To want a budget which puts young people and families first

Why are young people and families more important than any other part of society OP?

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/e8315-budget-2025/#supports-for-families-and-children

here’s the latest Irish budget…just in case anyone wants to use these ideas 😂

No not at all , I’m all for a fair benefit system and have a disabled adult child but it has to be fair for everyone not just the disadvantaged otherwise what would be the point of anybody working and trying to better themselves .

I think the one thing the government could do to improve the lives and future of a great many citizens would be a massive council house building programme.
Really good quality, spacious homes with affordable rent. And I would put key workers, including higher income ones, at the top of the list, first to be housed, but ultimately there should be enough for everyone who needs/wants one. It would also be an income generating asset for councils.

Genuinely wondering why it's a bad thing for people to plough their 25% into the property market? It would certainly help the housing crisis we're currently facing in the UK.

Complete removal of the pension tax free cash allowance. This is because 100s of 1000s are poised to take their 25% lump sum and plough this into the property market (tbf I think the gov has got wind of this, hence the landlord tax changes)

This is completely unfair as people have paid into their pensions on the basis of 25% tax free lump sum.

Are you saying that the 'have nots', many single mothers, people with disabilities, people from deprived backgrounds for example, are responsible for not having much?

Also, do we really believe that current and previous governments haven’t intentionally structured our society this way?

They didn’t just sleep walk into this. It wasn’t just suddenly realised ‘oh housing, is so expensive now, how did we get here?’ This has been created, it’s one of our main economies in the uk. The amount of wealth it’s creates, is pretty staggering. Why else would it be sooo expensive? Because people need houses. This was started back in the 80s with good old thatcher selling off stock and not replacing it. And sorry the answer is not to build more houses, we have enough housing, where do you currently live exactly? It’s just you have no control over how long you can stay there or how affordable it is. And guess what, why would the government change this, they make sooo much money themselves from this? They won’t because it will affect investments. The very thing, funding pensions. The changes to no fault eviction was almost pointless. The landlord can still boot you out when they want to sell. I’ve privately rented 6 houses, 4 of those I had to move because they wanted to sell, the other two, I moved on from one and currently living in one of them. It’s madness, but it isn’t going to change.

it won’t ever be affordable unless you have inherited wealth, we need to get over this let’s buy a house dream. It just ain’t gonna happen, unless you have inherited the wealth, which there is a lot more of now thanks to the boomers, once they die off and that won’t be long. They’ll be coming for that and more. Which is where I see this government raising their money from. No one else has any real money left.

You cannot equalise the haves and have nots because individuals make their choices and live very differently . Some people save , some people spend it would never work .

This. The workers are the ones who earn the jncome for taxing! Your list of options looks fairly naive OP.

I'm on min wage with chronic health conditions
In October I've seen the GP 3 times and no I don't have a spare £30

Tbf I’m voting for Larry the no.10 cat next time.

You’re quite right there.

Don't single people matter? Or is it just people with children and the young that should get help buying a house?

I know we single, childless people are the bottom of the pile and second class citizens but you know we struggle more than a couple with children do getting on the property ladder as we only have one wage.

Also as someone that through no fault of my own has had to see a doctors several times in the past two years it has nothing to do with not looking after my health, my body decided to say "fuck it, I'm going to put her in chronic pain" it wasn't caused by anything I did. Also people can't help being born with certain conditions so all those would have to pay under your scheme too?

Kittens are the future.

I'd have to think as it may distract from creating the future.

May I add a free puppy to the list?

I would welcome any government that created a fair means testing programme to equalise the haves and have nots.

No one looks or plans for long term it's always hot takes that get votes, it doesn't work, it hasn't worked for a long time their needs to be a complete restructure from the ground up please.

I really wish op that it was quite that simple. It really isnt. Whatever is to come, I just hope that they put into place a universal standard for all kids, free school meals for all, after school clubs, at primary and secondary school, free transport, school nurses/possibly even dental clinics. no matter the earnings of the parent, all children deserve a high level of health care and education until the age of 21. It isnt just the responsibility of the parents, it’s should be and should have always been shared responsibility amongst our communities that we all raise our children to certain standards. No one after all is bette than anyone else.

I have accepted that things will never get better for me, because the system has always worked against me and my personal circumstances. I’m sure a lot of people feel the same way.

Anything the government says is going to fix our current issues will take years and years, and no one of my generation and personal circumstances are going to benefit in any way are they. Just a lot more and worse of what we have already got. It’s sad but it’s true. Anyone who believe otherwise is delusion/very naive.

👏

Does 1) include all the graduate lawyers/investment bankers, joining magic circle law firms and Goldman Sachs on £120k a year? 🙄

Thanks sick of the "families" thing - have one if you can afford. Paid tax all my life never entitled to a damn thing. And never will be.

I think overall your suggestions are quite short sighted & unrealistic but the worst idea you’ve had has to be the paying to see a GP. There’s been times in my life that myself and, much more importantly, DC would have just gone without medical care if that was the case. That seems to go against your ‘fuck anyone over the age of 40 and give the kids unlimited access free ice cream’ ethos.

Obviously OP meant that "young people" shouldn't have to pay NI for the first five years of earnings, but everybody else should pay yet more tax to ensure the "young people" still get their contributions for those years so they won't have to work into old age, the poor lambs.