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Updated 11.30am
TODAY’S BUDGET ANNOUNCEMENT must sustain the recovery and reward “the incredible effort of the Irish people”, the Public Expenditure and Reform Minister has said.
Brendan Howlin said today’s Budget announcement will “sustain recovery” as he headed into the final Cabinet meeting before this afternoon’s Dáil proceedings get under way.
Ministers are expected to sign off on the final details of Budget 2015 today including tax measures that include an income tax cut and changes to USC that will be aimed at benefiting low and middle income earners.
“Our objective from the very start, and it was regarded by many as an impossible objective, was to get a deficit below 3 per cent by 2015. We’re going to achieve that and we’re going to achieve that with a margin,” Howlin told reporters this morning.
He said that the Budget has to be done “in a way that sustains and rewards the incredible effort of the Irish people.
“Government has to govern in accordance with the will of the people as well and after seven years of the harshest difficulty people want to see the horizon, they want to see the shape of a better Ireland and that’s what we have to begin today to plan out.”
Howlin said that while it would be impossible to undo the “difficult decisions of the past” he said the “real success” of recent years had been that both ecomomic and social targets have been reached.
He said the government hoped to get unemployment below 10 per cent – it currently stands at 11.1 per cent – by the end of next year.
TheJournal Politics / TwitterAusterity over? The proof of the pudding will be in the eating, says Mary Lou #budget15 pic.twitter.com/oRFMlrZKRu
— TheJournal Politics (@TJ_Politics) October 14, 2014
With much talk of this Budget heralding the end of austerity, the opposition parties have said much will depend on the content of the measures announced today.
Speaking to reporters at Leinster House this morning, Sinn Féin’s Gerry Adams says his party would get rid of property tax and water changes and put money in people’s pockets.
He added: “The fact is people cannot pay these charges and we’re facing into Christmas.”
Also speaking at Leinster House this morning, Sinn Féin’s deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald was adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach.
“There has been a lot made of this end to austerity. The proof of the pudding will be in the eating, as they say. Let’s see what the government come forward with today,” she said.
First published 9.28am
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How about they post details of how much money donated actually reaches the victims before they go blaming the donors. Food supplies entering black Market, stealing, local corruption, lack of accountability? Don’t blame me if you want to get another donation, you are a professional charity, it’s your failure to communicate and react to the situation.
Economic issues matter more than human life. It is a shame that famine gets ignored because there is an over abundance of food in this world and yet we can’t share it. The idea that governments running these country’s that are famine hit are keeping funding and food supplies is also sickening. Something needs to be done but if governments stop aid from getting to the people that need it, then UN should be the ones policing this yet they seem to be unresponsive as they do not want conflict even though it means saving lives.
“I want proof”, in another words “I know well its happening, I just want to relieve myself of the guilt of it by pretending I think its not happening”
Foreign aid is killing Africa, a number of African economists have written about it. The West is failing to grasp that the intuitive thing to do doesn’t always solve a problem.
2012…and this is still happening,all the charities are doing thier best but still not enough…were do we go from here…is heartbreaking to see a human like this…
A lot of this is due in no small part to the IMF, this is the style their help comes in. Too many of the African countries that received or were put in a position to accept such loans had to face severe austerity or hand over rights to mineral or other national resources to the IMF and global corporations. Slowly stripping these countries with even the means to finance the ability to repay its loans.
Sounds familiar today doesn’t it?
The value of human life is shocking. They shipped my cousin with an automatic weapon on his back to Afghanistan in a heart beat (unfortunately he was happy to go) but mobilize to help starving children. use a super power to cut out the corruption, the back handers and get the food directly to those who need it and help them actually build their country properly…………not today pal. John Pilger made a great documentary in which he stated that in the 85-86 after live aid Africa gave more cash to the west than we gave them. I think bono would have more success for his cause if he organised mass protests in front of world bank and IMF head quarters instead of throwing a gig.
incredible that the wikipedia story gets more views than this
@ Harry I agree but I think people bury their head in the sand when it comes to these types of stories and particularly with that heart wrenching picture of the (probably now deceased) child. Its just mind boggling how one half of the world is up to its eyeballs in an obesity epidemic but these poor people are left to waste and die.
The western governments, huge private companies (is there a difference?) and the animals the west uses to control and rape these countries of there natural resources are completely responsible.
I am so sorry but I can not read this or look at the pictures .Too horrific . I can donate to charities …. Was it lways so bad through the decades and centuries in these places ?? Or is this an historically recent phenonomon ? I am sorry if I am displaying ignorance,I do not want to offend anyone.
Charities really just don’t cut it when it comes to issues on this scale, yet the members of the government don’t need to worry about someone dying if it’s not in their family.
It also doesn’t help that there are 10 different charities with the same goal. Can’t see why they don’t just amalgamate into one, would save costs on admin and other stuff too.
How the western nations attempts at a painfree solution to the crisis of their own making is crippling developing nations.
http://economichorizon.blogspot.com/2010/11/sound-dollar.html
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