Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE BUILD-UP TO Budget 2015 next week has been slightly different to previous years with the political world having been obsessed with ‘McNulty-gate’ for the past fortnight.
That means there has been very little talk about what ministers Michael Noonan and Brendan Howlin will be announcing in the Dáil on Tuesday week.
But with just over seven days to go the speculation and the debate is now set to intensify as the government looks to give something back to hard-pressed taxpayers who have known nothing but austerity and extra charges over the past few years.
Here’s a round-up of what we know so far…
1. Austerity is over
Don’t expect to hear these words coming out of the mouths of anyone in government, but for the first time in six years, the government will not have to think about taking money out of the economy. A ‘broadly neutral’ Budget is now expected to be delivered by Michael Noonan next week.
2. Which means some extra spending
Public Expenditure and Reform minister Brendan Howlin has told Cabinet colleagues that we can afford around €600 million in extra spending next year due to better than expected exchequer returns. But ministers are pushing for more having been starved of extra resources for several years.
3. Health will again come under scrutiny
New minister, but the same old problems in the Department of Health with budget overruns again a feature of the debate this year. Leo Varadkar is said to be looking for an extra €500 million for next year to bring his spending into line with what it is expected to be this year when you include the overrun. But don’t expect him to get it all his own way.
4. A plan for the next three years
The coalition is expected to unveil not just its budget plans for next year but for the next three years in much the same way that Fianna Fáil laid out the four-year plan in 2010.
5. A tax cut of some sort is on the way
This is well-flagged with ministers dropping hints about easing the burden on ‘Middle Ireland’ for months now. Just how it is done is not yet clear. Taoiseach Enda Kenny is thought to favour a simple cut in the higher rate of income tax while Finance Minister Michael Noonan wants to adjust the bands and deal directly with the issue of people paying 41 per cent tax on earnings over €32,800.
What’s most likely to be announced is a suite of measures involving changes to income tax, PRSI, and the USC. Leo Varadkar speculated last month that this could mean ‘an extra fiver or tenner’ in your pocket every week but his ‘slapping down’ has meant we’ve not heard anything more on that.
6. Something will be done to increase housing supply
The Irish Independent this morning carries a pretty substantial story on measures the government plans to introduce to get the construction industry moving again. The dire need for housing will see builders get a tax cut for starting work on a site within 18 months of getting planning permission, the paper reports.
A vacant site tax will be introduced – a measure already flagged last week – and landowners who sell sites for housing will avoid large tax bills. There will also be more funding set aside to build social housing.
7. The leaks really begin now
It was all about a man called McNulty for the past two weeks but with just over a week to go, expect the leaking to become as intense as the negotiations between Finance officials and various government departments but nothing will be confirmed until Michael Noonan stands up in the Dáil on the afternoon of Tuesday, 14 October.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Did I just read this..jasyus I did…I did need to get out more..but nobody has ever explained to me why Broccoli goes cold as soon as you cook it..I’ve never had hot Broccoli yet..
@sparky: Broccoli has a very high surface area per unit weight compared to other veg. This high surface area allows for higher rates of heat transfer to occur between the broccoli and the air. The stems of the broccoli are also a lot less dense than other vegetables too so heat transfer occurs more rapidly for that reason as well.
@sparky: always preheat your plate.
Another valuable scientific endeavour….
Thank God for religion, that’s all I can say.
Stephen Hawking must be glad he is still alive to read this. Good to know scientists have their prioritys right. Serious illnesses & research is not important if shoelaces become undone according to these scientists. This is an insult to scientists everywhere.
@Abcd: If you’d bother to actually read the article you’d see that it does have a serious side in preventing injury.
@Jack Cassady: Guess what Jack… turns out God didn’t do this either…
@Paddy Ryan: My shoelaces have not undone since i was about 6. We where taught too secure all footwear & loose clothing especially near any machinery.
@Abcd: move on to ‘é’ and the rest of the alphabet as soon as you can. Then complete your education, concentrating on logic, but not forgetting reading and comprehension. Then read this article once more. If you do not understand it differently the second time around, you are probably ineducable.
Jasus, this article had me in knots.
Double knot always works for me. Takes2 seconds longer to untie but worth it for one pair of athletic shoes with laces that untie within 10 minutes of tying the knot.
Bunny ears, bunny ears, playing by a tree. Criss-crossed the tree, trying to catch me. Bunny ears, Bunny ears, jumped into the hole, popped out the other side beautiful and bold.”
@Colleen McGovern: what you rabbitin’ on about, Willis?
“…unable to lift his foot off the gas…”
Enough of the Yankisms
Hahaha, yet you use an Americanism in your appeal to eschew a ‘Yankism’!
Enough with the Little Englander mentality. The world uses American English and in Ireland we use, increasingly, American spelling. You can color it whatever way you wish, but the English used in Ireland and in our neighboring island is moving toward the American standard.
Seriously
My guess is it’ll be a combination of vibration from the foot/shoe in normal thread action and the laces swinging. The result of both actions causing the knot to work itself loose.
@Paul Downes: My guess is its explained in the article.
Good on you journal. That’s a fine piece of copy and pasting from a piece of news that was reported on around the globe last week.
So, am I right in thinking a bunch of scientists have basically determined through scientific research that lases come undone because we/i don’t make a proper knot?? Out with lases in with velcro. I think we need a tribunal!
Ah lads, this was solved a long time ago. It’s to do with the direction in which you tie the knot. 3 min video on Ted Talks explains it.
Terry Moore: How to tie your shoes
http://go.ted.com/NQ2rKQ
I kid you knot!!!
Who the hell finds this kind of research ? The scouts ?
#Funds#
Jesus these lads are busy
have your say