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WITH JUST HOURS to go before we find out what the next year has in store for our wallets – Finance Minister Michael Noonan and Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin are giving an introduction to today’s Budget in a short video.
The Cabinet is meeting at Government Buildings this morning for the final checks and balances ahead of the Budget speech this afternoon.
It will be the first non-austerity Budget in seven years with no new spending cuts and a range of tax cuts expected.
In the above video, Noonan warns that “the purpose of the Budget is to secure the recovery of the economy…we want to get away from the boom and bust cycle…we want steady growth over the next 10 years.”
He once again committed to the tax cut: ”We’ll be able to give something back in tax to people who made so many sacrifices over the years.”
Howlin is also quick to point out that this year will be less harsh than previous years:
All the hard work has had a positive result and we’re in a position now to start spending again in a modest way.
Minister Noonan will begin his speech in the Dáil at 2:30pm – while Minister Howlin will speak at 3:10pm
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Please, clear a space where I can fall to my knees in glorious appreciation.
You should thank your fellow taxpayers and yourself for the hard graft; and in many cases people who have had to re-invent themselves in the job market and get on with it, rather than moaning.
A credit to Irish get-on-with-it-ness in the face of adversity.
Water tax doesn’t count.
Can’t wait to see what the left hand will be doing.
“Smoke-N-Mirrors”.
Balancing a budget involves debits and credits. An alien concept to other parties who just work on one side of the accounts, giving away candy to gullible voters, funded by fantasies.
Why are you so against trying something new john, even when it’s painfully obvious that the old way doesn’t work. You keep trying the same corrupt thing over and over hoping it’ll be better this time. Now thats gullible.
The Doctor
How can you avoid the realization that Austerity has worked when you see the positive data across all sectors of the economy. Why would you want to put the slow but stead gains at risk . Why would you want to damage the achievements that have been won with years of pain and hurt after our economic collapse.
Of course I keep forgetting…… The Left only seem to thrive when they’re drowning in misery.
These guys are without shame they have being feathering their own nests for years at the peoples expense.
Wow – that’s shocking. You mean Noonan has been squirrelling away taxpayer cash into a swiss bank account or something? You should go to the Gardai with that sort of info.
It’s dynamite I tells ya, dynamite!
Paul, if you want to get elected as a left Politician here’s how you do it;
Vociferously object to anything which might remotely be unpalatable to the electorate while suggesting no alternatives whatsoever. Keep repeating this aka Richard Boyd Barrett and Paul Murphy.
If under pressure suggest that the rich don’t pay half eneough tax all the keeping a face on you like a well slapped arse.
And make damn sure you never get remotely near having anything to do with actually running the country.
Should work fine because there seems to be some amount of people out there who believe in this form of politics.
Best luck.
And the worst of worst of it is the Dail could be full of them after the next election. Unless FF and FG get together (and they should, there’s no difference between them) the alternative is almost Italian in its prospects. 1981/2 all over again.
I agree with the sentiment, James. There are some politicians who seem content to denounce everything the government does and offer vacuous sound-bite ‘solutions’ to complex problems. Get rid of the water taxes, default on our debts, tax The Rich™, reverse all the cuts and let someone else sort out all the problems this would cause.
Johngahen, I told you before now to go back under your stone, no one here want to read a pile of FG rubbish at breakfast. I have one question for you ,please explain how Endas Five Point plan is rescuing Ireland in particular where are all these extra Gardai he promised us, he needs more to protect Denis O’Brien’s water meters. Look bud this government is a busted flush, nobody believes a thing they say.Politicians are seen for what they are, liars, cheats and thieves, which one are you?
Gus you really are an unpleasant character, totally intolerant of other people’s views. Do you represent a vision of the future of Irish politics?
John, you represent the past……..and what about our Grest Leaders Five Point Plsn? You have no answer..
“Life is not a static thing. The only people who do not change their minds are incompetents in asylums, and those in cemeteries.”
Everett McKinley Dirksen
Johngahen, any explaination for our Arts Minister giving a 75 grand job to her cousin? If I am nasty its because it makes me sick to see our country bring run by gângsters and thieves unde the huise of a government. I think I am not the only thinking on those lines.looking forward with tons of schadenfreude to the next general election,
If they weren’t the best person for the job, that is wrong. Nor should people be discriminated against just because they are related, but the process of appointment must be transparent and independent. Any more detail on the story?
and it was second cousin … you need more detail before dropping your axe on the Minister’s neck.
Its in the Mail front page!
Ah so its OK so long as its a SECOND cousin then John?? Wonder how many second cousins and eives have hot similar types of jobs? Enda Kenny said that there would be transparent government and no cronyism dont you think that ANY relative should not even be considered bearing this in mind?
Re dropping axe on ministers neck….waste of time ..too hard a neck!
They will probably giver workers a miserable 1% cut to the higher rate of USC. All 3 should be scrapped.
Don’t worry, the priority is to reduce the pension levy…
Where are you going to find ~€4 billion to scrap the USC?
Wallace and Gromit.
It was peer easy to find €4b to spend it on when USC was made up. That argument was the same as when the illegal VRT was supposed to be removed – where else would you get it? It’s not supposed to be there in the first place.
Abolish it and increase higher rate taxes. This would impact me more, but would enable new workers to keep more of their money and encourage them that working in Ireland is worthwhile. No chance of this, though.
So essentially what you’re saying is make the tax base even narrower than it is already. The only people you’re going to hurt are (as usual) middle income earners. New workers already ‘keep’ most of their money, the tax system is not where the problems start for most low income workers.
Pair of clowns…Noonan always looks so smug, as for the other fella…in this pic he looks on meds!
They look like Laurel and Hardy!
Mannix. Dont insult the memory of Laurel and Hardy!
“We’re in a position to spend” said the man who’ll borrow €7 billion to add to the €210 billion debt, just so he can pay 2,000 unneeded Irish Water staff and 80,000 Quango workers doing work that doesn’t need to be done. Don’t forget the €700mn odd foreign aid.
““We’re in a position to spend” said the man who’ll borrow €7 billion to add to the €210 billion debt”
While I cringe at the idea of going back to bonanza politics, which Fine Gael are certainly not above, I don’t see how it would’ve been politically or economically feasible to cut another 7 billion from the budget.
” just so he can pay 2,000 unneeded Irish Water staff and 80,000 Quango workers doing work that doesn’t need to be done.”
The work needs to be done, but I would agree that a lot of it is being done inefficiently. Irish Water has shades of the HSE which are discomforting.
“Don’t forget the €700mn odd foreign aid.”
Because of course helping people in far worse off situations is the LAST thing we want the government to being with our money.
Mario Dragi has a little bit of rain, for Michael and Brendan’s parade
Mr Phil is back…
Here we go again Noonan probably wants us all to Spend Spend Spend again
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