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LAST UPDATE | 29 Sep 2024
MINISTERS HAVE PLAYED down media reports of Budget rows between the coalition party leaders, as talks continue ahead of the Budget on Tuesday.
The coalition leaders and senior ministers will meet today to put the final shape on the Budget.
On RTÉ Radio 1’s This Week, Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys was pressed on reports of rows within the coalition Government on Child Benefit payments.
“When I read the paper about rows between government parties, you would think we’re all sitting around the table killing each other,” said Humphreys.
“Well, that is certainly not the case.”
On the issue of Child Benefits, Humphreys noted that there was a “very popular” double Child Benefit payment included in last year’s Budget that was paid before Christmas.
“It was a big help to young families,” said Humphreys, “and yes, Child Benefit is a priority for me, but nothing is decided yet.”
She was also asked about an increase in core Child Benefit rates.
The Child Benefit is €140 a month for each child and is a universal payment, meaning it is paid regardless of people’s incomes.
Earlier this month, Taoiseach Simon Harris said there is a “roadmap” to having a higher rate of Child Benefit for lower income families, but that the measure would not be included in this year’s Budget.
“We have a limited pot,” said Humphreys, “and we have different views on how to spend it.
Humphreys said she would be attending a meeting later with the coalition party leaders and Finance Minister Jack Chambers and Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe.
“All of these things will be looked at,” said Humphreys, who added that a double payment of Child Benefit would be “very useful” in the run-up to Christmas.
When asked if there would be targeted supports for low-income families, Humphreys said there will be, but that the “negotiations are not finished”.
The Social Protection Minister added that she expects an increase in social welfare rates, such as the fuel allowance and living alone allowance.
There have also been media reports of rows over an increase to Jobseekers’ Allowance and whether there should be a similar increase to that payment as is expected for other social welfare rates.
Humphreys said this is “one of the issues that we still have to make a decision on”
“The point I have made is very simple,” said Humphreys. “We have carers in this country that work 24/7, there are people with severe disabilities who genuinely cannot work, and there are old age pensioners who have already worked hard all their lives.
“We’re at full employment, there are businesses crying out for staff, and with the limited resources available, my priority is to support our carers, our pensioners and people with disabilities.
“I have to prioritise the groups with the greatest needs. If everyone gets the same, then there is less for other measures.
“At a time of full employment when people are looking for workers, why would you give the same payment to the long-term unemployed?”
Speaking to reporters this evening prior to a meeting between coalition leaders and senior ministers, Taoiseach Simon Harris said that he shared Humphreys’ view that Jobseekers’ allowance should not be the focus when the “economy is at full employment”.
“My priority for this budget, though, is to make sure we get help to people in the here and now. And being very honest, I think we have to make sure the cost of living package is sufficient enough to meet the scale of challenge that people are facing in their lives,” Harris said.
” I want to really focus tonight with colleagues in government and how we can make sure that cost of living packages are sufficient to scale to meet the challenges that people feel.”
Fianna Fáil and the Green Party are said to be unhappy with this stance and are blocking it, with the Greens calling for the Jobseekers’ Allowance to be increased in line with other payments.
When asked about this, Humphreys said: “We all have views on how best to spend the money that’s available to us.
“It will be sorted and there will be a good package on Budget Day.”
She added that she expects there will be a “strong Cost of Living package that will be paid this side of Christmas”.
Elsewhere, Minister of State and Green Party TD Malcom Noonan also played down reports of coalition row.
Noonan, Minister of State with responsibility for nature, heritage and electoral reform, was asked on RTÉ’s The Week In Politics about reports in the Mail on Sunday of a Budget fall-out between Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman and Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe.
Noonan said “this is a normal part of the process” and that talks “will run right up to the wire before Budget Day”.
Noonan also welcomed an exemption for farmers from the Residential Zoned Land Tax that is expected to be announced in the Budget on Tuesday.
Residential Zoned Land Tax will be targeted at unused land, which has been zoned or classified as a site for housing.
The tax would include mixed-land sites, where other services may also be built on the site, and the rate is set at 3% of the land’s market value.
However, farmers believe that the fee unfairly targets them as some of their land may go unused for particular portions of the year.
Last month, O’Gorman said he was “confident” that the Department of Finance would deliver a tax regime that excludes farmers but still “attacks” the issue of land hoarding to ensure that zoned and serviced land for housing is used.
Noonan also pointed to transport proposals among the Green Party for this year’s Budget.
It is seeking to extend free public transport to all children under the age of nine – currently, children under five years of age go free.
Minister Humphries is absolutely correct, increasing job seekers allowance when we are at full employment is crazy. Far better extra money goes to pensioners, carers etc
@Pat Hazzard: I think there needs to be a bigger gap between the contributory and non contributory pension. Very little extra for those who worked their whole lives, compared to those who have never worked.
@brian o’leary: exactly I don’t why so similar ,sometimes pays not to work in this country
@Liam Collins: I’d have the non contributory the same as the job seekers, why reward someone for dodging work all their life.
@brian o’leary: Wow, you sound like Marx and you probably don’t even know it. The left don’t support a welfare estate, an imcorrect claim that is always made is.
@brian o’leary: Non contributary does not mean not having worked at all. I was working full time in Creches in Dublin at a time when it wasn’t that regulated. More often than not I got paid less then the minimum wage, no taxes paid by my employer. I think, that was quite usual. Therefore my non-contributary pension is low.
@Pat Hazzard: agree 100%
@Karin Ahlers: of course, but my point is that those who contribute should be treated much better than those who don’t. If people are going to work for cash, or social welfare and cash, or for employers that don’t pay their taxes, or just dont work at all, then there are going to be repercussions down the line , pressure should be put on them to contribute?
@Pat Hazzard: I am a full time family carer and I get an allowance (only income) of €248 per week and have to supplement the person I care for from that money as he doesn’t get enough to support him on a weekly basis, during the pandemic the same government gave us the two fingers as they felt it people couldn’t live on anything less that €350 per week and left carers fend for themselves didn’t even help with ppe gear and we couldn’t even get our shopping as we couldn’t afford the gouging of the supermarkets, they will waste all the money belonging to the Irish taxpayers including the apple money if we do not put these unscrupulous people out of Dail Eireann. They will promise the sun, moon and stars and as soon as elected they will backtrack and the most vulnerable will suffer, just like during the recession they cut carers then and we are still not back to where we were, they took away the transport allowance it’s still not being restored and our health service is a shambles, we are also the service users of the children’s hospitals and our children born today will be aged out before the new hospital will be handed over to the state as it’s going to end up in the courts and will never be finished until sold as a private hospital.
@Pat Hazzard: For the first time ever I agree with your point, long term unemployed who won’t work should not get any increase, similarly a clamp down on some of those claiming disability payments, let’s not forget a savage murderer who killed a beautiful innocent young woman last year, was on disability, yet cycled to & ran from the scene.
@SV3tN8M4: not all disabilities are physically!!!!!
@silvery moon: don’t disagree with carers getting more, in fact that’s the whole point of my original post. Your last paragraph on the new childrens hospital is however complete tosh.
Up the carer allowance, old age pension, children’s allowance and disability allowance for the actual disabled and slash social welfare for the permanently unemployed who have no valid reason not to work. Help out small business owners if possible, too would be great
@G: so a disabled person and their carer through no fault of their own would be penalised because you have an issue with job seekers, shame
@silvery moon: FF should say bye bye to FG and return to being the dynamic alternative they were before.
@silvery moon: did you read what I have said?
I don’t like the idea of people being on the dole, if you are not actively seeking employment, then your dole money needs to be stopped.
@Rick James: which is litteraly how the system works. Jobseekers allowance is 9 months then you have to PROVE YOU ARE TRYING to get back to work or they cut you off. You’d swear half the country was sitting on the Dole personally sponging from your bank account. I hope you never find yourself in a situation where you lr out of work for an extended period of time but christ I wouldn’t begrudge you dipping into the safety net you paid into… its the bike sheds and children’s hospital contractors robbing the tax payer, not people on the Dole. Cop on
@Rick James: I can guarantee that if you became unemployed tomorrow and signed on for your benefits you’d be hounded by the welfare, you’d be dragged in every week and made sign up for every course or CE scheme etc. you do have a few people out there that are unemployable so their needs to be a different payment for them than jobseekers we have a ethnic community that claim all kinds of benefits/housing that have never worked or paid taxes and will never work. You also have illegals coming into the country that get everything and give nothing so take your pick,
@Ross: I know loads of people who choose a life on the rock n roll, just so they can play xbox and eat KFC all day, every day.
@Ross: Around 164k people on job seekers allowance
@Ross: it’s not how the system works though is it? On paper it’s how the system is MEANT to work, but it’s not how it works is it?
‘very popular last year’… you’d swear it was an Aldi special or the Late Late toy show she was talking about
Plenty of work in Ireland now, no able bodied female or male should be on the dole.
@Phillip Smyth: plenty of work but employers wanting their cake and eat it. I dont doubt we have dole scroungers but I know plenty who lost their job and are nearly 7 months trying to even get an interview never mind another job
INFRASTRUCTURE !
Nothing about infrastructure and investing in better quality of life. Nothing about motorways, train lines, metro, water services and so on. Nothing about improving connections of Donegal, Kerry or West Cork to the rest of the country.
Nothing but giveaways in this budget!
But when the crisis will come, suddenly there will be no giveaways and no improved infrastructure.
Year on year the taxpayer is let down. It about time this changes and that usc is scrapped, 20% is increased to 50k at the very minimum and that property tax should be removed immediately, and if not the lpt should be boycotted.
@Fintan Stack: They need to rename the USC as ” the IPA’s tax” as that’s roughly what we are spending each year on IPA’s. That way we could see exactly what is being spent on them.
Incidentely, there was talk a number of years ago of supplying each household with a breakdown of where our taxes are spent and what were the main expenditure items in each department, that seems to have been buried (I’m talking about a one or two pager, not having to trawl through financial statements of each department).
Look after the carers, look after the OAPs, look after people who have genuine disabilities. Stop handing out more social welfare to the people who actually sit around doing nothing and play the system, it will teach them to get up off their holes and start finding work. 15 billion back off Apple use it wisely look after those who need it not rewarding those who do nothing.
@paul dutton: Look after people with disabilities such as autism. A lot more special schools and respite for families who neve get a break.
@bridie lyng: 100% more needs to be done or even better start building more schools with that money, every school is almost full at this stage No room anywhere
Up the dole to 500 quid a week, will be spent on booze and smokes; high tax paroducts. We will be pumping the money back into economy.
@Vince Cable: …& weed, which is another great reason to legalise.
Any energy credit given needs to be links to earnings saving wealth etc it shouldn’t be for everyone the rich living here get it which they don’t need. With the money the government would save by giving the well off people the energy credit they could plough that money into needs. It this budget is a bazooka budget and one the government hope people remember when the election comes.
@Nemethon: it’s much easier and quicker to implement universal systems. Also “richer” people contribute the bulk of taxes so why shouldnt they benefit too?
@William Slevin: no way the wealthy should get the same as Joe Soap, put it in housing and health.
@William Slevin: there is nothing discriminatory about a means tested payment
@Nemethon: Someone earning more than you also pays more tax than you, so shouldn’t they be entitled to a higher credit and not less ? Tired of this argument that the ‘rich’ should pay more when 1. They already pay more, and 2. They pay more into state coffers in one year than many of our work shy citizens have paid in their entire lives. We’re at full employment. No-one should be on the dole for more than a few weeks when between jobs.
@William Slevin: I actually know some people who say they don’t need it and they would rather see it going elsewhere, but it’s there so they let it build up and then use it for holidays etc etc, the system needs to be changed simple as that.
@Tommy Roche: nothing against rich folk good luck to them, if they are paying higher taxes they are earning more, and usually employers and politicians or in the music industry, the workers also pay taxes, and hopefully by their toil will be in a position of well being, work for nothing and you will never be idle, the rich don’t basically need it it’s pin money to them.
@Phillip Smyth: If they don’t need it, then give what ever the amount is to a charity? So if they get 150e, make a donation to a cause they care about for the same amount…
@Dave C: yes rather than squander same.
@Nemethon: At what income would you cut off the energy credit for the wealthy?
@Tommy Roche: not all, far too many tax avoidance loopholes enacted to help large earners cut their real tax liabilities. Take false self employment for starters at semi state entities like RTE.
Civil servants hirarchy yield the real control here.
Crazy tax system is the harder you work. The more hours you put in, the more you’re penalised in PAYE and USC
Set up the SSIA scheme again. And a national pension fund.
There has been the usual waffle in the lead up to this and they will tweak tax bands here and there and some people will end up with a few hundred euros extra at the end of the year. Great. Except if you are trying to rent or get anywhere in buying somewhere to actually live it’s just a drop in the bucket. The help to buy and other similar schemes are also just pushing up prices.
Political theatre
They’re all wasters that’d screw you and yours over in a heartbeat.
The left don’t support a welfare state, brought in in Brirain after soldier’s came home after the First World War to no jobs. Tye left stands for a proper days work for a proper days pay which does not exist in Capitalist societies. As Marx stated, the vulnerable, the elderly and children should be protected, if you can work you must work.
@Brian D’Arcy: That may be the theory however if there is no increase in job seekers in the budget you will have the parties of the left up in arms giving out about it.
Palaver
Give me a break from this rubbish the ordinary worker is screwed with price rises insurance costs etc. any crumbs from the table won’t make any impact
@Tim Brennan: Yes your right ✅️ same every year we get nothing
Must be tough to have to spread 28bln to help the peasants . Guess they’re arguing over how to avoid spending on the peasants.
Any energy credit given needs to be links to earnings saving wealth etc it shouldn’t be for everyone the rich living here get it which they don’t need. With the money the government would save by giving the well off people the energy credit they could plough that money into needs. It this budget is a bazooka budget and one the government hope people remember when the election comes. …
@Nemethon: get a grip you made the same comment earlier. The high earners pay more tax so are you saying just because they earn mire they should not get it.
Plonker
@Ian Cryan: good point but the “ plonker” at the end not needed , just cause you have a different view doesn’t mean you should call people “names”
@Galway Bay: bravo.
@Galway Bay: oh go on slap me on the hand lol
@Nemethon: so at what pointof earnings would you view as cut off point
Be nice just to get a school bus, a school place for kids with special needs. This country needs to be shamed on a world stage in how it treats the most vulnerable in society.
Remove USC and property tax in full. We want reasonable pay for wage slavery.
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