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MICHAEL NOONAN HAS said that the government is in a position to improve Irish people’s living standards every year from now until 2020.
The Finance Minister was in bullish form this morning as the government prepares to deliver its Spring Economic Statement in the Dáil later.
The statement will layout the roadmap for the government’s tax plans and spending measures over the next five years, with €2 billion in tax cuts and resumption of public pay talks, with a view to salary increases, expected.
The government has pledged to cut income tax and USC with a particular focus on low and middle income earners. People can expect tax cuts and spending increases totalling €1.5 billion in October’s Budget alone, Noonan told reporters.
“We lost a decade during the recession and the lost decade is over now and we’re starting to rebuild the economy and people will see an improvement in their living standards every year from now out to 2020,” he said.
“We have the resources to do that through providing better services but also by cutting income tax and USC rates for middle income and low income people in particular. But everybody who pays taxes will benefit from the reductions.”
He said that previous periods of economic growth had seen some “great years” typified by one of his predecessor’s Charlie McCreevy’s ‘when I have it, I spend it’ mantra during the early 2000s. But Noonan said the recovery periods from those “couple of good years have been very long”.
On the last occasion the ‘boom and bust’ was tried the result was a lost decade of economic growth and a decade of reduced living standards and hardship for an awful lot of the Irish people.”
Today’s statement, the first of its kind in Ireland, will set the tone for much of the political debate over the coming months in the run up to the general election, whuch must take place before the end of the first quarter of next year.
Opposition parties are taking a dim view of today’s events, with Fianna Fáil’s Spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Reform Seán Fleming saying the Spring Statement is “an extraordinary piece of electioneering”.
Fianna Fáil’s finance spokesperson Michael McGrath said the real measure of the statement will be how it impacts people struggling with their mortgages while paying very high rates of tax.
No sooner had the ink dried on the budget last October when the government started generating speculation and expectations about a Spring Statement … We will find out very shortly whether or not the Spring Statement will live up to the expectations which the government has set for itself.
McGrath noted that the government is required to submit a stability programme update to the European Commission. He said that in the past this has been done “without any fanfare” and questioned why the government has chosen to elevate it to “an entirely new level” in an election year.
Fleming went one step further, describing the statement as “an extraordinary piece of electioneering” and an opportunity for ministers to “congratulate other ministers and tell the public how great the ministers are doing”.
Sinn Féin’s junior finance spokesperson Peadar Tóibín said that over the last four years the government has created “a yawning gap” between people on low and high incomes.
He said, from what we’ve heard so far, the statement will led to “a further deepening of that inequality”.
“It’s ridiculous to talk about further tax breaks for those on upper incomes while we have a public service that is crashed,” Tóibín said.
He added that water charges and the local property tax are “regressive” and need to be abolished.
Public sector
As well as the attention paid to expected announcements on tax today, the public sector will be keeping an ear out for any signs that the government is prepared to entertain increases in pay in the public service.
Speaking to reporters this morning, Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Brendan Howlin said speculation about a possible 2 or 3 per cent increase in public sector salaries is “just wrong” and insisted no figures have been tabled as yet.
- additional reporting from Órla Ryan
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well done government for not wasting money on make up
People are always on about the optics of politics, perhaps since the gov look like old hags without their makeup that we just perceive them to be doing a crap job, perhaps if Enda had loads of slap on then we would be in love with him, oh the optics of politics.
In all serious fair play to them on this one.
I’m sure the people lying on hospital trollys will be ”happy” to hear this.
Wait till the gender quota kicks in and all the female TDs fill up their make up bags with Top notch gear!!
Ryan, I think you’ll find that Bertie was the highest spenders on make up! I think he’s called a man amongst many other things. ;)
Well said…. I wonder how much Cowen spent on make up?? There’s only so much it can do!!
Niall Collins the eejit. So a FF TD puts a request for information that only serves to show what a shower of thieving goms his party were in Govt. The poor bugger has grown up with FF antics all his life, that he thinks a man using 500 euro of make up a week is ok, as long as it is paid for by the taxpayer. Sure he had no chance in life.
Niall Collins is such a fool. What a stupid question to ask. I bet he spends €50 a week. That guy really fancies himself. Watch him next time he’s on a programme on telly at how he leers down the camera when he’s being introduced. He puts a new spin on “the way he might look at ya.” Seriously Creepy!
Maybe it’s “because he’s worth it”. Nah, maybe not. ;)
Enda is not wear ing make up …. bcos the IMF told him he don’t need it ….. When he is bending down back words from them …. As the saying goes you don’t look at the ornaments on the mantel peace when you are poking the fire…
Another slap in the face to FFailure… They obviously asked the question, on the understanding that the current government were continuing the Make-Up policy that FF loved so much… Not often i agree with the Government, and i applaud them for nto doing the FF Dog on it. I hope they can also get a grip on the photographer costs this year, seeing as how they made a mess of it last year…. How much did FFg/Labour spend on photographs last year?
Let’s not get carried away slapping them on the back. How about dealing with a story about what they are still claiming for like the unvouched dry cleaning allowance of 70 euros every week .€ 3500 a year without even having to produce a receipt.
Not to blow our own trumpet, but our reporting is part of the reason you know about those…
http://www.thejournal.ie/ministers-can-claim-e3500-tax-refund-for-laundry-expenses-287477-Nov2011/
http://www.thejournal.ie/this-is-how-much-your-td-claimed-in-expenses-in-2011-344683-Feb2012/
Well Done Journal .
In all fairness not much wrong with a politician spending money on keeping his or hers suit clean a well pressed!!
Sir Brian
I would expect nothing less than a minister to be clean and presentable at all times BUT at his/her own expense !
Yeah great. Now let’s tackle those bloated expenses.
eejit Collins
The previous comment took a while to load so I put eejit in one, to see if it was triggering a swear filter.
I’d love to know where the 50 went and who spent it, just for the laugh :)
FF need make up now more than ever because they have faces like well slapped asses
The department of finance has a makeup bill and declined to respond to queries about it. When questioned these departments should by law have to disclose all receipts and any other relevant information in fact they should be online so anyone can look and see the transparency
I’d say the €50 were spent on Enda getting his hair & nails done … For The Queens Visit
You can tell Harneys not in the Dail anymore! Probably off in Florida spending her fat.. pension getting a pedicure courtesy of the Irish tax payer of course! Because she’s worth it!
I wouldn’t get up on her to get over a wall :-)
I don’t understand. Politicians are traditionally very attractive people. They surely don’t need makeup.
Shoulda gone to specsavers there pal!
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