It would be imprudent to do otherwise. I certainly agree with the policy and direction of the Government on that. We must always urge caution with regard to the level of indebtedness in the country. While it is dropping, we still have a considerable national debt. The important issue is not the headline figure, but the ability to repay that debt.Nonetheless, when we introduce a budget and forecast expenditure, we have to be conscious of that level of indebtedness.

Under the Department of Health, there are commitments to increasing the number of hospital beds, which will obviously mean additional staffing to ensure those patients will be looked after. The beds are absolutely necessary. As members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health, we know how important the issues of workforce planning are throughout the country and across our local hospitals, whether that is in my local hospital in Galway, where there are pressures on the emergency department, or in the mid-west's hospital, University Hospital Limerick, where there are significant pressures year on year, not to mention all the other hospitals throughout the country, which can be under significant pressure where there is demand for increased numbers of beds and ward blocks. We cannot just click our fingers, however, and provide them. There has to be an ongoing plan for them, with planning permission and funding provided for them, before they can be rolled out. An increased number of beds will be available from next year, I understand, in University Hospital Limerick but we need more in Galway, too, where there is a shortage of new beds. Part of the redevelopment of the University Hospital Galway site will include an array of capital infrastructure, which will be important, and it is important to acknowledge that there will be reviews of capital budgets in the months to come as well.

Another area that has been talked about for some time relates to investment in further and higher education. If we are to prepare for the future and ensure we will have graduates in the specialties that are needed for the jobs of the future, it is important that we target that investment in areas. I welcome the level of investment that was announced for the Department of further and higher education and acknowledge the demands in those areas and the delivery by the Government.

Housing is a cornerstone of demand throughout the country and of the commitment by the Government, and we have seen the biggest housing budget in the history of the State. It has been boosted by €3 billion from the sale of AIB shares, which will go to the Land Development Agency and towards upgrading water and energy infrastructure. Water, wastewater and energy are issues that are necessary, and while they may not always be seen, they are vital to ensure we can put in place the infrastructure that is necessary. Irish Water's mandate thus far has related to areas where there are existing pipe networks and sewerage plants, ensuring those plants are upgraded. In my county, work has been done on our freshwater lakes, first, and will now also be done along our coastal areas, but we need to move beyond that.

I welcome pilot initiatives throughout the country that were funded last year in Galway, in Craughwell and Clarinbridge, but we need to roll out more of them. There are small settlements around the country that have never had adequate sewerage schemes, but they have the basis of a community, such as a local primary school. They may have a local community centre, a GAA club or other such facilities. They might have a core of shops, a post office, a pub or whatever else, but they might not have a sewerage scheme. Putting in place that infrastructure will allow a housing estate, whether small or large, comprising perhaps 15 or 30 units of affordable housing, to come in time. That can go a long way towards expanding the numbers of homes that are available. Ensuring that happens will also give us additional value for previous State investment and, indeed, previous community investment in these facilities. More needs to be done in that regard. Irish Water, as I said, is making progress on the existing facilities, but it also has to roll out work on facilities that might not currently be in its sightlines.

I welcome the commitment to extending the help-to-buy scheme until 2029, the increase to the rent tax credit and the increase to stamp duty on bulk purchases of homes from 10% to 15%.That is all very important.

On the area of justice, again we have a very significant increase in budgets and an increase in funding for An Garda Síochána, which will recruit between 800 and 1,000 additional gardaí. This has to be taken in the context of not just the funding but also the changes that were made over recent months to increase the age at which a person can join the Garda, up to the age of 50. I have up until May where I can hop in if needs be. It is an area where it is hoped these changes can yield positive results in respect of an increase in interest but then, subsequently, an increase in numbers actually joining. Without the basics of law and order, no country can prosper. If we do not have those basics, we will have lawlessness.

I certainly welcome the additional funding for An Garda Síochána and the significant increase in funding to deal with domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. I know it is an issue that is very much close to the Minister, Deputy McEntee's heart, and she has secured additional funding for that area. I welcome that and investment in the court and immigration systems to speed up decision-making. All in all, in the justice area, significant funding has been made.

On business areas, I welcome the commitment to the retail and hospitality sectors, which will receive an additional €4,000 energy grant by Christmas to cover the costs of higher energy bills. I also welcome the significant tax changes that will help small business and the self-employed, including changing the VAT threshold to allow small businesses and the self-employed to keep more of their own money. There will also be changes to the self-employed earned income tax credits to allow them to keep more of their hard-earned cash. That is all very welcome, as well as the changes to the research and development tax credit to assist in cash flow for companies undertaking smaller research and development projects. All in all, that is very welcome as well.

In conjunction with the tax side of things, which we will touch on later, this is a budget that recognises the growing population, the challenges communities are facing, and the needs across all sectors to respond to the growing population, to respond to the need to continue to invest, to create and protect jobs, and the need to invest in providing basic necessities such as additional homes in our communities.