This afternoon.
Buswells Hotel, Dublin
From left: Councillor Cllr Brid Smith, Richard Boyd Barrett TD and Ailbhe Smyth, outlining People Before Profit’s Alternative Budget proposals (more to follow).
(Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie)
Meanwhile…
From top: Social Democrat TDs Catherine Murphy, Stephen Donnelly and Róisín Shorthall and a table from the party’s pre-Budget submission released earlier today
It’s in.
The Social Democrats’ pre-Budget submissions whatsit.
The Social Democrats propose a revenue-neutral budget that invests the full €1.5bn available into areas including job creation, housing, education, healthcare, children and communities.
Reducing Ireland’s tax base is irresponsible in a growing economy and will inevitably lead once again to instability. A wide range of economists and institutions have warned against adopting such an approach.
It is exactly what happened during the bubble, and the same political parties seem determined to do it again.
…Our budget raises c.€465m in revenue by targeting junk food, pension relief and excise, while introducing an AIB levy and a tax on bonds.
This revenue is then returned through measures including:
– Reducing USC by 0.5% for earnings up to €70k;
– Introducing a tax credit for the self-employed;
– Abolishing the domestic water charge;
– Reducing local property tax for mortgage holders (up to cap of 50% of LPT owed).In comparison to the Government’s additional €110m announced recently for the Capital Investment Plan, we have allocated €550m for capital investment.
Our measures include:
– Full €110m for recently announced capital programme;
– €300m for housing;
– €75m for primary care centres;
– €65m for innovation centres, community centres, cultural centres and high speed broadband for all primary schools.Pending legal and regulatory compliance, we would begin to allocate funding from NAMA for additional capital investment in housing.
We are committing €1.1bn in new current expenditure. In doing so we have focused clearly on dealing with:
Education: 3,000 additional teachers; Reinstatement of Guidance Counsellors; 10% increase in funding to higher education.
Healthcare: €40m towards the trolley crisis; 900 primary care staff; Implementation of chronic disease management programmes; New funding for mental health. Carry out a full health-need and socioeconomic analysis of each health area.
Parents and childcare: 2 weeks paternity leave; Additional 10 weeks parental leave; Funding for childcare providers to build quality [sic]; Second ECCE year; Reduction in childcare costs for all families.
Children: Free primary education; Funding to alleviate child poverty
Enterprise: Scaling up of Enterprise Ireland programmes; Rates holiday for start-ups; R&D tax credits for small firms; Changing of commercial rates regime; New Smart Cities fund.
Social Protection: Increase in One Parent Family Payment age (12) and income disregard (€130); Assistance for people living with disabilities; Funding for telephone allowance; Respite care grant; Funding for refugees and homelessness; Fuel allowance increase; Christmas bonus increase.
Communities: New funding for the arts; New supports for community centres and groups.
Read the party’s submission in full here
Previously: Looking At Each Other Without Fear Or Deference
Pic: Soc Dems
sounds alright. must be something wrong with it.
Not bad, there’s a left leaning party/group you can actually get behind. Although they will not realistically get elected, at least they are suggesting responsible budget plans, unlike Murphy et all who just want to tax “the rich” and ensure their target market don’t have to contribute anything to the running of the country.
SDs have quite rightly highlighted that that is a huge factor in the mess we found ourselves in a few years ago, that we are obviously still recovering from.
Social Democrats are ones to watch.
…unlike Murphy et all who just want to tax “the rich” and ensure their target market don’t have to contribute anything to the running of the country.
Tax the poor, quickly.
We haven’t got much time.
They’re starting to die.
do you disagree with social Democrats statement regarding the dangers of a narrow tax base in the article?
Not necessarily.
It’s better than what we have, isn’t it?
I take issue with the idea that those who can barely survive and those who are really struggling can be so easily dismissed as ‘Paul Murphy and his ilk’.
He wouldn’t exist if he didn’t have supporters.
Why does he have supporters?
You think ‘Freeloaders’.
I think ‘People who’ve been driven to the brink’.
youre putting words in my mouth that I never said. I have relied heavily n social welfare in the past ,some of my family and friends do now and thank God for it .I don’t hate the poor like you insinuate, just Paul Murphy as I think his pretend policies are not just stupid but dangerous and divisive
Yeah, but…
A ‘Paul Murphy’ is always going to appear in a society as disjointed and corrupt as ours.
Don’t hate the man. Hate the system.
I’m lucky enough to have a decent wage AND to live in Mr. Murphy’s constituency.
He gets my No. 1 vote every time.
Goatstown is pretty rough alright ; )
He doesn’t do anything. He doesn’t raise any issues. Every single thing that Paul Murphy does is aimed at raising his own profile. He doesn’t put in the hard graft like some of the SDs, he’s the Ming Flanagan of the Dail.
I agree with you, Jim: there’s nothing to frighten the horses in that SD presentation.
Sack ’em and sock ’em – with the Soc Dem budget!
In the Spring though, I guess…
Cuz’ Enda put an end ta dat snap election thingy.
Healthcare: buy prescription drugs for their correct cost, and sell them for their correct cost, not the inflated prices normal in Ireland.
I don’t know why we don’t just give bundle our drug shopping list into the NHS for like a small fee.
If it’s our size that’s making the pharmacvnts’s play hardball with us, peg our orders to a much, much larger buyer?
Ship it in from Lanzarote, bish bosh.
Yeah that’s the sick part – we could get it retail and make a killing!
I’d really love to see the cost-benefit – would we *really* lose money if we paid a fair price and these bastards sacked all their Irish workers?
Given the financial pedigree of Stephen Donnelly, I was expecting something a bit more …. different.
Aspects of what they are proposing such as equalization self-employed are expected to be in tomorrows budget.
I find it refreshing that it’s somewhat realistic for that reason though. It’s easy to be radical when you haven’t a hope in hell of getting elected, but by being a little more rational, and let’s be honest – by keeping closer to the centre, you have a much greater chance of actually getting into government in a coalition and potentially implementing some of your policies.
‘Tis real world grown up politics from people who exist outside of their facebook profiles.
Did the People Before Profit Anti-Austerity Socialist Workers Socialist Party Alliance really put what looks like an angry mob on the cover of their budget sub?
Great work from the Sockies, they’ve got my vote!
Taking advice from economists on their economic policies. What an age we live in.
They might be raving.
You’ll never lose votes in the centre.
The PBP booklet looks like it was designed by a TY year student, and hastily printed on a random home printer on A4 pages. The SD’s on the other hand looks professionally designed, and bound.
Some might read into this as a show of competency/planning skills.
The People before Profit document actually looks like a colouring book. Can’t wait to read it. Should take thirty seconds before I wet myself laughing
Soc it to dem!
Soc Dems will stop the charges but will come back to them at a later date. The will keep Irish Water. They will not have a referendum on the ownership of the water supply. Don’t disagree with much of their budget submission but it’s a bit weak overall. No vote from me.
The state owns Irish Water, it requires a referendum to dispose of it. Do you want our water privatised?
considering irelands history and current predicament a sensible citizen would vote for anyone except establishment parties (FF,labour, FG) .All the opposition have to do is be a plausible alternative .Sadly this isn’t happening therefore FG+renua+independents in the next Dail will be followed by FF/labour and change will come dropping slow.
@ mauriac;
I considered ignoring your comment due to your inability to punctuate properly.
I’m glad I didn’t.
I got a good laugh out of you mentioning Renua as viable contenders for a position in government.
As if…
Renua…
Even their name is misguided, presumptuous and stupid.
Renua… the joke that keeps giving
If they push ahead with a junkfood levy, they will lose 60% of their voters.
Forgive my ignorance but what is an ‘accidental’ landlord? And does that mean we have ‘deliberate’ or ‘downright blatant’ landlords?
Marvel Gumshoe, aged six and three-quarters.