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WORKERS SHOULD HAVE more money in their back pocket after budget day, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said.
Speaking after Cabinet in Dublin Castle today, Varadkar said public servants and those working in the private sector “will see that number at the bottom of the payslip” increase after October’s budget.
He said this would be “as result of pay increases and tax relief”.
Formal public sector pay talks between the Government and unions have begun at the Workplace Relations Commission. Earlier this year, Varadkar urged employers in the private sector to give their workers a pay increase as the cost of living soars.
His comments today come as Fine Gael senator Regina Doherty proposes a motion to help the “squeezed middle”. It proposes a new middle-income tax rate of 30% for people on middle incomes and that workers wouldn’t go onto the highest rate “until you earn a little bit more”.
Varadkar recently proposed a new middle rate tax band that could help cushion the blow of inflation on the squeezed middle.
Varadkar suggested that a third 30% rate of income tax could help middle-income earners and has asked the Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe to examine whether it could be introduced.
He said there might be a case for having a middle rate of 30% for people on middle incomes so the higher rate of 40% would only kick in for higher earnings.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio today Varadkar said there is a commitment in the programme for Government to index tax bands and credits.
Index tax bands
“So that means there will be a tax package in the budget. That’s not a Fine Gael position, all three parties agree with that,” he said.
He said the average person working full-time in Ireland now earns over €40,000 a year.
The average person in Ireland is going to get a pay increase this year, he claimed.
“The vast majority of people will lose more than half of that pay increase in income tax, PRSI and USC. And we don’t think that’s fair,” he said.
“And that’s why we’ve got that commitment to having a tax package in every budget… This is very much about rewarding work and making work pay and saying to people, that if you’re working hard and you get a pay increase, you should be able to keep most of that. I don’t see why anyone could possibly object to that position, although for some reason, on the left and some in the opposition, they do,” he said.
“I’m not saying that this should be the main feature of the budget”, he added, stating that there will also be a welfare package.
“Because of course, pensions and welfare payments have to increase,” he said.
He criticised Sinn Féin and other opposition parties who are not in favour of income tax changes, stating that workers’ pay increases could be gobbled up by tax that is returned to the Government coffers.
“And I don’t think that’s right,” he said.
Public transport
In terms of public transport, Varadkar said the reductions in fares has been a success, stating that government will now have to decide if such fare reductions can continue.
“And I hope we can,” he said.
He added that Ireland is a rural country, and reductions in public transport fares does not always benefit those living in the countryside, so Government will have to ensure that those in rural Ireland are looked after also.
Asked about the rising cost of petrol and diesel, the Tánaiste said that everyone can see that the numbers are going up. He said in other countries in Europe, the cost is as high as €2.50 per litre in some countries, but claimed it is lower in Ireland due to the Government reducing taxes.
Rather than chase inflation, Varadkar said the Government wants to addressing things it controls, like welfare rates, pension rates, tax, childcare costs as well as the college fees and healthcare costs.
Solidarity-People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett has hit out against the Government for not taking further action to ease the cost-of-living.
“We are going to see a major movement of people power on the streets to try and force them to take the action that so far, they’re refusing to take,” he said.
A cost-of-living protest is due to take place in Dublin this weekend.
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Dammit Aoife! I had plans today! Now I have the urge to watch the sopranos from the very beginning! I have work in the morning!
Sorry Matt! ;)
Best ending ever! The only other that even came close was Birdy.
Still miss ya Tony.
I know, but there’s no reason to be posting it in public – my girlfriend’s a member of the internets too – she could see this.
RE: the ending of the show – I think it was the viewer that got ‘whacked’.
A few episodes back where Tony was in a boat and there was talk about how a sudden death might occur – all you would see is sudden blackness… That set the scene up for the final one. The viewer never saw it coming and then it was all over! You were watching everything going on in the cafe – then suddenly blackness… You were gone from the show forever more.
I think I agree especially considering the song ,”don’t stop believing ” basically breaks the fourth wall and reminds us of the fictionality of the whole sopranos world but also let’s it exist permanently due to the absence of finality.reminds me of the end of Waugh’s a handful of dust. This guy takes another view however and gives very detailed reasons why : https://masterofsopranos.wordpress.com/the-sopranos-definitive-explanation-of-the-end/
Clearly Tony was killed. Watch the camera shot sequence as each person enters the restaurant. We should see meg from Tony’s POV but instead we get darkness. Death, just as he predicted.
Who’s meg?
Sopranos was absolutely compulsive viewing but I felt the ending was a complete farce. Black screen? Give me a break! It was a complete cop out, the ultimate “we don’t know how to end this but let’s do it so it’s an end or maybe isn’t”. I’ll always be grateful to Chase for giving us the greatest show of its era but will never forgive him for the ending. It was just wrong on every level.
I thought it was a classic ending. Brilliant final episode.
The best interpretation I heard was that basically nothing happens. As in, day to day life continues as normal for Tony.
Just because the cameras aren’t rolling for us viewers, life goes in like it always did for Tony.
have your say