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LAST UPDATE | 1 Jul 2022
THIS YEAR’S BUDGET, which is expected to be held earlier than usual, will aim to help the “most vulnerable” and the “squeezed middle”, Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath told the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting today.
Childcare, pension hikes, housing and public transport were all up for discussion at the special meeting on Budget 2023.
McGrath told his party members that the budget, which could be held in September instead of October this year, will include a cost-of-living package that need to be “substantial” and “implemented quickly”.
There will be an emphasis on public services, such as access to health, housing, education, childcare, disability services, older people, as well as a welfare and tax package.
McGrath said the budget will deliver an “immediate tangible benefit for most vulnerable”.
He said working families will see a tangible reduction in health and childcare costs, and there will be improvements in key public services.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting and reacting to the recent electricity and gas price hikes announced today, the Taoiseach said “there will be a package” to help alleviate costs for people.
“By the time that increase comes in, the gap between that and the budget will be relatively short,” he said.
Government is working on the best way to alleviate the pressure on households in terms of their disposable income and in a way that doesn’t further exacerbate the inflationary realm, he said.
He said he also wants to ensure that the money doesn’t go into the pockets of those that don’t need the dig out.
One of the key objectives of Government is climate action and also reducing public transport costs.
Housing formed a big discussion point at the meeting, with members raising the Central Bank mortgage lending rules, and calling for people that pay extortionate rent having that fed into the amount they could borrow.
“I think also we’re conscious that a lot of smaller landlords are exiting the market. We’ve got to address that,” said the Taoiseach.
mcGrath said earlier today that it is possible there will be a “modest change” in bringing the Budget forward.
McGrath said the Government is examining whether it is possible to bring forward the date of the Budget and a decision will be made by Cabinet next week.
He said it is being worked through and the process of moving the Budget date is “very much under way”, with it likely being brought forward to the end of September.
“No decision has been made by Government yet to change that date and the issue is under consideration, but I would say this, there is limited scope to change that because the process of putting together a Budget is a lengthy and complex process,” McGrath told RTE Morning Ireland.
“We are working through that at the moment and the process is very much under way.
“So Government will make a final decision and I anticipate that will happen next week.
“We are very conscious of the genuine cost-of-living pressures that people are under and we have said that there will be a need in the autumn for a set of one-off measures to help people in the best way that we can.
“So if it is possible to bring it forward by a short period of time, within the limits, then we are examining that issue at the moment, but no decision has been made, and any change would be modest in nature in terms of date.
“I don’t think it will be fair to speculate on any particular date when no decision has been made.
‘Bringing it forward’
“It is possible that there will be a modest change in terms of bringing it forward. But that’s not definite until Government makes a decision and they expect that will happen next week.”
McGrath said the measures to be announced as part of the Budget package will be targeted at those most impacted by the cost-of-living crisis.
He said it will involve one-off measures, adding they will be substantial in scale.
While he refused to give details on some of the proposed budgetary measures, he did not rule out including an electricity grant of €200.
It has been flagged previous that a further electricity credit might be on the cards, however it is understood that if it is rolled out, it could be more targeted that the the previous round in April.
“I would like to just set out three broad priorities. One is those who are genuinely the most vulnerable, they will need the most help at this time,” McGrath said.
“But people who are working, working families will also need help because they too are feeling real pressure at this time.
“They will want to see us as a Government move to reduce costs in areas like childcare, transport, health, and to reduce the tax burden that they face as well.
“I think the third key priority is public services. The relationship between the state and the citizen works on the basis that all citizens pay some tax to the Government, even if they’re not working, and in return they expect the state to deliver good services, access to housing, access to healthcare, good disability services, home care services.”
Summer Economic Statement
He said the summer economic statement will be brought to Government on Monday, which will set out the resources available for the Budget.
It comes as Fianna Fail members are to hold a special party meeting on Friday to discuss the Budget and measures to address the cost of living.
“It is a very good opportunity for myself and the other Fianna Fail ministers and our Taoiseach to listen to our colleagues across the parliamentary party,” the minister added.
“This will be a policy-focused discussion with an emphasis on the Budget as you would expect, and I believe that there will be a number of key priorities emerging from that meeting that are very much in line with my own views, the views of the Taoiseach and indeed the Government.”
With reporting by Christina Finn
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Very strange that Germany can expand a Coal Mine, but the Irish have to close their Bogs and stop cutting Turf. Where’s the equality in Europe.
@Owen G Mc Ginley: all down to good old eamo
@Owen G Mc Ginley: Turf cutting is regulated under the RAMSAR Directive, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), EU legislation, including the Water Framework
Directive etc., the main aims of these international agreements is to preserve biodiversity, reducing CO2 emissions plays a secondary role. These lignite coal mines are not wetlands, so they avoided most regulations that govern turf cutting.
Germany reopened its lignite coal mines after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, that resulted in them deciding to close all their Nuclear Power Plants under pressure from the Greens. That resulted in a shortfall in energy generation as they had not built enough renewable generation to fill the gap, that gap was filled by reopening giant Lignite mines and importing more electricity from France (which ironically gets most of its energy from Nuclear).
https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/germanys-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-climate-targets
@Owen G Mc Ginley: eamon wants to be a great green god of Europe.
@Giles Wolohan: Good old Vlad more like.
@David Jordan: David they are reopening the coal mines not because of Fukushima but the sanctions they put on Russian gas and the Nord stream pipeline being blown up.
@Owen G Mc Ginley: you do know we have plenty of our own coal mines in Ireland, that should be opened up too, if the Germanys can do it why can’t we!!!!
@Phil Keran: plenty of coal mines… :-D Name one that would be profitable to put on stream….
@Mac Dara Powell: no, this is not related to recent events. The protests have been going on since 2012, the sizes of the protests increase when a village gets demolished.
Under German law all lignite mines are due to close by 2038, that hasn’t changed. Also, the Garzweiler II mine is due to close sooner, by 2030, that hasn’t changed. Germany extended the life of its lignite mines after the 2011 Fukushima disaster and closure of all its nuclear power plants.
Garzweiler II mine opened in 1980, the planned demolition of 12 villages and towns, and the eviction of 12,000 people, is part of the long term plan to expand the surface mine. The mine covers an area of 32 km2, but it’s approved to expand to over an area of 110 km2 (area of Dublin City, not county). It will mine 1.1 billion tonnes of Lignite over the next c. 7-8 years.
Should just ignore her spoilt brat
@John Moloney: stay classy John.
@John Moloney: Can you explain how she is spoilt? All ears if you have some evidence of that, not an opinion or conspiracy but actual evidence
@John Moloney: daft comment
@jason weir: Really thats your opinion in reality its true
@John Moloney: Maybe she appears that way to you because she wants to save this planet and its ecosystem to stop humans from destroying everything in the name of profit. She’s not just going to accept the status quo ‘this is just the way it is’ and I respect her for that. She could go to college, become an accountant, and be a 9 to 5 droid to our economic system for the rest of her life (the system which is destroying our planet for profit) but she’s chosen to be give up any semblance of a normal childhood and early adulthood to raise awareness. Full respect from me.
@JC O’Connachain: Greta Thunberg’s net worth in over $1 million. Do not think she is suffering from lack of food and shelter as are millions of people in third world countries who need cheap fuel for heat and survival. Greta is a perfect example of the do as I say not as I do twits of this world.
https://www.tuko.co.ke/406466-greta-thunberg-net-worth-2022-how-wealthy-teen-climate-activist.html
@Tomo: save the planet explain how she gets to every country while she saves the planet is she walking
@Don Hogan: So do you have to be especially poor before you’re allowed to protest climate breakdown? What’s the cut-off point? Can you protest a bit if you’re quite well-off, but not really rich?
@Tomo: 100% agree
@John Moloney: So your logic is:
Greta uses public transport like the rest of us = as a result she’s not allowed to criticise the system or raise awareness?
That’s like saying people who use the HSE services can’t criticise the government’s health policies. Ridiculous logic – in fact I’m not sure that’s logic at all.
100 companies are responsible for 71% of global emissions. The only meaningful change is for government intervention and regulation. Individuals doing x or y isn’t going to do anything.
@John Moloney: Ignore John, he won’t save ye. He’s the spoilt one here.
@Don Hogan: Ah Don, I’ve read the above article and if you are basing your argument on something the Sun says you are on a weak footing. They have had classy views on a wide range of things including Hillsborough
@JC O’Connachain: the staged ‘arrest’ to enhance her activist status.
Good to see the German cops doing their job, climate zealots ideology don’t care that their is a very serious temporary energy problem for Germany and Europe, only care about their own climate Religion,
@Ned: yep nazis onthe rise again cop on ya fool
@Ned: ‘Temporary energy problem’? Can you expand on that?
@Ned: This is not related to recent events, Germany reopened its Lignite surface mines after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, which provoked them to close all their nuclear reactors.
The demolition of 12 villages and towns is part of the long term plan to expand the Garzweiler surface mine. The mine covers an area of 32 km2, but it’s approved to expand to over an area of 110 km2 (area of Dublin City, not county).
View of the mine: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48734321
It will mine 1.1 billion tonnes of Lignite over the next 15 years, until 2038, after which Germany will phase out Lignite mining.
It won’t be 110 km2 at any one time, as it fills in the hole behind it as it goes and the land is put back the way as it was, but minus the 12,000 people that will be evicted from their homes (30,000 people were evicted since 1980).
@David Jordan: I think more impactful views of the mine literally eating up farmland and nearing the next villages in The Atlantic here:
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2023/01/luetzerath-protests-german-coal-mine-expands/672696/
Kind of apocalyptic looking to my eyes
@jason weir: name caller you just revealed the type of person you are, you have a lot of class all of it low.
@Claude Saulnier: no need you should know if you are paying attention to what is going on in Europe right now.
@David Jordan: fair comment but I have read somewhere that the Germans want faze out coal in the next 10 years??
@Ned: say they haven’t been paying attention, can you not explain considering you seem to know so much?
@Jen Mc: nothing to explain, with all the news and social media to tap into for all this info not my problem if some people have their head in the sand like the auld ostrich,
Why isn’t she in school
@Míleata Watch Co: think shes too old why are you not in play school
/
@John Moloney: sad post
@Míleata Watch Co: She’s 20. An adult. She can do what she wants!
@damian: John Moloney is our resident Ukraine expert. Maybe he should stick with what he knows best.
@Míleata Watch Co:
Seriously? Where have you been for the past five years? Don’t you understand yet why she is not in school? Why millions of students follow her in not being in school? Are you a recently arrived alien?
Wow, woman arrested in Germany at protest .
#freeGreta
@Séan Ó Nuanáin: she’s free so????
All I see here is a lot of grown men disliking a young adult for no reason. There’s just no way she has affected any of their lives.
@Jen Mc: It’s to do with a subconscious bias towards a young girl trying to change the world for the better. Psychologists reckon it’s a loss of control thing. There’s a mountain of science behind it. It’s fascinating. BTW, I’m a middle aged man and I think she’s doing a great job.
@Stephen Deegan: I think you’ve hit the nail on the head, Stephen. And to be fair there a few lads here supporting her. I guess I’m just also surprised by the amount here who dislike her for no apparent reason.
@Jen Mc: a sure nobody men or women dislikes her they just dislike how they zealots in the climate religion use her for their own interests.
Pity about her
Where’s the wizard of mud video?
@potnoodle: https://youtu.be/KUOir-SAKDs
That’s gas
I didnt like her before but she layed the smackdown on Andrew Tate so that put her up in my estimation.
Cue the men of a certain age:
Splashing paint on the poor coal….but seriously, it seems she’s gotta protest at anything to remain relevant.
Great photo! Everyone looks quite content.
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