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ACCORDING TO ORDNANCE Survey Ireland, the middle of the island is somewhere between Athlone and Mullingar.
But last week when Leo Varadkar restated Fine Gael’s commitment to looking after ‘middle Ireland’, he probably wasn’t talking about Westmeath.
His renewed focus on the “squeezed middle” comes after junior ministers called for a “well-earned” tax break for workers – a move that sparked tension within the coalition.
In the co-written op-ed, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, Martin Heydon and Peter Burke said that in Budget 2024, they want to see a full-time worker on €52,000 get cashback of more than €1,000.
The proposal would likely cost somewhere in the region of €1.5 billion.
Some have highlighted dissonance between Fine Gael’s championing of ‘the middle’ and the impact party policy would actually have.
What is ‘middle Ireland’?
DCU Professor of Politics Gary Murphy believes that the term is purposefully vague to try and appeal to as many voters as possible, “because anyone can consider themselves to be part of the squeezed middle”.
“I think it’s more of a political and social kind of way of thinking about it”, he says, rather than an economic approach.
It’s not scientific, but a poll on The Journal this week showed just how self-selecting the phrase can be.
The results showed that 67.2% of respondents did consider themselves to be part of ‘middle Ireland’, 21.1% did not and 11.8% said they either weren’t sure or didn’t care.
Michael Taft, a researcher with Siptu, says Fine Gael has missed the mark with the tax break as “most middle earners will not benefit”.
“The Taoiseach, Fine Gael, others, kind of construct a story about middle Ireland which is a much higher level of income,” he said.
“There is a lack of appreciation of how little so many people earn.”
What the figures say
So who is in the middle? And are they squeezed?
Barra Roantree, a researcher with the Economic and and Social Research Institute (ESRI), said that the definition of the “squeezed middle” is often “in the eye of the beholder”.
“It’s not a very clear phrase, it doesn’t have any specific meaning,” he adds.
What we do know though is the amount people earn and what the middle income is.
Figures from the CSO show that in 2021, median earnings – that of the person in the middle of the distribution – were €645 per week, or €33,540 per year.
The same statistics show only about a third earned more than €865 per week, or €45,000 per year.
This is roughly what workers need to earn to see the full benefit of the €1,000 tax cut, although marital status can affect this figure.
The latest statistics from Revenue show that there were a little over 500,000 earners out of a total of 2.5 million paying the higher rate of tax in 2018.
“It’s really somewhere between a quarter and a third probably of individuals who would benefit from the tax cut,” said Roantree.
Those who aren’t earning, such as pensioners or people on social protection, are also included in the statistics, which means households benefitting could be limited to “the top 20% or so”, he says.
“There’s very few people down the bottom income distribution who would gain. There’s some, but there’s not that many.”
Households that are middle income or slightly above, they won’t get the benefit of a lot of the monies that are going into childcare.
On the other hand, if a household has two incomes of more than €45,000 each, “that household is gaining twice”.
According to Taft, the ‘squeezed middle’ is created when wages are too low and services are means-tested, rather than universal.
“Take childcare, there’s a lot of supports for those who are at the lower, heading up towards the middle, income levels, but for a lot of households that are middle income or slightly above, they won’t get the benefit of a lot of the monies that are going into childcare,” he explained.
Taft thinks that further subsidisation of childcare and connecting social protection to pay rather than having it “flat-rated”, would be of more benefit to ‘middle Ireland’ than a once-off tax break.
‘Identity’
With a general election mooted for November 2024 and the Budget on the way, we’re likely to see party’s ramping up visibility and attempts to set themselves apart.
Looking out for middle Ireland is “part of Fine Gael’s identity”, Varadkar said.
DCU Professor of Politics Gary Murphy has long associated middle Ireland with the party – as well as its coalition colleagues Fianna Fáil.
The increase in “electoral volatility”, he says, has brought the phrase back into fashion.
“There’s a whole host of votes which would normally have went to either of the main political parties, which are now up for grabs,” he said.
The junior ministers said the tax measures were targeted at “those who work hard and feel they pay for everything”.
What does Fine Gael actually stand for? I don’t even think at this stage it knows that.
Murphy believes that Fine Gael “can’t compete on the Left” with promises of improved services, which is why the party is testing the waters on taxation.
“The Irish state do spend humongous amounts of money on health in particular,” he said.
“I haven’t seen any dramatic improvements, particularly in something like A&E.
“When it comes to the next election, Fine Gael are not going to get credit for social spending.”
This, Murphy says, explains last week’s “kite flying”.
It’s not the first time the party has pledged to help out the ‘middle’, making similar promises in 2017.
“Fine Gael has always been on the centre-right economically… they do talk a lot about giving tax breaks and the like for the squeezed middle but they don’t tend to worry much about it,” Murphy said.
“They certainly haven’t done very much about it in the last decade.”
Murphy noted that the party hasn’t followed through on its promise to abolish the Universal Social Charge either.
“I’m not sure if Fine Gael really is a ‘no tax party’,” he said.
“What does Fine Gael actually stand for? I don’t even think at this stage it knows that.”
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Why shouldn’t workers receive a reduction in the tax they pay? A ten euro increase a week, which is the minimum it will be on welfare, is 530 a year including the Xmas bonus. This will be a lot more than those on 30,000 a year received in income tax reductions last budget. Time to put the workers funding this gravy train first for a change …
@Truth Hurts:
Right wing parties (FG) are not pro-worker, they’re pro-business where they give businesses what they want such as cheap labour, low tax for businesses but high tax for workers. Always have.
The Median Wage is only 33k!
Historically, left wing parties are for workers, right wing are for business. Workers never got looked after in all the years of right-wing rule, and they never will unless you put a pro-worker party into power.
@Truth Hurts: Because the purpose of tax is to pay for services. If those services are fully funded and there’s cash left over, it would be valid to give some back to the taxpayer. However, with the health service in tatters through under funding, hospitals with patients on trolleys, nursing homes closing, or withdrawing from fair deal because the HSE won’t pay the full cost of care for patients and health service staff under huge pressure it would be outrageous to continue to under fund health in order to buy votes.
@9QRixo8H: without business there wouldn’t be a requirement for workers. It’s all about interdependence and working together rather than finger pointing.
@Rob Goodbody: The health service is in tatters because of the policy of restricting the number of people entering the medical faculties in the universities. A completely manufactured shortage controlled by the medical profession.
@Liam Mernagh: doctors are forever calling for a reduction in doctor numbers
@Liam Mernagh: shortage of doctors is only a small part of the problem. By far the biggest problem is underfunding.
@fintan doyle: actually they are constantly calling for more doctors
@Liam Mernagh: explain that to me. Medical profession have NO controll over numbers entering medical school and EVERY medical group IMO, IHCA repeatedly and consistently over last 20 years have called for more doctors and decried the fact that we are short 900 plus consultants in our hospitals
@Truth Hurts: The truth is the welfare payments of mosrt people uis still under the poverty line.
As a person living on theis gravey train, I will let you into a sectret.
There is no gravey and you becoe an expert in shopping and you shop on price nothing else., New shoes needed, not wanted, what the cheapest.
Food aabout ouyt of the date, they are a persons best friend.
So this idea you have that everybody on Social welfare, the old, the disabled, the long term ill are throwing a party, living the life. well not around me or any of rthe people I know.
@Ciaran bolger: sarcasm!
@fintan doyle:
He pulled this stunt in the last election, back then it was phrased as “looking after those that get up early in the morning”. He scraped in, by a cats whisker, on the 5th count last time. Be interesting to see what area/constituency he runs in this time as he no longer lives in West Dublin. Maybe he saw the writing on the wall and he might now run for Dublin South Central.
Either way, getting a bit long in the tooth now, the early electioneering.
I have a proposal.
Every poliction and party should set out their manifesto. If elected, and they do not keep or do at least 75% of what they promised, they are out after 12 months. Call it a probationary period, just like any job. In an interview, If i say i can program in C+ and speak fluent French, and then it turns out i cant, it wouldn’t be long before i am shown the exit door and i lose my job.
Also, keep an eye out for Green Election posters. By rights, they should only have about a 20% carbon footprint compared to other parties, considering all their shouting and mouthing.
You are welcome…………………..
@UCD Trinity: I’d love to see him dumped out ignominiously on his ear come next election. But he’s ‘paid his way’ for a cushy sinecure with the EU or UN or one of the NGOs he’s funded so lavishly.
@UCD Trinity: I’m still p!!!ed off about that “getting up early in the morning “ mantra. I’m exhausted getting up to fund the gravy train. It’s backwards I’m going financially
@UCD Trinity: if he runs in Dublin South Central he’ll be wiped out. Its a working class area and SF, assuming they run enough candidates, will clean up
@UCD Trinity: the “early Riser” is still very much stuck in traffic and paying more for the pleasure.
@Tony Murphy: He funds no NGO lavishly, especially in the support service suppliers to the HSE.
@Ali murray: I live under the poverty line on a pension and, your the second person to talk about this gravey train and I have never seen it.
Where is it and what does it look like!
As living on an onvallidty pension is near impossible.
I find it hilarious that PBP and other far left call F.G. “far right” when under F.G. they brought in gay marriage and abortion and open borders and amnesty for thousands of illegals and hardly deporting anyone and created an 6 BILLION, REPEAT 6 BILLION of our taxes every year to NGO’s aka the new “jobs for the boyo’s” brigade who just tell us how “racist” we are bla bla.
#76%
@FULL: They don’t I’m far left. We refer to FG as center right and FF as right of center. Strawman fail, F-
@John O’Reilly:
I have seen PBF people call FG “right wing” on social media
So your lies are strawman fail! Go stand in the corner and put on your
d u n c e hat!
#76%
@FULL: You are confusing ‘middle’ with the political centre, it seems.
@FULL: @FULL: they brought in gay marriage and abortion . After a huge public consultation and pressure on FG FF to bring in, which Leo himself was against.
open borders and amnesty for thousands of illegals and hardly deporting anyone . Part of being in the EU, our deportation levels are so low cos both FF and FG have presided over underfunding and underdeveloping the amnesty process.
created an 6 BILLION, REPEAT 6 BILLION of our taxes every year to NGO’s. Not sure what you mean here. But FF/FG are also challenging an EU decision on Apples unpaid taxes.
@Brendan O’Brien:
the middle can be classified in a broad range aka catch all situation just like being political centre aka centre left at times and centre right at times
@Hurrly 90: Still they brought it in
Denmark being part of the EU, deports many people and eastern europe is well known for not taking in asylum seekers
we the tax payers fund to the tune of 6 billion a year to NGO’S here!
@FULL: PBP wouldn’t know left, centre or right if it jumped up and bit them!!
@FULL: So your just gonna ignore the massive backlog in proccessing people that has ben presided over by this Government? Along with all the other point i made.
And in subsideis and tax cuts we probably fund alot more into MNC, whats your point?
@FULL: Perhaps it’s because since the foundation of this state FG are the Irish conservatives that replaced British conservatives. FG have always been the party of the big farm and business class. Granted the have overseen a Liberal agenda in the last few years. In stating that they are just as guilty as FF concerning the economic destruction of this country. You fail to mention the 6 Billion in the kitty is pittance compared to the hundreds of Billions still owed by the economic crash which FG added to by austerity..Remember the bond holders would NOT be paid? ?.Crumbling Health service, Homelessness, Housing crisis, Rental crisis, Scandal after scandal…Thats the legacy of FG.
@Hurrly 90:
the backlog has gotten worse since the GREENS got into power as that idiot ROG legit went on social media and told half the world to come here and get a free forever home!
@FULL: Thats because really those ‘terms’ are easily accessible to everyone on the political spectrum to fool flat-headed voters.
@FULL: Ah of course, the lack of finding is due to the Greens being in power depiste underfunding and a laise faire attitiude to the hole sector for over 30 years, FF, FF PDs , FF , Fg LAbour, Fg FF, FF FG G.
yep defo the Greens fault sure. Lets just ignore the history of the makeup of various Gorvernments,
and no they are not accurate im aware.
Fine Gael promised to do away with the Universal Social Charge and bring the inheritance threshold tax back to what it was pre Celtic Tiger figure of €500,000. They did nothing about either. All mouths. We need a new political party not including ff, fg, greens or sinn fein/ira.
@Stephen Ó Sullivan: A house worth €1million divided equally between three children won’t incur a single cent of inheritance tax. Inheritance taxes only lose a burden to the wealthy, and rightly so.
@Stephen Ó Sullivan: Imagine having accumulated so much excess wealth that after you die your kids have to pay taxes on the massive monetary gift they get from you and still being unhappy about it? That’s disgusting!!
@Stephen Ó Sullivan: if you hit the jackpot with a social forever home – you just pass the rent book to your kids. No inheritance tax. No questions asked. The amount of people I know living in their dead relatives houses on great wages paying dam all rent is huge. The other great scam is buying the house from the council for next to nothing. Either way – you or the generations that come after you will never have to worry about a roof over their heads. The rest of us, we live in fear of missing a mortgage repayment and if we’re lucky enough to pay the house off, our kids pay inheritance tax on it. So unfair.
@Stephen Ó Sullivan: Earn/extract, potato/potato.
@Kevin Collins: that was once true it’s not anymore. Housing prices going up and up and the tax threshold stays the same, it’s a load of c r a p. Why should people be charged the tax was paid already? Doesn’t matter how wealthy you are or not, if you bought and paid for and paid tax On a home and plan to leave it to your kids, there shouldn’t be a tax on that! The tax has already been paid. It’s legal theft. And they could get rid of it, if they choose to, Australia did it and they seem to be fine. It’s just the greed of Irish governments!
Tax cuts for the landlords, the tesla drivers, the holiday home in Wicklow owners and The wealthy
Nothing for the renters,the not so long ago “essential workers” , the carers, the service workers who work every weekend to make ends meet, the people with no private pension etc etc
Bury FG
I’d like to think I’m middle Ireland but I’m not. I’m too outspoken. I can’t (always been the case) too outspoken on everything … local, national, international. I probably fit somewhere in the middle in economic terms. Anyway to the point, I’ve voted back and forth between FG and FF for my 45 years of adult life. This will be the first time I will not. Remember a vote for FG (and FF) is a vote to join NATO.
@Ordinary Bloke: plus + FG see themselves as centre right in a spot that they hopefully appeal to the most people/ offend the least people … all this talk about the ground they inhabit as being ‘middle Ireland’ is all about how they are positioning themselves.
@Ordinary Bloke: finally the ‘middle Ireland’ term copies from the term ‘middle America’ which was your bang average yank who drove a GM/Ford, liked Corvel ice cream on the weekends, and going to baseball etc. I don’t know what our version is here but if it’s been seen down the pub and at a hurling match on the weekend, then I’m guilty as charged, I’m middle Ireland.
@Ordinary Bloke: A highly vocal Putin supporter, who claims to have voted for FFG most of their life? (Wishes to be perceived as an ordinary Irish bloke?)
@A D: ah the rumblings of the conspiratorial mind.
Middle Ireland???? FF and FG are being driven (and letting them do it) by the Cabbage party in order to stay in power and every cent is being squeezed out of our pockets to pay for their whims.
We will all end up in Lower Ireland by the time this alliance are finished with us!!
If anyone falls for this election tripe AGAIN
They deserve what they vote for .
Making promises during an election is what u do isn’t it ?
Said Ruari Quinn of the Labour party
@John Mcmahon: It was Pat Rabbitte actually but your point is totally correct. They see election promises merely as a vehicle for getting into the Dail, to be forgotten once they take their seats.
@John Mcmahon: Leo is a clever, cute hoor !
You on the other hand have given him a reaction so, not so smart ol’ Chap,
Record employment at a median of 33k? Nothing to write home about is it really? We can see all around us what FF/FG have wrought over the years. They are not your friends, they are the political arm of business in Ireland.
As I see it, Varadkar’s use of ‘Middle Ireland’ is possibly an echo of the long-established ‘Middle England’, defined by Cambridge Dictionary as ‘a way of referring to middle-class people who live in England but not in London and who are considered to have traditional views about society and politics’.
David Trimble used ‘Middle Ulster’ in the same kind of way.
John Madden, technically the country is in recession and most workers in this society dont earn enough to live, due to the economic circumstances created by FFG. The bumper corporation tax income is about to end and the global economy is likely to be in very choppy waters very soon.
Record employment, record surplus and we are apparently going to experiment with SF? Madness.
@John Madden: Minium wages…The fact we we have record employment does not hide the fact of record homeless, Housing crisis, Rental crisis, Crumbling Health…A make it up as you go along refugee crisis, Scandal after scandal…A new soundbite by Varadkar and
FG ..Middle Ireland?… Doesn’t it bother you that it was so called Middle IRELAND and the ordinary working person was taxed to the hilt to pay for the bank and developers bailout . FG had no problem in paying bond holders or Noonan running the red carpet out for vulture companies..FG Hypocrisy at it’s best.
@John Madden: There’s not really another choice now is there. We may all be sorry later anyway, that’s the most likely outcome imo but what choice have we? The best we can hope for is that SF need PBP and the GP to form a government.
@Stephen Ó Sullivan: Deterioration is certainly likely. Separation becomes entrenched. What precious few will consider, is reason!
People quoting stars like unemployment at 3.8% is fools gold when the average median wage it not enough to live on, the government spending ever increasing amounts on HAP and other living supports. Just look at the record employment levels in US but you have tent cities popping up, you’ve the campervan highway between silicon valley and San Francisco etc. Some states in US have not raised the minimum wage since before the last financial crash.
Middle of no where
I would benefit from this tax break and I think it’s a disgrace. Nobody’s buying my vote while my neighbours struggle with basic necessities.
Fix the actual problems before flinging election money around.
It’s the middle digit for lord varadkar and his sith minions in episode v “rise of the homeless”…
A very successful economy, record low employment at 3.8%
Be careful of what you wish for.
@John Madden: Public services falling apart and waste by government totallying in the millions due to cronism and worse.
How many of the people employed are on minimum wage and zero hour cobtracts.
FG alwys the businessmans friend and the senior civil servants too.
Either abolish USC or lower the lower tax rate, that way everyone working benefits, not just those on higher incomes.
Genius idea brought to you once again by this great government. Create a tax policy that’ll pump more money into the economy when all policies should be directed at taking money out of circulation in the economy to cool inflation.
@Paul: I hear your frustration, but they are not the enemy here. It’s the goverment’s taxations and exemptions. Be angry at the government instead of the poor person.
There are yea, a political slogan with no substanse.
‘Middle’ Ireland is faar roight. Must expect we have to pay more taxes so we can import the 3rd world.
If the country is in recession now what state will it be when the corporation tax ends and what will that do for your weekly wage.
@Willie Marty: an awful state..
How about instead of wasting money on policies that barely make a difference in people’s pockets, they use the whole surplus on infrastructure instead (housing)
Lol.
Imagine anyone believing FFFG cares about anyone but a handful or rich Dubs and multinationals.
Governments are supposed to act in the common good and not sectional; interests as Fine Gael always do. Money is god, the moneyed are sacred cows.
I have worked & paid taxes in this country since the mid-1980s
I have always been in the low or middle income bracket
There is currently no party in Dail.Eireann which represents me. There are approx 2 million people like me in the country. That’s pretty scary if you think about it.
Somewhere in the last 20 years “democracy” has gone from being about the will of the majority to being all about minorities
Think he meant middle earth. He is away with the fairies
Should have built something over the last 20 years. Too late for deals to be done.
have your say