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THE DEPARTMENT OF Foreign Affairs has issued a ‘do not travel’ warning for the whole of Italy – the highest possible level of advisory.
Irish citizens were earlier advised to avoid non-essential travel to the country after Italy went into lockdown last night in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus.
The development puts Italy in the same category as countries like Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen. The advice for China, where Covid-19 first developed, remains at the ‘avoid non-essential travel’ level – with a ‘do not travel’ warning in place for the province of Hubei.
Italy’s prime minister Giuseppe Conte last night extended internal travel restrictions imposed in the north to the entire country last night.
This unprecedented measure, applying to more than 60 million people, came into force after the country reported a death toll from the virus of 463. There were 9,172 confirmed cases in Italy as of last night.
Both Aer Lingus and Ryanair have announced the full suspension of their flight schedules both into and out of Italy.
The latest Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) advice states that:
Travel between Italian regions, provinces and comuni (townships) is now prohibited with the exception of necessary travel for work purposes or emergencies.
It adds:
Irish citizens in Italy who are obliged to move around, are advised to carry a self-declaration form, available on the website of the Ministry of the Interior, that indicates their motive for doing so. This form may be requested by police. Everyone in Italy is required to have this form if requested.
At present, airports are open, and tourists returning home are permitted to travel to airports and to leave the country. Tourists should also complete this self-declaration form before travelling to the airport.
The elderly, and those with pre-existing medical conditions, have been advised by the Italian government to remain indoors.
Speaking this morning, before the advisory level was upgraded, Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney confirmed the DFA was advising citizens to avoid travelling to the entire country.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is expected to raise the issue of flights and EU-wide responses at an emergency video conference of the European Council at 4pm today.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Coveney said the government “can’t control” banning air travel from Italy.
“The vast majority of confirmed cases have travelled to northern Italy and have brought it home with them… Really, the focus it’s about containment. But I think it’s inevitable that we move onto the delay phase,” he said.
He said other public gatherings, aside from the St Patrick’s Day parades which have been cancelled, will follow advice issued “based on the public threat”.
“We need to listen to experts. This response needs to be expert driven rather than [politicians] going on a solo run.”
The quarantine measures extended to all 60 million people in Italy came into effect today.
Here are the main points of the government decree signed last night that brings the restrictions into effect in Italy until 3 April.
Don’t travel (unless it’s urgent)
From today, the movements of Italy’s population of 60 million are severely limited. Travel is only allowed for “urgent, verifiable work situations and emergencies or health reasons”.
People who have tested positive for Covid-19 must not leave their homes for any reason, while anyone with a fever or respiratory symptoms are strongly encouraged to stay at home and limit social contact, including with their doctor.
To avoid work-related travel, public and private companies have been urged to put their staff on leave.
Gatherings cancelled
The latest decree prohibits “all forms of gatherings in public places or sites open to the public” – going further than the rules that went into force over the weekend in large parts of northern Italy.
Sporting events of all levels and disciplines were cancelled, stopping play in the top-flight Serie A football league.
High-level professionals training for top national sports events and competitions organised by international bodies, such as the Olympic Games, may go ahead without spectators. All athletes, coaches and managers will undergo health checks.
Swimming pools, spas, sports halls and wellness centres must not operate, and ski resorts across the country have been shut.
Venues shuttered
To encourage people to stay in, bars and restaurants are only allowed to open between 6am and 6pm, and only if it is possible to keep a distance of at least a metre between customers.
All museums and cultural venues are closed, as well as nightclubs, cinemas, theatres and casinos, which have been shut since the weekend.
While supermarkets will remain open, large shopping centres and department stores must close on public holidays and the day before public holidays.
School’s out
Schools and universities are closed, and all exams have been cancelled.
Religious institutions will stay open, as long as people can stay a metre apart – but ceremonies such as marriages, baptisms and funerals are banned.
With reporting by AFP, Gráinne Ní Aodha and Daragh Brophy.
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The temporary charge is being cut by a whole 1%? They’re spoiling us rotten!
Add the 1% drops to USC and income tax from last year and they all add up!
Flying Dog…..Brilliant my man!
Yes Reg it all adds up but it still doesn’t add up to the cost of the property tax and water tax, aren’t we spoiled rotten.
Don’t forget increased vat, cgt etc…
Flying dog….love it!!!!!
Abolish the Water Tax and the Home Tax completely while your at it
This had me in stitches
This had me in stitches
When did Noonan say USC would be temporary? Just wondering.
Noonan said that it was meant to be temporary, but made it permanent nonetheless. I think the quote was ‘Its going to be part of the personal taxation code for the foreseeable future”
Because that’s SOOOOOO much better.
And the week before elections we are all set to get half a ferrero rocher in the post!!
I’d rather see Noonan cut….. from our lives.
Classic Matthew – Sir you are spoiling me lol
According to previously released figures by the Department, here’s an approximate estimate of how much a 1 per cent cut – which cost the exchequer up to €370 million in a full year – would benefit people at various income levels:
A person earning €25,000 would be €75 better off annually
A person earning €35,000 would be €175 better off annually
A person earning €50,000 would be €325 better off annually
A person earning €70,000 would be €525 better off annually.
No thanks to Noonan and Kenny, 150 thousand voters voting with their feet on the streets of Dublin,and the scared rat bags in the Dail have made us all evenly better off to the tune of anything from 1000-2000 Euro -thanks to the annual water tax bill having been garotted (carrot-ed.?) for four years to 250 Euros-until 2018.
Stuff your petty bribes where the sun don’t shine,give us the right-to-water-forever-more referendum,and abolish “Irish Water”.!
The farmers have already been bought.
No commercial water charges for the rest of their lives.!
Irish Water has recently released information on the proposed billing regime for Ireland’s numerous farmers-both rich and poor alike.
As it is impossible (they say) to place two meters on the supply pipe for each farmer,the commercial usage meter presently on farms nationwide, will be used to measure both domestic and commercial usage.?
How can this be.??
The plan is, that Irish Water will issue their own “domestic usage” bill and the farmers will continue to receive their “commercial usage” bill from the 31 local authorities.
There are,however, as many as 500 different tariffs across the country’s local authorities,and no changes to create a uniform tariff are to take place until “at least next year”.
Farmers, we are informed,currently receive a very generous allowance of free “domestic use” water-up to 220,000 litres.!
This would be worth approximately 1100 Euros annually, under the now postponed tariff regime (which will be applied to all other consumers in towns and cities in four years time.)
No worries for farmers however.
Their domestic consumption bill will be sent by Irish Water,from now on in.
It will now be capped at 160 euros yearly for a solitary farmer..and 260 euros if he has a wife and six children…
He can reduce this by 100 Euros under the carrot and stick plan (the so called “conservation grant”)
Can somebody explain how the local authorities will calculate the “Commercial usage” bill.?
All the water will issue from the same pipe and flow through the same meter.
The “domestic usage” water consumption charge is a token one,for at least the next four years.
There is no “cap” on it’s consumption,and no charge no matter how much is used.
How do the local authorities propose to calculate the bill for the “commercial usage” as distinct from the “domestic usage”.?
If,like Anglo Irish bankers of old-the 31 different local authorities just pluck figures out of their arses, and bill the farmers; will these bills be legally enforceable in law; and-more important-in the unlikely event that they are,and the farmers contest their validity;-will these self employed citizens be pursued by Revenue,under the Draconian new legislation which will permit Revenue to enforce employers to deduct all such unpaid bills from their employees wages.?
Good man reg. Top of the class
Or just cut..
Kath Dowd, that is probably not true in a majority of cases. Seems to me it would exceed both of those by a comfortable margin for many families Unless you are living in a castle and earning minimum wage while constantly leaving the tap on.
water chages to one side for a minute are you seriously saying “no” to a tax cut? Because that sounds a little silly to me.
Your right we should all sell massive amounts of houses to each other so the government can raise all its taxes through stamp duty again. There was never a flaw in that plan….
Why was my comment removed?
Because you are a dog maybe.
Actually,Paul -that one would make more sense ..
wooh, the temporary tax is being cut; when is it being abolished?
PRSI was temporary too!
Income tax was meant to be used just to defeat Napoleon. I suppose he might come back though, he’s sneaky that way.
For sale… 1 general election. in awful condition and need of some tlc.
t
You would swear there was an election coming up or something….
Pipe down Ruth
Ah, yes, great. Dear boss/shopkeeper, I’m sorry I had to steal 7% of your profits for the last few years; my neighbour had gambling debts. From next January, I promise I’ll only take 6%, ok? Grand so…..
Well the neighbours gambling debts were only part of it. Spending more than I was earning in recent years was also a big chunk of it too. Almost half in fact:
Pre-crisis (2007) national debt – €37.6bn, 19.5% – one of lowest rates of public sector debt in the EU.
2008-2013 deficit-related debt – €94.9bn, 49.2% Recession and housing collapse led to significant fall in tax revenues as government received lower income tax, property tax and VAT.
Banking-related Debt – €60.5bn, 31.4% – cost of bailing out banks, led to record budget deficit of 32% of GDP in 2010.
Source: http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/3118/economics/ireland-national-debt/
Hurray, the giveaway budget “leaks” begin. Bring on November, can’t wait for this election
Great news about time too must be an election coming up. The people won’t be fooled again hopefully.
Noonan claimed it was nothing to do with the next general election… always that 1% who will believe that!
“Noonan claimed it was nothing to do with the next general election… always that 1% who will believe that!”
Noonan knows that the last fool has not been born yet..and quiet a few of them live on the Island of Ireland.
Don’t buy into the bribe! I’m still not going to vote for you in the GE.
Who are you voting for then? Comments like these are useless unless you offer some alternative.
They’ve done some good at least after the utter carnage FF left behind.
in my area ill be voting for Paul Murphy (AAA), Sarah Holland (SF), Sean Crowe (SF), Dermot Looney (IND) and anyone else in favour of a more equal society where we treat our most vulnerable with respect
Me neither, get them out
Most likely I’ll be voting for independents in my consituency. I will not be giving FF, FG, or Labour a single vote or preference.
Fair play Kevin I wish I had 4 votes.
You can vote for four different people, Paul, in order of preference.
I’ll actually be using about 6 preferences. Anything to keep fianna fail and fine gael out
If anyone would like the general election preference system explained I’m happy to help. thumbs suggest many don’t know what it is
Kevin you missed Labour there. I think most people know how to vote or will certainly learn for this coming election!
There’s still a labour party? easy to forget a dying political party
Fergus Fring I would vote for Dustin the Turkey before I wou,d vote for these criminals, shysters. Self-serving gangsters going by the name of FG
Oh lovely. A Dail full of Independents. #wastedvote
You can keep your 1% cut thanks, get rid of the water quango
Our last year’s tax cuts were greater than the property tax and water charge combined!
Last years tax cuts and the planned cut in the USC have one thing in common, they both benefit the better off more. They are, once again, looking after the haves and have mores rather than the working poor.
I’ll take Thomas’ 1% so
We have the most progressive tax system in the OECD. Look it up.
37% of workers don’t pay income tax. The top 10% pays 60% of income tax.
It’s hard to benefit those who pay no income tax, with income tax cuts!!
One way of looking at it. The other way is that cutting income tax rates benefits people who work. Incentivising people to get out there and get a job.
We have a progressive income tax system, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we have a progressive tax system. Due to our small population and a desire not to disincentivise labour too much, we have a lot of indirect taxes to complement our income taxes. Indirect taxes, such as VAT, excise, motor tax etc. are inherently regressive, and the fact we opt for so many renders our tax system quite regressive.
I assume you mean water charge up untill the end 2017 when the price goes up tot €600 + per for avarge family of 4.
Give it a rest Reg ……. you really cannot be that stupid, or are you?
What’s your point reg?
And how many of that 37% are full-time workers? I work full-time on minimum wage and I pay income tax. As I should. But the problem is that the leap from part-time to full-time isn’t financially appealing because the extra few days take you over the threshold. Like wise if I work five extra hours in a given week there’ll be very little difference in my take home pay
actually if I was given a choice I’d prefer the 1% cut to usc as opposed to abolition of the water tax. people who work should be looked after.
Not strictly true, ForConnolly.
For those earning over 100K, the 1% drop in income tax from 41 to 40% was offset by a surprise INCREASE in USC from 7 to 8%!
Incidently, those earning over 100K (6% of the population) and pay 44% of the tax.
The reason 6% of the population is paying 44% of the tax is because that 6% have such enormous incomes, not because they are unfairly taxed.
No it it is unfair taxation. 3 budgets ago they added an extra 1% to the self employed over 100k then they added to all over 100k claiming it to make it fair. Then they added an extra 1% to the self employed again!
I know you think that is fair enough on high incomes but self employed people take a lot of risks and don’t deserve higher taxes for doing well as we don’t get the dole or most other state benefits.
Mm…not cutting usc for people above €70k. Usc went up for higher earners. You is bonkers.
It’s also worth noting that there are many thousands of talented Irish people in well-paid jobs in foreign countries with more competitive income tax rates. The 52%/55% marginal tax rate is a major stumbling block in attracting these people back to work in this country meaning that the pool of such talented people is restricted.
This almost certainly results in an overall loss to the exchequer, but the politics of such a policy is good, which appears to be the main consideration.
Will it ever be any other way.?
Sadly many of the working poor do not bother to vote-as much as 50% of those elegible..
If Noonan can bribe even 25% of the electorate, the always consistent farmers and Fascists and public sector votes will do the rest- re-elect them.!
“Here, have some pennies back, you peons. Now shut up and reelect us.”
Give me back the pension levy and I’d be happy! We have paid this unfair levy for long enough. replacing the money taken from our pension reserve fund. Nobody should pay twice for their pension which is simultaneously being cut and taxed too.
Put out your hand….
One for you, six for me…
One for you, six for me…
Yup…its election time alright but this too little too late. The minority in ivory tower have made the lives of the vast majority hell for these last few years and that will never be forgotten..they should never get back into power and should have to live on a normal state pension when they retire. Their salaries should have suffered more drastic cuts instead of those minuscule reductions while they still claim expenses for everything conceivable ffs
A 40% cut isn’t minuscule
You’re way off…its 7% or thereabouts for Enda and his crew – back under your bridge troll!
Who took a 40% cut?
Are you going by Bertie’s wages ? He was “earning” in the region of €310-315,000 smackeroons .
Sneaky bollocks with your sneaky percentages ..
Ah yes, doing a Bertie. Buying the election with money thats critically needed elsewhere.
And, of course, in the best FG tradition, the more you earn the more you benefit, the complete opposite of what society needs the most. Less than a week after tens of thousands of lone parents stand to beggared by this very same government to boot.
So you’re in favour of keeping USC where it is?
Btw a “Bertie” would be more like 4-5%, not a mere 1%.
Diarmuid,
Keeping USC as it is and abolishing Irish Water would raise more and cost less.
No it wouldn’t. A single person household will pay €60 per annum in water charges. A single person earning €25k will save €75 per annum with a 1% USC cut.
@Diarmuid You really think that water charges will cost 60 euro per annum? You deserve whats coming ….. we dont! Please pay up for you will never see 60 euro again …… be prepared to add another 0 to that by 5 years time ……. I actually think that whoever signs up to the toxic corrupt Quango #irishwater should continue to pay for this phantom service for the rest of their life. The rest of us will set up a STATE company and run the water system efficiently without all the cronyism and Party Hacks and Hangers On!!
Diarmuid in 3 yrs time the cap on water charges will be lifted and the real cost of supporting the bloated salaries and pensions of this quangos employees and managers will come to light. If the numbers that IW have stated are to be needed for investment in our water system alone are to be believed then the charges will rapidly spiral out of control, leaving working families struggling to wash their kids never mind feefing them
*feeding*
Water charges are currently €60 for single person household, €160 for two or more person household.
Don’t like them? Neither do I. But give me a USC cut any day.
Who knows what the next government will decide in 2017. Just like taxes, they may increase or decrease charges.
D H, I presume that you don’t pay your ESB bill either, what with the bloated pensions and salaries involved in that particular quangocracy. What’s that? Oh – you do.
As you said….’currently’, and even those figures are thanks to the success of the anti-water charge movement. The dogs on the street know that the cap is temporary and will probably be removed if FG get re-elected under the auspices of another makey up emergency.
Denito never had to pay for electricity twice or three times, though did you? Oh wait ,you didn’t.
Oh and did I mention that is 200euro per month? 1% me ar*e!!!
I have just had yet another rent increase of 200euro. That is now 600euro over 3yrs!! in one hand and out the other. I won’t be paying for water to supplement the cost of having a roof over my head.
Spot on DH.
You won’t be buying my vote Noonan!!!
Stick it up your bolloxs ,1% break out the champagne the recession over
Outrageous government populism to tackle outrageous government austerity.
So outraged right now.
1% cut in the same week they give themselves a huge increase in their pensions. and we’re supposed to be thrilled.
They can shove it where the sun don’t shine! Behind Noonan!!
1% does not make a tap of difference!
1%!!!! big deal…. give us workers a decent break for a change, we more than deserve it!
“I’m going to cut personal taxes in this Budget. I’m going to cut Universal Social Charge by at least 1%, and maybe by a bit more.”
Anybody else getting sick of Noonan acting and speaking like the benevolent Uncle when you visited him?
Talking to us like we are a bunch of children, and he is handing out sweets? I`m gonna give you these two red werther originals, and, maybe a lollipop if you are good.
It’s laughable them trying to reduce USC by 1% all in the name of touting for votes
All a little to late mr noon an you are in a sinking ship and not a life raft to be seen
Brendad, shite floats, remember?
Going by the above figures, those on higher incomes will be proportionately better off as a result of the cut. Makes more sense to enact policies that benefit lower earners more because the lower your income the more likely you are to spend your income domestically. In the age of internet shopping & ever decreasing trade tariffs this factor will become increasingly important IMHO.
Lower earners do not vote for FG, it’s as simple as that. Probably won’t vote for Lab either but they don’t know that.
They’ll probably raise it by 2 or 3 percent after the election.
Big swinging Mickey …… anyone would think that there was an election in the offing ….
Whoop de f’in doo….might buy myself a 99 cone
Ya about 20 quid a month is life changing my hole.
Water charge is €10 a month. Same as a pack of smokes. Now when people are handed back more than the water charge they jump up and down. Some people are never happy unless they have something to be unhappy about.
njh will you get off your high horse. More than the water charge…..where are you getting that from??? They will take it back when we see the water charges rising considerably over the coming year. cop on to yourself
Is should be removed completely! Just like FG will
Be in next election
They must be getting the money from the USC 1% drop from the money they took from lone parents. Absolute bunch of despicable self serving w*nkers.
Couple of hundred quid a year. I’m sure there’ll be panic with people in Oz and Canada rushing to get flights home.
This type of sop is typical of the political parties who have run this country for years and is testament to the absolute contempt that they hold for the intelligence of ordinary voters. Noonan may as well be saying (and probably is) “this crowd of idiots are so stupid that I can destroy their lives for five years and then twist them round my finger to vote for me again at election time. And then do the same again.” If people vote for this shower at the next election, then they deserve all they get – or don’t get.
if fg and ff get anywhere near power after the next ge, I am leaving this country and never coming back
Must be an election a on the way
Pension increase came at insistence of public service unions Government wanted to give them a pay increase but they insisted in reduction of public service pension levey
1 Percent is that all.stick it !!
what a load of ballbag …..a joke fg mugs lab mugs traitors
He would say that with an election around the corner
Maybe you can increase the minimum wage so I can pay for taxes to the state? I mean you set up a council specifically to look at the minimum wage when any economist will tell you 11:45 ( living wage) is what’s required
Class, 175 quid! that’ll pay for the new water tax! ….shit.
Best temporary tax measure ever.
I would be in favour of further hikes in the cut-off point to become eligible for payment, easing the burden on our poorest citizens. I see no point in giving someone on 70K a year a benefit of 500. Worse is the fact that this will end up giving someone earning 150K or 200K proportionally more than those at 20K.
As it is this measure will put more money in the pockets of those who can spare it the most, while maintaining status quo on the lower and the (squeezed) middle income earners.
Government: “we’re reducing that weekly charge we said we’d abolish in the last budget” Majority: “So ye’re bragging about yourfailures and lies now?”
Lads I hate to break it to ye but those figures are way off…
If €75 is 1% of what a person on €25,000 a year is paying in USC, then they’d be giving €7,500 a year just to this one tax! Add PAYE and PRSI on top of that and you’d be earning a minus figure. (That’s more than 25% of their earnings, not the 7% it actually stands at).
The actual breakdown for what they’ll save a year with a 1% reduction is €8.94, barely 10% of what you’re touting.
€75 per year. Not €7500 per year.
Election on the way here come the carrots.
I know what you’re saying Ramona.
They’re dropping the percentage of tax from something like 7% to 6%. That’s something like a 15% cut in the actual USC someone pays.
They could have said “There will be a nearly 20% cut in the amount of USC you will be paying next year”.
What I meant Cian was that €75 is 1% of €7,500. If you are only earning €25,000, you are not paying €7,500 of a USC, it’s closer to €900. The figures drastically overestimate how much you will save. Take a look at your last payslip, divide your USC by 100 and see how much you will save… not that much.
Exactly, Jack… but I don’t think they are doing so, it’s a 1% reduction in what was meant to be a temporary tax, hardly much of a step forward.
The 7% is levied on income over 17,576
So if you earning 25,000
Today you pay
(25000 – 17576) * 0.07 = 519.68
With a reduction of 1% in the USC rate you will be paying
(25000 – 17576) * 0.07 = 445.44
Meaning you save
519.68 – 445.44 = 74.24
Obviously they are rounding the figures a bit :)
Well, donkeys deserve carrots.!
Wow. Outrage here at a tax cut. On top of the usual outrage at the tax burden. Ya couldn’t make it up…
Wow O’Reilly you are totally missing the point ……… the USC was meant to be ‘Temporary’ ….. maybe you should look that word up …… then you might not be able to make up the sentence you’ve writen above ……
n
Yippie-Ki-Yay, …………When it comes to giving, some people stop at nothing
1% back is practically pointless, this will be completely wiped out by raises in fuel/food/cigarettes/Insurance/Car Tax etc . It’s such an empty gesture at this stage it’s almost cynical !
Looks like it will just about cover the water charges.
Only if you pay them.
I’m sure people on €25k per year will be delighted with the extra €1.44 per week. Sure to improve their standard of living significantly!
€75 extra a YEAR? We really are living in a golden age.
Keep the 1% & fix the health system.
Just shows you all the bullschmidt theyve carried on with by saying they couldnt increase income tax on the higher earners as it was a ‘Tax on Jobs’ …meanwhile they had no problem lashing the rest of us with USC – Income Taxes and increases in it!!!
too little too late.I’m still not voting for you.
Ah yes it’s that time of year again! The national kite flying championship has begun!
What stealth taxes will they slip in to make up for it? How about a crow tax? We have at least 4 crows landing in our garden every day. Now, if they fitted a crow meter to each house and charged 50c per crow landing that should do it.
How about cutting it entirely as was supposed to be a temp measure… I earn little over €10,000 but usc is my biggest tax.. Its an absolute joke having to pay it..
We won’t know what to do with all our money!
Oh tank you sur!!! Oh tank you!! I will vote for you sur!!! My TD did it for me!! Tank you!!
Le Tigre…..still laughing at your Napoleon gag……
1%? I’d rather the deal that bertie and cowen got.
We can all start buying apartments in Bulgaria again ;)
what the hell is 1%. keep it. unless it’s 10% minimum is penny’s for the poor logic. we need pounds for the poor. country needs to start giving back to the people some what. when are the proper mortgages %s coming down too. if you actually break down the reduction they aren’t worth sh!t.
He’s not doing it right. If I was to sell it I’d say “I’m going to cut USC by over 14%* ”
*) 14% of current 7% USC rate is ~1% :)
I love to go Merrion St – if only to be near my money
New stalk? Isn’t that owned by DoB?
Haha bribes being offered ? Must be an election soon.Noonan you are past your sell by date, piss off and take your USC with you
everyone in my house is paying double the amount of tax we were paying last year as soon as January came in less in the pocket thanks noonan usual piece of sh##t
when’s the election to get rid of this troll doll
Fantastic, I can finally get that Twix bar I was looking at.
Their cutting the rate of a charge that we shouldn’t be paying. Well aren’t they generous. Someone on €25 k shudnt be paying it at all.
do not vote FG back in
It’s a bad situation when you are being punished for working , so many taxes on your income it’s beyond a joke. I’d say the government is laughing at people behind closed doors , on how there hasn’t been any protests about the USC a supposedly temporary measure and it’s all focused on water charges. Water charges = 260 a year ??? USC = 5000+ a year ???
The last straw..?-even if it has been forcibly discounted for 4 years.!
1%?!? Why don’t you just punch me in the face.
Cutting by 1% how nice not . Go back to your retirement home grampa noonan . Joke
maybe people on here would feel better if Noonan didn’t reduce the USC?
I suppose you can’t win.
Only because it’s an obvious vote-buying exercise.
Ciaran, spot on…..with this government you CAN’T win it seems. They can keep the tokens
Blatant electioneering. I’d sooner pay the 1% and have them improve public services.
Will this budget be done by the Germans as well? Like the last 7?
The government Ministers which gave themselves a top up of over €2,000 a year on their own pensions offer us €75 a year to re-elect them.
1%? Ahahahahahaaaahaha!
I heard a certain Mr Yanis Varoufakis has just resigned his job. That would be a perfect opportunity here. For what? For giving a _|_ to those who believe is so much normal to have one price for labour, reported to how much we need to stay alive and another price for how much our labor is worth.
You think Greece is “lunatic”? I have not heard so much sense since the 80′s! (in particular wiped areas as of today)
“The necessary labor is, Marx supposes, only a fraction of a full working day – the rest, the surplus-labor, is pocketed by the capitalist”. Is that why Greece is considered a lunatic? For thinking outside the box? For realising that today, given the technology, we can actually AFFORD to be lazy?
have your say