To say Ireland has the right idea: Budget 2023

[50percentNamaste50percentGoFuckYourself]

I watched agog at last weeks UK mini budget...an absolute travesty.

Today was Ireland's Budget 2023, which was much more impressive.
Hightlights include:

25% reduction in childcare fees
Extension of free GP care to cover half the country
Free contraception
Large reductions in third level fees (which were already a third of the UK)
Increases in lower tax bands
Increases in all social welfare payments
Double payment of child benefit
Electricity credits of 600€ per household
Reduced tax on fuels and energy costs
Increase rent tax credits
Funding for 10,000 new social homes
Increased third level grants
Removal hospital charges and free contraception extended

It's all concentrated on the cost of living, on making things easier for people on low and average wages, looking after those with less.

It's what a budget in these times should be

They’re going to build some. And hopefully they won’t be rotten from the ground up with pyrite or full of mica and within striking distance of a shop/ school/ hospital.

The £600 fuel credits won't touch the sides

In the UK we don't directly pay for contraception anyway.

What they should do with that tax is ring-fence it so that it can't be used for anything other than the Mica/Pyrite scandal payments and only when those impacted by that get sorted, can it be used for anything else. They should also make it legally binding that it cannot be passed on as a cost to the homebuyer and must be borne by the construction industry as a whole.

the benefits of being a home to tax avoiders

www.reuters.com/markets/europe/soaring-corporate-tax-an-incredible-vulnerability-irish-economy-official-2022-07-04/

Nothing much for the middle earners with older primary schools to get excited about. We will not been near close to keeping up with the cost of living increase.

Our health care is a joke. Unless you pay thousands for private health insurance you can't get anything done in a timely manner. Don't even get me started on dentists and braces. It will be closer to €4000 for each of my 3 children. A visit to the dentist is nearly €100 and that is just a check up and clean.

As for the schools that is a whole other problem. Again just books for primary, what about secondary schools. And a ratio of 23:1 🤣🤣🤣 that is only ever going to be possible in private primary schools. 30:1 in all my dc classes.

Only thing keeping me in this country is my elderly parents.

@LadybirdsAreNeverHappy - where is this mythical land where these houses are going to be built??? 😆

600€
It's a lot better than ZERO, isn't it?

A quick Google tells me corporation tax is 12.5% (very quick Google, so possibly out dated, apologies if so). Which suggests KK is right about not implementing the increase in UK corporation tax to 25% then?

What happens with finding for something like cancer or ICU, does the orient pay for that? Genuine question not being goady?

*funding

Possibly a bit ambitious. Some prefabs within striking distance of a train station perhaps.

Critical care is paid for.

In real terms, the benefits of most Irish employers include private healthcare.

For those who can't afford private healthcare, there is free medical treatment.
It's not equitable to a system like the US for example.

Everyone living in Ireland is entitled to a range of health services either free of charge or at reduced cost. You may have to pay €80 per day for overnight stays and in-patient day services such as chemotherapy if you don’t have a medical card or health insurance.
The maximum you will have to pay is €800 in any 12 consecutive months.
The HSE can also reduce or waive a charge if it’s causing you severe financial hardship.

Not sure about ICU.

Also some things such as a&e are free with a gp referral. If the gp refers you for things like X-rays, ultrasounds or other scans there’s often no charge

Indeed €600 is a lot more than zero.

Fortunately for us over on this side of the water, the energy price guarantee is worth considerably more than €600, which is the point I was making...

Unless I've misread they have axed the inpatient charge for all patients in hospital in todays budget. I am unsure of that includes the A&E charges tho

But your energy costs have risen much higher, is a better point.

No that's all free. There was an inpatient charge of up to 800 per year but that was often waived and was aboloshed today anyway.

I'm in the North and can't wait to reunify with you guys and end shit British government misrule on our island once and for all. It's only been over 800 years, after all. I also see the Irish government is pledging millions for cross community work and the Shared Island Initiative while the rotten British government tries to destroy the ONE thing we have going for us...the Protocol.

I'm in the North and can't wait to reunify with you guys

You're alright, thanks.

Yeah, I think the majority of the Republic don't want the 6 counties back apart from the staunch hardliners. We don't need or want the extra burden financially.

Reuters agree with you Op.
They've posted an article comparing the two budgets which makes grim reading for the Uk.

I DON'T know how it's being paid for but apparently the mantra is keep it flowing. Local businesses, shops, restaurants, bars, pubs, clothes shops, book shops. Keep the money coming and going and coming and going.

That's the thinking.

I'd say paying for this budget is no biggie compared with paying for the 55,000 ukrainians who are now on social welfare. Holy god miley how are we paying for that.

Great, we should lower corporation tax to 12% too. Why is everyone complaining that Truss kept it 19%. That’s too high.