Budget 2015 - Alex White’s Budget Debate Speech
Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources
Labour TD for Dublin South
Dáil Éireann, October 15th 2014, 5.45pm
[youtube=http://youtu.be/CyMldb1WpUM]
Budget 2015 is the first recovery Budget. The era of tax rises affecting low and middle income earners and cuts in public services is now over. Budget 2015 will help secure employment and a sustainable economic and social recovery for Ireland and our people. Its reliefs are targeted at low and middle income earners, especially families who have borne such a heavy financial burden over the last number of years.
We said that austerity would not last forever and that our collective effort would not be in vain. It is a testament to the resilience of the Irish people and the sacrifices they have made, that we are now entering a period of progress and recovery.
Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Alex White today (Wednesday) welcomed Budget 2015 as the “first recovery Budget” and said the era of public service cuts was over. Speaking in Dáil Éireann this evening, the Minister and Labour TD for Dublin South said it was a progressive budget with reliefs targeted at low and middle income earners who had shouldered a very considerable economic burden in recent years.
My main priority as Minister is to further advance the National Broadband Plan. Delivering high speed, high quality and future proofed broadband to all parts of Ireland will provide jobs and improve social inclusion, including in rural communities. It will create infrastructure that allows businesses and communities to thrive. To this end, we are in the process of ensuring that high speed broadband becomes available to every citizen and business in the country irrespective of their location.
Good morning ladies and gentlemen, I am sorry that I cannot be with you there today in person, unfortunately pressing European business means that I am unavoidably detained elsewhere.
