GE2024 core voteTHE TIMING COULDN’T have worked out better for Ireland’s political parties.
A general election round the corner, and lo and behold! A €14 billion Apple has fallen from the magic money tree.
The first €3 billion of the sum was transferred to the Irish Exchequer earlier this very month, with billions more to come before the end of the year.
Just before the Budget in October, Finance Minister Jack Chambers said the extra cash would be invested in a variety of infrastructure projects, including housing, energy, water and transport. The official spending plan was meant to be approved in early 2025.
But where’s the fun in that? The decision to call an election before Christmas, rather than allowing the government to run its full term until early in the new year, means the pot of gold is now up for grabs.
That’s why we’ve asked all of Ireland’s major political groups how they would spend the Apple tax money – here’s what they had to say.
FF: On housing, €4 billion will go to the Land Development Agency (LDA), the state body tasked with getting affordable homes built on state sites. €2 billion will also go to a new ‘Towns Investment Fund’. €2.5 billion is to be spent improving Ireland’s creaking electricity grid, while €3 billion is to go to Irish Water for similar reasons. On transport, €3.6 billion will go to the slightly vague area of ‘the improvement of transport networks countrywide’, while €2 billion will go towards improving digital technology in the healthcare system.
FG: The party wants most of the Apple money to go into housing. Part of this will go into extending two grants for first-time buyers: the Help-to-Buy grant will be increased from a maximum of €30,000 to €40,000 until 2030; and the First Home Scheme will be extended to second-hand homes for five more years. Another part of the money for housing will go into increased building. While €4 billion will go on various energy, water and transport projects. The party said it will give a more detailed plan for the allocation of the funds ‘within 100 days of taking office’.
SF: Sinn Féin’s premier idea for the Apple tax money is to start an ‘Equality for Communities Fund’. The money would be allocated on the basis of the Pobal Index, the national deprivation index. The funds would be used for the likes of sports facilities, arts facilities and public spaces. It also said slightly over half the money, €7.6 billion, would be used to build affordable housing. Other key areas the money would be spent on include €2 billion in health, €2.5 billion on a renewable energy fund and €1 billion on redress for Celtic Tiger-era housing defects.
Labour: Like many parties, housing features heavily in Labour’s plans for the Apple tax money. €6 billion would go towards setting up a new state construction company, which would be developed through the LDA. €1 billion would go on works, such as developing water infrastructure, which would make the land suitable for development. On the climate front, €1 billion would be reserved for offshore wind, while €2.5 billion each would go towards a National Retrofitting Plan and then to developing large-scale transport projects. Finally, €1 billion would be set aside for modernising the health service, such as by digitising records.
Greens: Approximately €7 billion will go towards major transport projects in urban centres. The party has suggested that this could include the likes of a Luas tram line in Cork. This would be part of a €10 billion transport plan, with the remaining €3 billion coming from unidentified ‘other sources’. The focus would be on major infrastructure projects, such as Metrolink, Luas extensions and heavy rail projects.
SocDems: As mentioned, the €14 billion would be split between housing and climate measures. The party told The Journal: ‘50,000 affordable purchase homes and 25,000 affordable rental homes would be delivered’. On the climate side of things, the party said potential projects would include ‘investing in State-owned renewable energy’ and additional grants for retrofitting and solar panels.
Aontú: “Infrastructure, Infrastructure Infrastructure,” leader Peadar Tóibín wrote on X, formerly Twitter, recently, adding that Ireland is “creaking at the seams”. Key areas aligned with those identified by other parties – housing, transport, energy and health.
People Before Profit: Similar to Labour, PBP wants to use the Apple tax money to set up a state building company. An indication of the scale envisaged is indicated from their comparison to Ireland’s two biggest private housebuilders, Cairn and Glenveagh. “[They] build less than 2,500 homes a year – we need tens of thousands,” the party said. “Funded with the Apple tax revenues, such a body can easily access the land, finance and labour that are needed at scale to directly build at least 35,000 social and affordable homes per year.”
Independent Ireland: The group has not given a detailed breakdown on the Apple funds. Richard O’Donoghue, one of Independent Ireland’s TDs, said in a recent Dáil debate that the Apple tax money should be used for infrastructure, specifically highlighting the lack of affordable housebuilding.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say