Description
Over the last decade people have been pushed to the limit as a result of the Governments austerity policy.
REPAIR
REBUILD
RENEW
SINN FÉIN ALTERNATIVE BUDGET 2016 | CÁINAISNÉIS CHOMHROGHNACH SHINN FÉIN
OCTOBER 2015
DELIVERING
A F A I R R E C O V E R Y
T É A R N A M H C OT H R O M A S H O L ÁT H A R
CONTENTS
Introduction Page 5
Overall Balance Sheet Page 8
Budget 2016 Proposals Page 9
Réamhrá Page 15
Clár Comhordaithe Foriomlán Page 18
Moltaí Buiséid Shinn Féin 2016 Page 19
PART 1 - Cherishing all citizens of the nation equally Page 24
Capital Investment Programme
Emergency homeless accommodation
Increasing funding for women’s refuges
Addressing the crisis in the health service
Putting key resources back into education
Supporting Parents, Investing in childcare
Tackling income inequality
Protecting communities
Frontline workforce
Establish an Equality and Budgetary Advisory Body
Lansdowne Road Agreement/Haddington Road Agreement
Providing for demographics
PART 2 – Equal rights, equal opportunities Page 32
Tax measures, rebalancing the scales
Reining in politicians’ pay and pensions
Reining in high pay and excessive public spending
Low pay & the living wage
PART 3 – To pursue the happiness and
prosperity of the whole nation Page 37
Supporting and encouraging business
Building a strong island economy
Irish language and the Gaeltacht areas
Measures the Department were unable to cost Page 40
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Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
INTRODUCTION
DELIVERING A FAIR RECOVERY
Over the last decade people have been pushed to
the limit as a result of the Government’s austerity
policy. While things are undoubtedly getting better
for some, for the vast majority little has changed in
their day-to-day lives. The Government is merely
ofering more of the same and unless there is a
dramatic change, the impact of the cuts will be felt
for years to come.
The reality is that despite the economic crisis, the
wealthiest in society have become richer.
This is a policy, not an accident.
So, while 250 individuals saw their combined wealth
increase by 16% to €75 billion in the last twelve
months, the reality for the average family continues
to be lower income as a result of wage cuts, the
USC, water charges and property tax. This is on top
of the high cost of childcare, health care, housing,
education and other necessities. It is these families
who need to be supported in Budget 2016.
When they got into Government, Fine Gael and
Labour threw their election manifestos in the bin and
instead implemented Fianna Fáil’s economic plan.
Their cynical move has prolonged the recession,
forced half a million people to emigrate and
destroyed core elements of our public services.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in the health
service. Enda Kenny and Joan Burton can cry
crocodile tears and talk about a crisis in the
health service, but what is happening is not
some unforeseen disaster. It is the outworking of
Government policy.
You cannot take 9,255 whole time equivalent staf
out of the public health system in four and a half
years without an impact. The reason that an elderly
cancer patient spent fve days on a trolley at Our
Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda last month is
because of Government policy and if we want things
as shameful as this to stop happening we need
to change Government policy. Investment in core
public services needs to be urgently prioritised.
The Government’s plan for a 50:50 split between
spending and tax cuts isn’t the answer. It’s an
electoral ploy. The Sinn Féin plan is based on
‘Delivering a Fair Recovery’ and in it we have four
key priorities:
Fair taxation – this means easing the tax
burden on the average worker, including those
who are self-employed and asking those who
earn the most to pay their fair share.
An investment of over €1.7 billion in public
expenditure – this means 1,000 more Gardaí,
an additional 1,000 frontline posts in health to
include nurses, midwives and consultants and
more than 1,700 teachers.
Ambitious capital spend programme of €400
million.
Promoting the all-Ireland economy.
IN BUDGET 2016 SINN FÉIN WILL:
Put between €600 and €2,000 into the pockets
of the average worker or family, depending
on their wage and family circumstances, by
abolishing the property tax, stopping water
charges, removing approximately 100,000
workers from the USC, expanding access to
childcare, reducing the cost of health care, and
assisting with education costs.
Prioritise investment in health, education and
childcare.
Invest in disability services and supports.
Support and encourage SMEs and
entrepreneurs through the introduction of the
self-employed tax credit, the provision of seed
capital and other measures.
Increase funding to build social houses, to
tackle the homeless crisis, and to make capital
investment to grow the economy.
Explore the creation of a Border Economic
Development Zone to harmonise trade and
maximise returns for border businesses.
6
WHO IS PAYING MOST UNDER
FINE GAEL/LABOUR POLICIES?
1.8 million households are paying an
average of €244 each year in property tax.
300,000 mortgage holders are paying
thousands extra each year because the
Government refuses to deal with variable
interest rates being well above the
Eurozone average of 2.7% approx.. A 1%
reduction would save mortgage holders
an average of €2,000 a year on a €200,000
mortgage.
Almost 5,000 people were homeless in
July 2015, including 1,495 children.
7,775 patients were on hospital trollies in
June 2015, including two elderly women of
over 100 years of age.
77,000 carers had their respite grant cut by
20%.
615,000 families are in receipt of child
beneft for 1.2 million children. Over three
budgets FF/FG and Labour slashed child
beneft.
WHO IS GAINING UNDER FINE
GAEL AND LABOUR?
250 individuals saw their wealth increase
by 16% to €75 billion in the last twelve
months alone.
121 people availed of the SARP tax relief
for high earners at a cost of €1.895 million
to the Exchequer in 2013.
Anglo senior bondholders were paid in full
with billions of euro of taxpayers money.
Some special advisors to Government
ministers continue to be paid well above
the pay cap – up to €156,380 for Enda
Kenny’s advisors and €119,577 in Joan
Burton’s ofce.
Property developers were paid €11 million
a year in wages by NAMA. 15 were paid
between €150,000 to €199,000 per year.
Secretary Generals of Government
Departments: the Secretary General in the
Department of Jobs retired in May 2011
aged 59 with a lump sum of €380,452, a
gross severance gratuity in the amount of
€126,817 and is entitled to receive a gross
annual pension of €126,817.
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Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
Fianna Fáil brought the
economy to its knees
Fianna Fáil squandered the boom and brought
the economy to its knees. They protected the
wealthiest in society, including the property
developers and the senior bankers, and forced
ordinary people to pay by imposing new taxes and
charges, delivering savage cuts to public services
and forcing half a million people to emigrate. And if
they had been re-elected in 2011 they would have
continued to do the same. Fine Gael and Labour
have implemented the Fianna Fáil plan. Just prior
to the 2011 General Election, Fianna Fáil signed
up to the four-year so-called National Recovery
Plan, which committed them to four years of
tax increases, spending cuts and cuts to public
services. – The party’s plan wanted to:
Introduce water charges – with a scheme
for the metering of the domestic sector with
charging for domestic water by 2014
Cut public service staf numbers by 24,750
over 2008 levels (when we were just below
the OECD average in stafng levels)
Increase the student contribution to the costs
of third-level education
Cut the minimum wage by €1 per hour
Impose cuts to Social Welfare
Impose cuts to school funding, including all
capitation grants, grants for Adult Literacy,
Community Education, School Completion
Programme and Youthreach.
Accident and Emergency
The crisis in health is government policy
There were 7,775 people on hospital trolleys
in June. This was the highest ever level of
overcrowding in the month of June since the INMO
started Trolley Watch over 12 years ago. Every
month we hear horror stories about the treatment
of our elderly in A&E units, with not enough beds
or staf. This has long ceased to be a crisis. It’s
government policy and it needs to change.
December 2014
An 87-year old woman spent 57 hours on a trolley
and on a chair in a hall in University Hospital
Limerick.
February 2015
A 100-year-old woman was left waiting 24 hours
on a trolley in Tallaght hospital – sufering from a
potentially serious infection. She was one of up
to ten patients over the age of 80 left waiting on
trolleys up to 23 hours to be seen.
June 2015
Two elderly ladies, both over a hundred years old,
had to sufer the indignity of spending more than
24 hours on a trolley awaiting a hospital bed.
September 2015
An elderly cancer patient spent fve days on
a trolley at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in
Drogheda. The emergency department in Drogheda
is short of fve nurses in a hospital that this year
recorded its highest level of overcrowding since
2006.
8
OVERALL BALANCE SHEET
€million
Tax
Tax Income 1,110.7
Tax Spend -815
Net Tax Increase 295.7
Expenditure
Savings 341.12
Spend -1,736.82
Net Expenditure -1,395.7
Capital
Spend -400
Fiscal space 1,500
€million
Tax 295.7
Expenditure -1,395.7
Capital -400
Balance -1500
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Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
CAPITAL INVESTMENT PROGRAMME TOTAL: €400 million
SPENDING TOTAL: €1736.82 million
Homelessness and refuge services - page 24 Cost €25.45m
Dealing with the Crisis in the Health System - page 25-26 Cost €383m
Putting Key Resources back into Education - page 26-27 Cost €180.19m
Supporting Parents, Investing in Childcare - page 28 Cost €238.28m
Tackling Income Inequality - page 29-30 Cost €289.92m
Protecting Communities - page 30 Cost €21.7m
Establish an Equality and Budgetary Advisory Body - page 30 Cost €1.1m
Irish Language and supporting the Gaeltacht - page 39 Cost €5.95m
Frontline Workforce - page 30 Cost €20m
Introduce a Living Wage across the civil service - page 36 Cost €1.5m
Double current Trading Online Voucher Scheme for 2016 - page 37 Cost €2.73m
Lansdowne Road Agreement/Haddington Road Agreement - page 31 Cost €267m
Provision for demographics - page 31 Cost €300m
Sinn Féin Budget 2016 proposals
10
SAVINGS TOTAL: €341.12 million
Reduce public sector pay and pensions of the highest earners in the
public sector
Saves €15.28m
Reduce Oireachtas pay (€75,000 TDs, €60,000 Senators) and
allowances including the Taoiseach and Ministers (by 50% on portion of
salary over €75,000)
Saves €5.59m
Reduce General Government Expenditure Saves €21.45m
As part of the abolition of water charges withdraw the Water
Conservation Grant
Saves €130m
2% reduction in branded medicines Saves €36m
Phased withdrawal of private school annual state subsidy over fve years Saves €20.6m
Regulation of the Financial Sector Saves €70m
Wind-down JobBridge Scheme Saves €7.9m
Cancel Gateway Scheme Saves €5.6m
Greater use of JobsPlus (5,000) Saves €28.7m
TAX SPEND TOTAL: €815 million
Easing the burden on families, workers and businesses
Abolition of the Property Tax Cost €440m
End water charges Cost €210.5m
Take workers earning €19,572 or less out of the USC Cost €93m
Introduce Tax Credits for the Self Employed Cost €39m
Increase employee & employer PRSI bands in line with Sinn Féin’s €1
per hour increase to the National Minimum Wage
Cost €21.5m
Making the Gaeltacht more afordable Cost €4.5m
Abolish administration fee from VRT Export Repayment Scheme Cost €1m
Encouraging Entrepreneurs Cost €5m
Extend the 50% relief for indigenous Craft Beer to 35,000 hectolitres Cost €0.5m
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Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
TAX YIELD TOTAL: €1,110.7 million
Capital and Property Taxes
Re-introduce the second home charge and increase to €400 per annum Yield €110m
Increase Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on passive investments by 2% to 35% Yield €0
Increase Capital Acquisitions Tax by 3% to 36% Yield €31m
Excise Duties & Levies
Increase betting shop tax to be applied to customer to 3% Yield €50m
Duty on Liquid Nicotine for e-cigarettes Yield €8.3m
Increase excise duty on a packet of cigarettes by 20c Yield €26m
Increase Bank Levy from 35% to 45% Yield €44m
Introduce a 5% Sugary Sweetened Drinks Tax Yield €49m
Income Tax
Increase tax paid on income over €100,000 by 7 cent in each euro Yield €283m
PRSI
Introduce new 15.75% rate of Employers PRSI on portion of salary in
excess of €100,000
Yield €267.4m
Tax Evasion
Increase Revenue Commissioner’s activity to target tax evasion Yield €25m
Pensions
Reduce the ‘earnings cap’ for pension contributions from €115,000 per
annum to €60,000
Yield €135m
Standardise the relief at which tax back can be claimed, beginning with
a reduction to 35% in 2016
Yield €82m
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Married, one child, one self-employed earner
Donal and Mary are married living in a home they own in Dublin with one child aged 15. Donal works as
carpenter earning €40,000. Donal will beneft from a tax credit as a self-employed earner to the value of
€500. An increase in their child beneft of €60 (€5 per month).Tax credit for their son who will attend Irish
College in the summer of 2016 of €190. Abolition of the property tax saves the family €420. Abolition of
water charges saves €260. Income increases by €1,430.
Self-employed tax credit: +€500
Child Beneft increase: +€60
College Tax Credit: +€190
Abolished Property Tax: +€420
Abolished Water Charges: +€260
Total income increase: €1,430
Income: €40,000
Married with two children, both PAYE workers
John and Aine are married living in a home they own in Donegal. John works as a forklift driver on €40,000 and
Aine works in a care home earning €20,000. They have two children aged 18 and 19 both in college.
John and Aine will beneft through: Abolition of the property tax €315. Abolition of water charges €260. Reduce
third level student contribution fee by €1,000 (€500 x 2). Their income is increased by €1,575.
Abolished Property Tax: +€315
Abolished Water Charges: +€260
Reduced Third level fee: +€1,000
Total income increase: €1,575
Income 1: €40,000 Income 2: €20,000
Case Studies - Sinn Féin Budget 2016
*
* If the household is registered with Irish Water the total income increase will be reduced by €100.
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Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
Living alone, retired and on state pension
Josephine 76 is retired, living in her own home in Cork City. Josephine benefts from: Abolition of water
charges €160. Abolition of property tax €283. Increase Fuel Allowance by 3 weeks, worth a total of €60.
€9.50 per month to provide for a telephone allowance, equalling €114 per year.
Josephine’s income increases by €617.
Abolished Property Tax: +€283
Abolished Water Charges: +€160
Increase Fuel Allowance: +€60
Telephone Allowance: +€114
Total income increase: €617
College graduate, unemployed
Michael has just graduated from NUIG and is unemployed. Michael will beneft from an additional €40
per week in his jobseekers’ payments. Michael won’t have to pay water charges for his accommodation
saving him €160. His total income is increased by €2,240.
Jobseekers increase: +€2,080
Abolished Water Charges: +€160
Total income increase: €2,240
Single, 50, with grown up children living abroad
Mary is single, 50, living in rented accomodation and her grown up children now live abroad. She works 30
hours each week in her local shop earning the national minimum wage. Mary will beneft by: €1 per hour
increase to the national minimum wage giving her an additional €1,560 each year. Our increase in the PRSI
exemption in tandem with the minimum wage increase means Mary will continue to be exempt from PRSI.
Mary will no longer have to pay USC putting €286 back into her pocket each year. She will also save €160
as she will not have to pay water charges. Mary’s total income will increase by €2,006
Minimum wage increase: +€1,560
USC Exemption: +€286
Abolished Water Charges: +€160
Total income increase: €2,006
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Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
RÉAMHRÁ
TÉARNAMH COTHROM A SHOLÁTHAR
Le deich mbliana anuas rinneadh daoine a bhrú chuig
an imeall mar gheall ar pholasaí déine an Rialtais. Níl
aon amhras ná go bhfuil an saol ag daoine áirithe ag
dul i bhfeabhas, ach don chuid is mó níor tháinig mórán
d’athrú ar an saol s’acu. Níl i ndán dúinn ón Rialtas ach
tuilleadh den méid céanna agus mura dtagann athrú
ollmhór ar chúrsaí, beimid thíos leis mar gheall ar na
ciorruithe leis na blianta fada atá amach romhainn.
Is í fírinne an scéil ná gur éirigh leis na daoine ba
shaibhre sa tsochaí ní ba shaibhre, in ainneoin go bhfuil
géarchéim ann sa gheilleagar.
Tharla sé seo mar gheall ar pholasaí, ní de thaisme.
De réir mar a tháinig méadú de 16% go €75 billiún
ar shaibhreas 250 duine le dhá mhí dhéag anuas, is í
lomchnámh na fírinne don ghnáth-theaghlach ná go
bhfuil laghdú ag teacht isteach an ioncam, mar thoradh
ar chiorruithe tuarastal, an USC, muirir uisce agus cáin
réadmhaoine. Tá sé seo ar bharr an chostais mhóir ar
chúram leanaí, cúram sláinte, tithíocht, oideachas agus
ábhar eile atá riachtanach. Is siad na teaghlaigh seo a
bhfuil tacaíocht de dhíth orthu i mBuiséad 2016.
Nuair a cuireadh isteach sa Rialtas iad is amhlaidh gur
chaith Fine Gael agus Páirtí an Lucht Oibre a bhforógraí
olltoghcháin sa bhruscar agus ina áit sin chuir siad
plean Fhianna Fáil don gheilleagar i bhfeidhm. Is mar
gheall ar na hiarrachtaí ciniciúla seo a cuireadh leis an
gcúlú, arbh éigean do leathmhilliún duine dul ar imirce
agus a scriosadh croí-eilimintí ár seirbhísí poiblí.
Ní léire é seo in áit ar bith eile ná sa tseirbhís sláinte. Is
féidir le Enda Kenny agus Joan Bruton ligean orthu féin
gur cúis imní dóibh í géarchéim a bheith sa tseirbhís
sláinte.
Ní tubaiste nach rabhthas ag dúil leis, áfach, atá ag tarlú
sa tseirbhís sláinte, is toradh ar pholasaí an Rialtais atá
ann.
Ní féidir 9,255 d’fhoireann lánaimseartha a ghlacadh
amach sa córas na sláinte poiblí laistigh de cheithre
bliana go leith gan tionchar a bheith ann. Is í an chúis
gur chaith seanduine a raibh ailse air cúig lá ar throlaí
in Otharlann Mhuire Lourdes i nDroichead Átha an
mhí seo caite ná polasaí an Rialtais agus má táimid ag
iarraidh go dtiocfaidh deireadh lena leithéid de rudaí
náireacha ní mór dúinn polasaí an Rialtais a athrú. Ní
mór tosaíocht a dhéanamh láithreach d’infheistíocht inár
gcroí-sheirbhísí poiblí.
Ní hé plean an Rialtais le haghaidh scoilt 50:50 idir
caiteachas agus ciorruithe imeallacha cánach an
freagra. Is cleas roimh an olltoghchán é. Tá plean Shinn
Féin bunaithe ar ‘Téarnamh cothrom a sholáthar’ agus
sa phlean tá ceithre phríomhthosaíochtaí againn:
Cáin Chothrom - ciallaíonn sé sin an t-ualach
cánach a laghdú ar an ngáthoibrí, lena n-áirítear
iad siúd atá féinfhostaithe agus ag iarraidh orthu
siúd a thuilleann an méid is mó a gcion cothrom
féin a íoc.
Infheistíocht €1.7 billiún i caiteachas poiblí -
ciallaíonn sé sin tuilleadh banaltraí, dochtúir,
múinteoirí agus Gardaí.
An fód a sheasamh in aghaidh na mbaincéirí
lena chinntiú go laghdaítear na hollrátaí úis atá
á ngearradh ar shealbhóirí morgáistí. Bheadh
coigilteas de €2,000 sa bhliain ar mhorgáiste
€200,000 ar an meán do shealbhóirí morgáistí dá
mbeadh laghdú de 1% ann.
An ngeilleagar uile Éireann a fhorbairt.
I MBUISÉAD 2016 IS AMHLAIDH GO NDÉANFAIDH
SINN FÉIN AN MÉID SEO A LEANAS:
Cuirfear idir €600 - €2,000 isteach i bpócaí an
ghnáthoibrí nó clann, ag brath ar a thuarastal
agus ar chúinsí an teaghlaigh trí dheireadh a chur
leis an gcáin réadmhaoine, deireadh a chur le
muirir uisce, thart ar 100,000 oibrí a bhaint den
USC, rochtain ar chúram leanaí a leathnú, costas
cúraim leanaí a laghdú, agus cuidiú le costais
oideachasúla.
Déanfar tosaíocht de shláinte, oideachas agus
cúram leanaí.
Déanfar infheistíocht i seirbhísí agus i
dtacaíochtaí míchumais.
Tacófar agus spreagfar Fiontair Bheaga agus
Mheánmhéide agus fontraithe trí chreidmheas
cánach do dhaoine féinfhostaithe a thabhairt
isteach, agus síol-chaipitil agus bearta eile a
sholáthar.
Méadófar maoiniú chun tithe sóisialta a thógáil
agus le dul i ngleic le géarchéim na ndaoine
atá gan dídean, agus méadófar maoiniú chuig
infheistíocht chaipitil chun an geilleagar a
fhorbairt.
Crios Forbartha le haghaidh Gheilleagar na
Teorann a chruthú.
16
CÉ ATÁ AG ÍOC AN MÉID IS MÓ
MAR GHEALL AR PHOLASAITHE
FHINE GAEL / PHÁIRTÍ AN LUCHT
OIBRE?
1.8 milliún teaghlaigh ag íoc €244 ar an meán
gach bliain ar cháin réadmhaoine.
300,000 sealbhóir morgáiste ag íoc na mílte
sa bhreis gach bliain as siocair go ndiúltaíonn
an Rialtas plé le rátaí éagsúlaithe úis i bhfad
níos airde ná an meán i Limistéar an Euro.
Choigleofaí breis agus €400m d’íocaíochtaí
do bhreis agus 300,000 teaghlach mar gheall
ar chiorrú de 1 faoin gcéad. (Stocbhróicéirí
Goodbody – Aibreán 2015)
Bhí thart ar 5,000 daoine gan dídean in Iúil
2015, agus 1,495 páiste ina measc.
7,775 othar ar thralaithe otharlainne i
Meitheamh 2015, agus beirt sheanbhan ina
measc a bhí níos sine ná 100 bliain d’aois.
77,000 cúramóir - ar gearradh an deontas
faoisimh orthu le 20%
615,000 teaghlach ag fáil sochar linbh le
haghaidh 1.2 milliún páiste. Thar thréimhse
ama thrí bhuiséad, ghearr FF/FG agus Páirtí an
Lucht Oibre sochar linbh a scoradh.
CÉ ATÁ AG DÉANAMH DUL CHUN
CINN MAR GHEALL AR FHINE
GAEL AGUS PHÁIRTÍ AN LUCHT
OIBRE?
Tháinig méadú de 16% go €75 billiún ar
shaibhreas 250 duine le dhá mhí dhéag anuas.
Bhain 121 duine leas as faoiseamh cánach
SARP le haghaidh saothraithe arda ar chostas
€1.895 milliún don Státchiste i 2013.
Íocadh sealbhóirí bonda sinsearacha Anglo ina
n-iomláine le na billiúin euro cháiníocóirí.
Comhairleoirí speisialta ag airí Rialtais - cuid
acu atá go fóill á n-íoc ar leibhéal i bhfad níos
airde ná an uasteorainn tuarastail - suas le
€156,380 do chomhairleoirí Enda Kenny agus
€119,577 in oifg Joan Bruton.
Forbróirí réadmhaoine ar íocadh €11 milliún sa
bhliain dóibh mar thuarastal ag NAMA. Íocadh
idir €150,000 go €199,000 le 15 acu sa bhliain.
Ard-Rúnaithe Rannóga Rialtais - chuaigh an
tArd-Rúnaí ar an Rannóg Fostaíochta ar scor
i mBealtaine 2011 agus é 59 mbliana d’aois
agus íocadh cnapshuim de €380,452 leis,
chomh maith le pacáiste scarúna comhláin
de €126,817 agus tá sé i dteideal pinsean
comhláin sa bhliain de €126,817.
17
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
Scrios Fianna Fáil an
geilleagar
Is é Fianna Fáil an páirtí a chuir an borradh amú agus
a scrios an geilleagar. Chosain Fianna Fáil an dream
ba shaibhre sa tsochaí, forbróirí réadmhaoine agus
baincéirí sinsearacha agus thug ar dhaoine íoc as trí
cháin agus trí mhuirir nua, trí chiorruithe fíochmhara ar
sheirbhísí poiblí agus a thug ar leathmhilliún duine dul
ar imirce. Agus dá dtoghfaí arís iad i 2011 leanfaidís
ar aghaidh ar an bport céanna. Tá plean Fhianna Fáil
curtha i bhfeidhm ag Fine Gael agus ag Páirtí an Lucht
Oibre. Roimh Olltoghchán 2011, shínigh Fianna Fáil
leis an bPlean Ceithre Bliana - Plean an Téarnaimh
Náisiúnta a chuir de cheangal orthu cloí le ceithre
bliana de mhéaduithe i gcúrsaí cánach, i gciorruithe ar
chaiteachas agus i gciorruithe ar sheirbhísí poiblí.- ba
é an plean a bhí leis an phlean ceithre bliana:
Muirir uisce a thabhairt isteach - agus scéim ann le
méadrú a chur i bhfeidhm san earnáil bhaile agus
muirear ann ar uisce an bhaile ó 2014 ar aghaidh.
Gearradh siar ar líon na ndaoine fostaithe sa
tseirbhís phoiblí le 24,750 thar leibhéil 2008 (nuair
a bhí muid go díreach faoin meán OECD maidir le
meánleibhéil foirne)
Ranníocaíocht mac léinn a mhéadú le costais
oideachas tríú leibhéal
An t-íosphá a ghearradh ag €1 in aghaidh na huaire
Ciorruithe a chur i bhfeidhm ar leas sóisialta
Ciorruithe a chur i bhfeidhm ar mhaoiniú scileanna
lena n-áirítear gach deontas caipitíochta, deontas
le haghaidh Litearthachta ag Daoine Fásta,
Oideachais Phobail, an Chláir Chríochnaithe
Scolaíochta, agus Ógtheagmháil.
Rannóga Timpistí agus Éigeandála
Ní géarchéim atá ann, is polasaí de chuid an Rialtais atá ann
Bhí 7,775 duine ar thralaithe otharlainne i
Meitheamh. Ba é seo an leibhéal ab airde riamh
plódaithe i mí an Mheithimh ón thosaigh an INMO
ar Trolley Watch breis agus 12 bliain ó shin. Gach
mí cluinimid scéalta uafáis faoin dóigh a gcaitear
le daoine scothaosta sna haonaid Timpistí agus
Éigeandála agus gach leor leor leapacha ná
foireann ann. Is i bhfad ó ghéarchéim atá ann
anois. Is polasaí an rialtais atá ann agus ní mór dó
athrú.
Nollaig 2014
Chaith bean 87 mbliana d’aois 57 uair an chloig
ar thralaí agus ar chathaoir i halla in Ospidéil na
hOllscoile, Luimneach.
Feabhra 2015
Fágadh beann 100 bliain d’aois ag fanacht 24 uair
an chloig ar thralaí in Ospidéil Thamhlachta - agus
í ag fulaingt mar gheall ar ionfhabhtú a d’fhéadfadh
a bheith tromchúiseach. Bhí sé ar dhuine de
dheichniúr othar thar 80 bliain d’aois a fágadh ag
fanacht ar thralaithe le suas le 23 uair an chloig
sular bacadh leo.
Meitheamh 2015
Bhí ar bheirt bhan scothaosta, an bheirt acu thar
100 bliain d’aois, fulaingt go náireach agus iad ag
fanacht breis agus 24 uair an chloig ar thralaí ag
fanacht ar leaba san otharlann.
Meán Fómhair 2015
Chaith seanduine a raibh ailse air cúig lá ar throlaí
in Otharlann Mhuire Lourdes i nDroichead Átha. Tá
an Rannóg Éigeandála i nDroichead Átha cúigear
banaltraí gann in otharlann a bhfuil an leibhéal is
airde plódaithe ann ó bhí 2006 ann.
18
CLÁR COMHORDAITHE FORIOMLÁN
€milliún
Cáin
Ioncam Cánach 1,110.7
Caiteachas Cánach -815
Méadú Cháin Ghlan 295.7
Caiteachas
Coigiltí 341.12
Caiteachas na Roinne -1,736.82
Caiteachas Ghlan -1,395.7
Caipitil
Caiteachas -400
Spás Fioscach 1500
€milliún
Cáin 295.7
Caiteachas -1,395.7
Caipitil -400
Cothromaíocht -1500
19
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
CLÁR INFHEISTÍOCHTA CHAIPITIÚIL IOMLÁN: €400 MILLIÚN
CAITEACHAS IOMLÁN: €1736.82 MILLIÚN
Seirbhísí do dhaoine gan dídean agus do thearmann Costas €25.45m
Ag Plé leis an nGéarchéim sa Chóras Sláinte Costas €383m
Acmhainní a chur ar ais sa Chóras Oideachais Costas €180.19m
Tacú le Tuismitheoirí, Infheistíocht i gCúram Leanaí Costas €238.28m
Dul i nGleic le hÉagothroime Ioncaim Costas €289.92m
Pobail a chosaint Costas €21.7m
Buiséadú Cothroime Costas €1.1m
An Ghaeilge agus tacú leis an nGaeltacht Costas €5.95m
Fórsa Oibre Líne Thosaigh Costas €20m
Tuarastal Maireachtála a thabhairt isteach sa Státseirbhís Costas €1.5m
Scéim Dearbhán le haghaidh Trádáil ar Líne a dhúbláil do 2016 Costas €2.73m
Comhaontú Bhóthar Lansdún /Comhaontú Bhóthar Haddington Costas €267m
Soláthar do Féimeagrafaic Costas €300m
Moltaí Buiséid 2016
20
COIGILTÍ IOMLÁN: €341.12 milliún
Pá agus pinsean san earnáil phoiblí ag na saothraithe is mó a laghdú Coigilt €15.28m
Tuarastal an Oireachtais a laghdú (€75,000 Tdanna, €60,000 Seanadóirí)
agus liúntais lena n-áirítear an Taoiseach agus Airí (le 50% ar thuarastal
thar€75,000)
Coigilt €5.59m
Caiteachas Ginearálta an Rialtais a laghdú Coigilt €21.45m
Mar chuid de na muirir uisce a chur ar ceal, an Deontas um
Chaomhnaithe Uisce a bhaint ar shiúl
Coigilt €130m
Laghdú de 2% i gcógas brandáilte Coigilt €36m
Deireadh a chur go céimneach leis an bhfóirdheontas bliantúil ón stát do
scoileanna príobháideacha thar cúig bliana
Coigilt €20.6m
An Earnáil Airgeadais a rialú Coigilt €70m
Deireadh a chur go céimneach le scéim JobBridge Coigilt €7.9m
Deireadh a chur le Scéim Gateway Coigilt €5.6m
Úsáid níos fearr le baint as JobsPlus (5,000) Coigilt €28.7m
CAITEACHAS CÁNACH IOMLÁN: €815 milliún
An t-ualach ar theaghlaigh, oibrithe agus ar ghnólachtaí a laghdú
Deireadh a chur leis an gcáin réadmhaoine Costas €440m
Deireadh a chur le muirir uisce Costas €210.5m
Oibrithe a thuilleann níos lú ná €19,572 a ghlacadh amach as an Muirear
Sóisialta uilíoch
Costas €93m
Creidmheas Cánach a thabhairt isteach do dhaoine féinfhostaithe Costas €39m
Bandaí ÁSPC fostaithe agus fostóirí a ardú de réir mhéadú Shinn Féin €1
san uair leis an Íosphás Náisiúnta
Costas €21.5m
An Ghaeltacht a dhéanamh níos inacmhainne Costas €4.5m
Deireadh a chur leis an táille riaracháin ón Scéim Aisíocaíochta
Easpórtála VRT
Costas €1m
Fiontraithe a spreagadh Costas €5m
An faoiseamh de 50% le haghaidh Beoir Cheirde a shíneadh go 35,000
heictilítear
Costas €0.5m
21
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
TORADH CÁNACH IOMLÁN: €1,110.7 milliún
Cáin Mhaoine agus Réadmhaoine
An muirear ar an dara teach a thabhairt isteach arís agus a mhéadú go
€400 sa bhliain
Toradh €110m
Cáin ghnóthachan caipitiúil a mhéadú ar (CGT) ar infheistíochtaí
éighníomhacha le 2% go 35%
Toradh €0
Cáin Fháltas Caipitiúil a mhéadú le 3% to 36% Toradh €31m
Dleacht Stampála agus Máil
An cháin ar shiopaí geallghlacadóireachta a ardú to 3% ac a chur i
bhfeidhm ar an gcustaiméir
Toradh €50m
Dleacht ar Leacht-Nicitín le haghaidh r-thoitíní Toradh €8.3m
An dleacht máil ar bhosca toitíní a ardú le 20c Toradh €26m
An Tobhadh Bainc a ardú ó 35% go 45% Toradh €44m
Cáin ar Dheochanna lán Siúcra de 5% a thabhairt isteach Toradh €49m
Cáin Ioncaim
An cháin a íoctar ar ioncam thar €100,000 a mhéadú le 7 cent i ngach
euro
Toradh €283m
ÁSPC
Ráta nua fostóra ÁSPC de 15.75% a thabhairt isteach ar chuid an
tuarastail thar €100,000 a íoctar gach bliain
Toradh €267.4m
Imghabháil Cánach
Gníomhaíocht an Choimisinéara Ioncaim a mhéadú le díriú isteach ar
Imghabháil cánach
Toradh €25m
Pinsin
Teorainn tuillimh a laghdú le haghaidh ranníocaíochtaí pinsin ón
€115,000 sa bhliain go €60,000 sa bhliain
Toradh €135m
An leibhéal faoisimh ar ar féidir cáin a éileamh ar ais a chaighdeánú, ag
tosú le laghdú 35% i 2015
Toradh €82m
22
Pósta, leanbh amháin, saothraí amháin féinfhostaithe
Tá Donal agus Mary pósta ar a chéile agus ina gcónaí i dteach ar leo é i mBaile Átha Cliath agus leanbh amháin acu atá
15 bliana d’aois. Oibríonn Donal mar shiúinéir agus tuilleann sé €40,000 sa bhliain. Bainfdh Donal leas as creidmheas
cánach mar shaothraí féinfhostaithe ar fú €500 é. Meadófar an liúntas sochair linbh go €60 (€5 sa mhí). Beidh
creidmheas cánach ann dá mac a dhéanfaidh freastal ar Choláiste Gaeilge i Samhradh 2016 de luach €190. Sábhálann
deireadh leis an gcáin réadmhaoine €420. Sábhálann deireadh leis na muirir uisce €260. Méadaíonn ioncam le €1,430.
Creidmheas cánach féinfhostaithe: +€500
Meadú sochair linbh: +€60
Creidmheas cánach choláiste: +€190
Deireadh le cáin réadmhaoine: +€420
Deireadh le muirir uisce: +€260
Méadú ioncam iomlán: €1,430
Ioncam: €40,000
Pósta agus beirt leanaí acu, an bheirt acu in n-oibrithe ÍMAT
Tá John agus Áine pósta ar a chéile i dteach ar leo féin é i Dún na nGall. Oibríonn John mar thiománaí forcardaitheora ar
€40,000 agus oibríonn Áine i dteach cúraim ag tuilleadh €20,000. Tá beirt leanaí acu agus iad 18 mbliana d’aois agus 19
mbliana d’aois agus iad beirt ar choláiste. Bainfdh John agus Áine leas as: Deireadh a chur leis an gcáin €315. Deireadh
a chur leis na muirir uisce €260. Táille ranníocaíochta mic léinn tríú leibhéal a laghdú le €1,000 (€500 x 2). Méadaítear a
n-ioncam le €1,575.
Deireadh le cáin réadmhaoine: +€315
Deireadh le muirir uisce: +€260
Laghdú táillí mhic léinn: +€1,000
Méadú ioncam iomlán: €1,575
Ioncam 1: €40,000 / Ioncam 2: €20,000
Sinn Féin - Buiséad 2016
-Téarnamh cothrom a sholáthar
23
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
Ina cónaí léi féin agus ar phinsean stáit
Tá Josephine 76 bliain d’aois, ina cónaí ina teach féin i gCathair Chorcaigh. Baineann Josephine leas as:
Deireadh a chur leis na muirir uisce €160. Deireadh a chur leis an gcáin réadmhaoine €283. An Liúntas
Breosla a ardú le trí seachtaine, ar fú €60 san iomlán é. €9.50 sa mhí le caitheamh ar liúntas gutháin, arb
ionann agus €114 sa bhliain é. Méadaíonn ioncam Josephine le €617.
Deireadh le cáin réadmhaoine: +€283
Deireadh le muirir uisce: +€160
Ardú liúntas breosla: +€60
Liúntas gutháin: +€114
Méadú ioncam iomlán: €617
Céimí Coláiste, dífhostaithe
Tá Micheal i ndiaidh céim a bhaint ó Choláiste na hOllscoile, Gaillimh agus tá sé dífhostaithe. Bainfdh
Micheal leas as €40 sa bhreis sa tseachtain as na híocaíochtaí cuardaitheoirí poist. Ní bheidh ar Michael
muirir uisce a íoc dá lóistín agus sábhálfaidh sé sin €160. Méadaítear a n-ioncam le €2240.
Meadú híocaíochtaí
cuardaitheoirí poist: +€2,080
Deireadh le muirir uisce: +€160
Méadú ioncam iomlán: €2,240
Singil, 50 bliain d’aois, agus tá cónaí ar a páistí fásta anois thar lear
Tá Mary singil, 50 bliain d’aois, agus tá cónaí ar a páistí fásta anois thar lear. Oibríonn sí 30 uair an chloig sa tseachtain
ina siopa áitiúil agus í ag saothrú an íosphá náisiúnta. Bainfdh Mary leas as: Méadú de €1 ar an íosphá náisiúnta
agus €1,560 sa bhreis aici sa bhliain. Tá an ár méadú sa díolúine ÁSPC de réir an mhéaduithe san íosphá náisiúnta a
chiallaíonn go mbeidh Mary go fóil saor ó ÁSPC. Ní bheidh ar Mary USC a íoc agus cuirfear €286 ar ais ina póca gach
bliain. Sábhálfaidh sí €160 freisin as siocair nach mbeidh uirthi muirir uisce a íoc. Méadófar ioncam iomlán Mary le
€2,006.
Meadú íosphá náisiúnta: € 1,560
Díolúine USC: +€286
Deireadh le muirir uisce: +€160
Méadú ioncam iomlán: €2,006
24
PART 1
CHERISHING ALL CITIZENS OF THE NATION EQUALLY
ENHANCED CAPITAL
INVESTMENT PROGRAMME –
COST €400M
Sinn Féin is proposing an enhanced €400 million
capital investment programme prioritising housing
build (€300 million), roads and broadband provision.
The Government intends to increase capital spend
by €180 million in 2016. In its frst year in ofce,
with its frst budget, it slashed €750 million from
the capital budget. In any recovery, this budget has
to be substantially increased, both to remedy the
damage done to existing services and stock and
also to stimulate the economy through job creation
and materials consumption.
We are substantially increasing housing build spend
to address the housing crisis and to create jobs
in 2016. There are ofcially 89,872 households on
local authority waiting lists. However, recent fgures
suggest the number in need of housing could be as
high as 130,000 households.
We do not believe the Government’s Housing 2020
strategy will deliver on its promises and its funding
sources and commitments are vague in detail.
€300 million will allow for a further 1,680 houses to
be built in 2016 on top of existing government plans.
HOMELESSNESS AND REFUGE
SERVICES – COST €25.45M
Funding for emergency homeless
accommodation Cost €20m
In the frst half of 2015 over 1,000 children were
sleeping in emergency accommodation every
night. 78 families are presenting as homeless
each month. All the major homeless charities
have stated that their budgets cannot cope. Local
Authority services are straining.
The government’s claim that funding is not the
issue is at odds with the view of on-the-ground
responders to homelessness. The number of
placements into emergency accommodation in
Dublin increased from 147 per night in 2014 to 227
per night in Q1 2015 (Focus Ireland/Peter McVerry
Trust). It costs an average of €3 million to house
50 families in emergency accommodation per
annum.
We are calling for – in line with a series of other
measures outlined in our full housing policy to be
launched this autumn – an additional emergency
€20 million for 2016 to ensure no family is left
sleeping on the streets next year. We are also
demanding that Minister Alan Kelly fulfl his
promises on funding due to be released to Local
Authorities and that the Government meets its
commitment to cover 90% of section 10 funding
for homeless services.
Increase funding for women’s refuges
Cost €5.45m
In June of this year, Women’s Aid released its
annual report and stated that in 2014 it had
received complaints of 16,464 cases of violence
against women, some of them repeat instances,
as well as 5,786 child abuse reports. Domestic
violence is a leading cause of homelessness for
women and children, but worse, the absence of
enough refuge spaces for women trying to escape
abusive partners is forcing them to stay in violent
and sometimes life-threatening relationships.
Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, reported
that up to 80 per cent of women feeing domestic
violence were turned away from Dublin refuges in
the frst quarter of this year because of the crisis
in accommodation in the capital city (Irish Times
July 2015). We believe funding for refuges should
be ringfenced from all cuts and an increase of
€5.45 million be applied to this budget.
25
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
DEALING WITH THE CRISIS IN
THE HEALTH SYSTEM – COST
€383M
Emergency Department trolley crisis –
Cost €86.28m
Emergency Department (ED) services have
been at crisis point for some time, as regularly
highlighted by the ‘Trolley Watch’ survey
carried out by the Irish Nurses and Midwives
Organisation. The trolley crisis is not just an
ED crisis but a symptom of the malaise that is
endemic across the wider health system. It is
primarily due to a lack of capacity resulting from
the chronic failure of government to provide
adequate funding to the public health system.
There are insufcient staf and beds in the acute
hospital system; insufcient exit packages; and
insufcient nursing home beds or home care
options. Sinn Féin is prioritising the provision of
an additional 500 nurses to tackle the crisis in the
EDs themselves and to open further beds across
the system. We would also increase the number of
Registered Nurse Prescribers. And in developing
sustainable solutions to the issue of delayed
discharges we have provided for additional
nursing home beds, home help hours and home
care packages.
Waiting times crisis Cost €55.83m
The Irish Hospital Consultants Association has
highlighted the real cost to the health system of
agency consultants, which work out at twice the
price of a long-serving permanent consultant
and three times the cost of a new consultant.
Sinn Féin has prioritised the recruitment of an
additional 250 hospital consultants and medical
secretaries for 2016. These posts are vital if we
are to tackle shamefully long waiting times for
consultations and treatments.
Increase maternity resources
Cost €15.16m
Ireland had the highest per capita birth rate
of all 28 member countries of the EU in 2014.
Despite this, maternity care in Ireland has been
left in crisis, with shortages of staf in hospitals
across the state. Our maternity services are
severely understafed, lacking both midwives
and obstetricians. Sinn Féin would recruit an
additional 250 midwives, and obstetricians and
gynaecologists from our new consultant intake for
2016.
Increase investment in mental health
services Cost €29.16m
Year after year the Government has failed to
deliver on its mental health commitments. Despite
a greater need for mental health services, there
are 1,200 fewer mental health staf now than there
were in 2006. Sinn Féin believes that the ‘A Vision
for Change’ strategy for mental health must be
implemented. We intend to address stafng-level
shortcomings with a particular focus on stafng
Child and Adolescent Mental Health teams, the
provision of suicide critical assessment nurses
and mental health intellectual disability posts and
increasing access to the Counselling in Primary
Care service.
Increase funding to disability services
Cost €45.89m
565,000 people in this state reported having
various forms of disability in the last census.
Disability is a societal issue, afecting people of
all ages and their families, directly and indirectly.
Despite disability having being proclaimed
as a focus for the Government, the recession
and austerity imposed has seen a reduction in
services for those with disabilities in the order of
14-16%. Sinn Féin’s budget proposals provide for
between 500 and 600 occupational therapists,
physiotherapists, speech and language therapists,
and psychologists, and additional funding for
personal assistant hours and community based
neuro-rehabilitation teams and transitional
services.
Medical Card Reform Cost €21.29m
Some of our sickest and most vulnerable citizens
continue to go without medical cards. With
the exception of childhood cancer, the time-
consuming and onerous fnancial audit of the
entire household remains the sole criteria upon
which eligibility for a medical card is based.
This is despite promises by government to build
compassion into the system. Our proposals
include providing an automatic medical card for
children with signifcant medical needs arising
from serious illness or disability.
Further provisions for the extension of free
GP visits to the remainder of the population,
commencing with lower income households and
for the expansion of GP capacity to facilitate this
roll-out will be included in an upcoming Health
Policy document. We are now providing for an
initial increase in the number of GPs in training.
26
Address high cost of prescription
charges and medicines Cost €33.9m
The overwhelming body of evidence shows that
charges for drugs can lead to higher costs on
the health budget in the medium to longer term,
not to mention the serious strain and ill efects
they can have on the health of those who need
medications. As a frst step in phasing them out,
we would reduce the charge per prescription
by 50c as well as lowering the Drug Payment
Scheme monthly limit from €144 to €132.
Increase investment in dental care
Cost €81.1m
During the recession there has been a drastic
scaling back across the three main felds of
public-funded dental provision. As with other
frontline services the recruitment moratorium has
had a negative efect on frontline dental services,
and waiting lists have become shamefully long.
We would provide an additional 80 dentists,
including orthodontists, and 120 dental nurses,
expand orthodontic treatment for children, extend
the annual dental check-up, and restore funding
for maintenance treatments.
Increase emergency ambulance cover
Cost €7.8m
Many communities across the country
experience long and dangerous delays waiting for
ambulances. HIQA sets the targets in which 80
per cent of life-threatening cardiac or respiratory
emergency calls for emergency assistance are
supposed to be dealt with within 8 minutes. Last
year just 26.6% of such calls were responded to
within this time. In rural areas just 6.6% of calls
were responded to within the eight-minute target
time. We would increase emergency ambulance
cover by providing two additional ambulances,
including personnel (88), for each of the four HSE
regions.
Increase funding for the National Drugs
Strategy Cost €5.76m
Problem drug use is a public health issue. In the
nine years from 2004 to 2012 problem drug use
played a role in the deaths of 5,289 people. That’s
more than one death every single day. But despite
the threat to the lives of so many, predominantly
young men, funding for the health services vitally
needed to stabilise and save these lives has
been severely cut. We would increase funding for
delivery of the National Drugs Strategy.
Additional funding to strengthen HIQA’s
role Cost €630,000
HIQA has a varied and challenging workload
in setting standards across the health sphere
and monitoring whether they are adhered to, in
hospital, residential homes, child care settings
and technology relating to health care. HIQA
needs to be adequately supported and resourced.
We make an initial provision for additional staf.
Increase funding to Healthy Ireland
Cost €200,000
There are currently only fve staf in the
Department of Health assigned to work in the
Health and Wellbeing Programme, which is
coordinating Healthy Ireland. Providing adequate
funding for Healthy Ireland will help to ensure that
citizens young and old are encouraged to achieve
as high a level of health and wellbeing as possible.
PUTTING KEY RESOURCES
BACK INTO EDUCATION –
TOTAL COST €180.19M
Reduce primary school classes by one
pupil Cost €5m
Many children are taught in overcrowded
classrooms, with an average pupil-teacher ratio
of 28:1. Sinn Féin agrees that smaller classes
beneft young children and for this reason we
would reduce class sizes by one pupil, which
provides for an additional 250 teachers.
Increase funding to school meal
programme by 40% Cost €16.09m
Successive cuts to social protection measures
that protect low income and vulnerable families
have resulted in children going to school hungry
and relying on breakfast clubs and the voluntary
sector to ensure they get a healthy meal each day.
We would increase the funding to the School Meal
Programme, extending it to an additional 500
schools, to ensure children have access to food
that is both flling and nutritious.
27
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
Increase funding to school books grant by
30% Cost €4.8m
Barnardos’ annual School Cost Survey found that
school books continue to be a substantial cost to
parents, particularly for secondary school pupils,
where they make up on average over 40% of the
total cost. The charity also warned that the prices
of school books appear to be increasing. We would
increase funding to the School Book Grant Scheme.
Increase the annual Back to School
Clothing and Footwear Allowance by €50
Cost €15.2m
Barnardos’ have also found that two in fve primary
school parents and 55% of secondary school
parents have applied for the Back to School Clothing
and Footwear Allowance, yet the charity reports
an overwhelming sense that the payment is not
sufcient to give adequate support to struggling
families. This vital support has been cut in three
separate budgets. In increasing the allowance by
€50 we are supporting up to 300,000 children and
their families.
Increase capitation grant by 2%
Cost €11.4m
Sinn Féin would increase the capitation rates for
primary and secondary schools by 2% as we are
aware of the difculties faced by schools in meeting
their basic running costs, such as providing light and
heat and insurance for school buildings. Government
cuts have put an undue burden on parents by way
of voluntary contributions, as school management
boards try to make up the decrease in funding. We
are also proposing a 1% increase in the capitation
grant rates for VTOS, YouthReach, BTEI, PLC and
Adult Literacy.
Reverse cut to provision of Guidance
Teachers in second level schools
Cost €14.7m
Cuts to secondary-level guidance counselling
provision has resulted in schools that are less well-
of having no guidance service at all for their pupils.
Guidance Counselling plays an important role in
students’ lives and should be ring-fenced separately
from teaching staf. Sinn Féin has provided for
approximately 700 posts.
Increase resource teaching hours for
children with special needs by 15%
Cost €71m
Since 2011, there has been a 15% reduction in the
level of resource teaching hours allocated to children
with special needs, despite there being an increase
of over 8,000 children with special needs requiring
resource hours since 2011. A child receiving 3 hours
and 45 minutes of resource hours now, would have
received 5 hours before the cuts introduced in 2010.
It is essential that the 15% additional allocation of
time is returned so that it is brought back up to the
2010/2011 levels. This measure would provide 1,183
additional posts.
Increase teaching principal administration
days to one extra day per month
Cost €2.2m
Teaching principals in small schools are in efect
doing two jobs. They need more free time from
class in order to run the school efectively. We would
increase the time out of classrooms for teaching
principals by one day per month. This measure
would require an additional 108 teaching posts’
Reduce threshold for acquiring
administrative principal from 178 to 145
Cost €3.5m
The threshold of 178 pupils for acquiring an
administrative principal is too high. We would
reduce this threshold to 145 pupils (creating 176 new
teaching posts) so that children in small schools do
not miss out. Where a teacher has responsibility for
the leadership, management and administration of
a school, they can become overburdened by the
competing demands of being a principal as well as a
teacher. When the small amount of time is taken up
with managing the physical resources of the school,
it takes away from the time a principal can dedicate
to development, monitoring and coaching teaching
standards of others, which can lead to a negative
efect on pupils.
Reduce third level student contribution
fee by €500 Cost €34m
Increased student contribution fees are putting
an undue hardship on many families, and some
are being efectively priced out of education. The
economic, employment and research impact of
higher education is to the beneft of the whole of the
society, not just students and graduates.
Provide an additional 500 places on the
Momentum Scheme for Jobseekers with a
disability Cost €2.3m
The Momentum programme funds the provision
of free education and training projects to allow
jobseekers to gain skills and to access work
opportunities in identifed growing sectors, yet young
people with a disability are currently excluded. We
would fund an initial 500 Momentum places for
young recipients of a Disability Allowance.
28
SUPPORTING PARENTS,
INVESTING IN CHILDCARE
– COST €238.28M
Extend the ECCE Programme to 48
weeks Cost €44.20m
The current free pre-school year or ECCE
contract is not ft for purpose as it does not allow
a sufcient margin for additional bills or costs.
Many service providers operate at a loss, with
many owner-managers taking no salary and staf
signing on the dole during the summer months.
A move towards a second free pre-school year
should be progressed when the frst year’s quality
has been determined and secured. Extending
the programme by ten weeks will, as an initial
measure, address both childcare cost for parents
during the summer period for that age group
and contribute to easing fnancial hardship for
employees in the sector.
Provide an additional 1,000 SNAs to the
ECCE Programme Cost €11m
The free pre-school year is universal in name only.
Many children with special needs are prevented
from availing of the government-subsidised
scheme due to the absence of necessary
supports. Minister Reilly states that currently no
specifc funding is available from his Department
to provide additional support to children with
special needs accessing the ECCE programme.
11% of early-years services were forced to refuse
a child with additional needs last year (2014)
because they were unable to meet his/her needs.
(Early Childhood Ireland). The above measure
would go some way to addressing the crisis as
well as creating employment.
Increase capitation grant for the free
pre-school year Cost €16.5m
An increase in the capitation paid per child will
make improvement in quality provision in ECCE
services possible. We want to increase capitation
grants for the Free Pre-School Year by €5 per
week to €67.50, and by €9.50 for the higher
capitation rate to €82.50. The higher capitation
grant is paid to services that have a level 7-led
room (graduate-led provision). The payment
should be linked to quality control mechanisms.
Full details will be set out in our childcare policy,
to be launched over the coming months.
Introduce an additional 6 weeks
maternity beneft that can be taken by
either parent at the end of the existing
26 weeks leave Cost €63m
This is a measure we want to see introduced
as part of a longer-term plan to increase the
maternity payment/obligation on employers to
contribute more to the payment and to introduce
paid parental leave. As it stands, many women in
the private and/or self-employed sector cannot
aford to take full maternity leave because
they see their wages fall from a normal level to
approximately €230 per week maternity beneft.
International evidence and research shows that a
child benefts most by spending the frst year of
life at home. Parents should be provided with that
choice and parental leave policies should refect
that.
Introduce 2 weeks paternity leave
Cost €31m
There is currently no provision for paternity leave.
Most European countries ofer paid paternity
leave, typically around 2 weeks in duration.
Current government policy assumes that the
child’s mother is the principal carer after birth.
There is no consideration given to the possibility
that the child’s mother may be unable to ofer
that care due to post-traumatic stress or other
disabling factors. Nor is it recognised that a father
should be entitled to leave to help care for his
newborn. This is a progressive policy move that
will assist families both mentally and fnancially.
Increase child beneft by €5 per child
Cost €72.58m
Despite pre-election promises, Labour and
Fine Gael in Government targeted Child Beneft
payments, reducing this much needed monthly
support by between €10 and €58 depending
on the number of children. In addition to our
measures to support parents Sinn Féin would
increase Child Beneft by €5 for each child.
29
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
TACKLING INCOME
INEQUALITY – TOTAL COST
€289.92M
Poverty in Ireland has deepened since 2011. Nearly
one in seven citizens are living in poverty and
over 200,000 of these are children. As Barnardos
and others have highlighted, the net result of this
enforced poverty is children and their parents going
without warm winter clothing, living in substandard
housing and families going hungry. By targeting lone
parents, people with disabilities, the elderly and the
unemployed for the harshest cuts over the last four
budgets, Labour and Fine Gael have increased and
embedded disadvantage across Irish society. The
following proposals seek to reverse some of the
worst inequities Labour and Fine Gael have pursued
in government.
Increase Family Income Supplement by
10% Cost €41m
FIS is a payment made to supplement the
incomes of parents in low paid employment.
Approximately 47,000 families would beneft from
the measure, which would see average weekly
payments increase.
Restore the Respite Care Grant by €325
Cost €29m
Labour and Fine Gael’s cut to the respite care
grant has caused undue hardship for almost
77,000 families, making it one of their cruellest
budget cuts.
Restore Equality for Young Jobseekers
Cost €71.9m
Over two budgets, Sinn Féin will reverse the cuts
to Jobseekers Allowance and Supplementary
Welfare Allowance for the under 26s. This would
entail a €40 weekly increase in Budget 2016.
Add a Telephone Allowance of €9.50 per
month to the Living Alone Increase Cost
€21.65m
This measure would allow vulnerable people living
on their own to access panic alarms.
Raise the cut-of age of the One Parent
Family payment to 12 years old and
increase the earnings disregard to €120
Cost €40.4m
These measures will better support lone parents
in the home or in work, who currently have a cut
of point as early as 7 years old and an earnings
disregard of €90
Introduce 4,000 Additional Community
Employment Scheme Places
Cost €13.4m
CE schemes based on structured, accredited
training should be extended and schemes that are
exploitative or displace jobs such as JobBridge
and Gateway should be ended.
Increase Investment in Employability
Services Cost €2.9 million
This investment of 1,000 additional places would
increase the capacity of the Employability Service
to support more people with disabilities to
become work ready, to fnd and to maintain a job
in the labour force.
Increase Back to Education Allowance
for under 26s to €188 Cost €6.6m
This cut by the Government made it more difcult
for job seekers to attain educational qualifcations.
We would restore the fgure to €188 from it’s
current level of €160.
Re-Instate Solas Training Allowance
Cost €6.7m
The €20 training allowance, eliminated in Budget
2014, is a vital support towards the cost of
engaging in training. Without it participation can
be unafordable for many of the nearly 4,000
trainees afected.
Increase Fuel Allowance by 3 Weeks
Cost €23.65m
These additional fuel allowance payments
would beneft some 400,000 households, after
a sustained period of energy price rises and fuel
poverty increases.
Restore the Bereavement Grant
Cost €22m
Labour and Fine Gael’s decision in 2013 to stop
the one-of bereavement grant payment was
seen as one of this Government’s meanest cuts
targeting vulnerable families at one of the most
difcult stages of life.
30
Increase funding and introduce targets
for Reasonable Accommodation Fund
Cost €120,000
The Government’s recurring underspend on a
range of disability schemes and failure to even
set estimates for the Reasonable Accommodation
Fund are indicative of the lack of priority aforded
by them to the promotion of equal employment
opportunities for people with disabilities. We
would provide for an initial increase and proactive
spending so that greater numbers of people with
disabilities can fnd or return to employment.
Secure and Replicate the Walk PEER
programme Cost €1.1m
The Walk PEER programme is an example of a
positive pilot that was allowed to expire by this
Government’s refusal to provide an extension of
funding. It was a project that supported young
people on disability allowance into paid positions
of employment in the open labour market and
further education or training in mainstream
settings. We want to ensure the positive working
concepts developed by Walk PEER continue and
are replicated by others. We would guarantee the
future of the Louth Walk PEER Programme and
roll-out initially to at least two further locations.
Restore Farm Assist Cost €5m
This measure reduces the assessment of means
from self-employment, including farming, to
85% and reinstates the deductions from income
in respect of children that were discontinued in
2013.
Additional 500 places on the Rural
Social Scheme Cost €3.8m
This measure will expand the current number of
scheme places by 20%
Increase funding for Travellers
Initiatives Cost €310,000
Increase funding to the National
Disability Authority Cost €390,000
PROTECTING COMMUNITIES
1,000 extra Gardaí - Cost €21.7m
Since Fine Gael and Labour took up ofce in 2011
they have depleted Garda numbers by 1,066 leaving
the current strength of the force at under 13,000. In
order for the force to be ft for purpose and meet the
demands of community policing, the Government
must increase investment in Garda personnel to
bring numbers back to pre-recession levels. We
have provided for the training of 1,000 gardaí in our
costings, with the intent of Templemore meeting its
maximum intake in 2016, and the remainder being
trained in 2017.
FRONTLINE WORKFORCE –
COST €20M
We are including a provision of €20 million to be
ringfenced to ensure additional frontline posts in the
public service sector that are urgently needed can
be flled.
ESTABLISH AN EQUALITY AND
BUDGETARY ADVISORY BODY
– COST €1.1M
Sinn Féin has long advocated for the introduction
of ‘Equality Budgeting’ by Government. In 2013
Sinn Féin introduced legislation to provide for
equality proofng of government policy and
budgets and public bodies through impact
assessments. This legislation would ensure that
both government and public bodies, in exercising
their functions do so in a way that is designed
to reduce the inequalities of government policy
outcomes. Sinn Féin wants to see the introduction
of Equality Impact Assessments of Government’s
expenditure and taxation policy but the Department
of Public Expenditure was unable to cost this
proposed measure. In addition Sinn Féin believes
the establishment of an independent Equality
and Budgetary Advisory Body underpinned by
legislation is necessary to secure equality of
outcome for citizens and would be a progressive
addition to the budgetary framework.
31
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
LANSDOWNE ROAD
AGREEMENT/HADDINGTON
ROAD AGREEMENT
– COST €267M
We have provided for the Lansdowne Road
Agreement (LRA) pay commitments for 2016
however we do not support the Government’s pay
restoration commitments to the highest earners.
Sinn Féin will table amendments to tackle excessive
pay at the top and increases to politicians pay and
pensions in payment when the LRA legislation
comes before the Dáil and Seanad.
PROVIDING FOR
DEMOGRAPHICS
– COST €300M
The expenditure side of Sinn Féin’s budget for
2016 provides €300m for demographics which the
system needs just to stand still. In addition to this
provision we have provided for signifcant additional
frontline posts and resources in the areas of health,
education, childcare and policing.
32
PART 2
EQUAL RIGHTS, EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
TAX MEASURES –
REBALANCING THE SCALES
Sinn Féin is committed to rebalancing the scales to
deliver a Fair Recovery. Redistribution via taxes and
transfers is a powerful instrument to contribute to
more equality and more growth.
Since 2008, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour have
made our tax system deeply regressive through the
introduction of the Property Tax and Water Charges.
Sinn Féin wants a fair tax system, one in which all
people and businesses pay their fair share. We will
scrap the Family Home Tax and Water Charges,
remove those on the minimum wage from the USC
net, provide relief to the self-employed and support
our entrepreneurs.
The fgures below were provided to Sinn Féin by the
Department of Finance’s costing unit.
Whilst it is clear the Government will meet the
anticipated budget defcit target of 2.3% for 2015
it is clear that additional revenue will be available
before the end of year. Government must ensure
departmental overspends and critical expenditure
are dealt with by supplementary estimates before
the year end so that Ireland is compliant with the
expenditure benchmark in 2016.
EASING THE BURDEN ON
FAMILIES, WORKERS &
BUSINESSES
– COST €808.5M
Abolition of Property Tax
Cost €440 million
Abolishing the unfair property tax will act as a
massive fnancial stimulus for stretched families,
and boost the local economy by restoring some
disposable spending. It will save 1.8 million home-
owners an average of €244 per annum.
End Water Charges Cost €210.5 million
Sinn Féin is opposed to domestic water charges.
These charges will only cause further hardship for
families already struggling to make ends meet and
mean that households will be double-charged for
water, the removal of charges costs €209 million.
To ensure that group water customers would not
have to pay for domestic use an additional cost of
€1.5 million would also arise. The cost provided
assumes 100% payment compliance therefore
the cost of abolishing Irish Water would in fact be
lower.
However the net cost to scrapping household
water charges is €80.5 million. The €130 million
ringfenced for the so called Water Conservation
Grant would be redundant.
Take workers earning €19,572 or less
out of the USC Cost €93 million
Sinn Féin will exempt income earners at or below
our proposed minimum wage of €19,572 (factoring
in Sinn Féin’s proposed €1 increase in the
minimum wage) from the Universal Social Charge.
Introduce Tax Credits for the Self
Employed Cost €39 million
This credit of €500 shall be available on earned
income for the self-employed up to €80,000
and reduced by 5% per €1,000, for gross
income between €80,000 and €100,000 with
no entitlement to the credit on gross income in
excess of €100.000.
Increase employee & employer PRSI
bands in line with Sinn Féin’s €1 per
hour increase to the National Minimum
Wage Cost €21.5 million
In line with Sinn Féin’s proposed 2016 minimum
wage increase by €1 to €9.65, Sinn Féin would
ensure employee and employers are not penalised
by increasing the Employee PRSI exemption to
€377 per week and increasing the Employer PRSI
rate of 8.5% up to €377.
33
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
Making the Gaeltacht more afordable
Cost €4.5 million
Sinn Féin would ensure afordability for working
families and sustainability for the Gaeltacht
regions through providing tax relief to hard
pressed families. This would involve the provision
of a 20% tax credit in relation to expenditure
incurred by parents for children for Gaeltacht
courses set at a maximum at €950 per child.
With regards to children whose parents are not
working, Sinn Féin would grant a deduction at
source for 20% of fees, if you have a medical
card.
CAPITAL & PROPERTY TAXES
- RAISES €141M
Re-introduce the second home charge
and increase it to €400 per annum
Raises €110 million
Sinn Féin would re-introduce the second home
charge (Non-Principle Private Residence Tax), and
increase it from €200 to €400 per annum.
Increase Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on
passive investments by 2% to 35%
Sinn Féin would keep the current rate of Capital
Gains tax (CGT) at 33% which applies to gains on
capital assets in relation to active investments. An
active business investment would be one involving
an active business development.
In line with our previous budget we would increase
CGT on passive income. Passive investors will
make investments with the intention of long-term
appreciation and limited maintenance e.g shares
on stock market. We propose to levy CGT at a
higher rate of 35% on these gains. The frst year
income is negligible from this increase, however it
would increase in the following full year.
Increase Capital Acquisitions Tax by 3%
to 36% Raises €31 million
Capital Acquisitions tax (CAT) is a tax on gifts and
inheritance. We would raise the rate of CAT from
33% to 36%.
EXCISE DUTIES & LEVIES
– RAISES €175.8M
Increase Betting Shop Tax to be applied
to customers to 3% Raises €50 million
Increase betting shop tax to be applied to the
customer to 3%.
Duty on Liquid Nicotine for e-cigarettes
Raises €8.3 million
Sinn Féin would introduce a duty applicable
to e-liquid containing nicotine above a certain
percentage of volume (i.e. above 0.5%), imposing
a (VAT-inclusive) duty of €0.50 per 10ml of
‘e-liquid’.
Increase Excise Duty on a packet of
Cigarettes by 20c Raises €26 million
Thousands of people die from smoking relating
illnesses each year. The cost to the health service
of providing care to those with long-term illnesses
caused by smoking runs into hundreds of millions.
We support the calls of the Irish Heart Foundation
and Irish Cancer Society to increase the taxation
take from cigarettes and simultaneously introduce
measures to reduce the tobacco industry’s profts
from cigarettes. Our simultaneous measure to
fund the Revenue Commissioners to increase
activity to clamp down on black market activity
should contribute to protecting against a rise in
the illegal cigarette market.
Introduce a 5% Sugary Sweetened
Drinks Tax Raises €49 million
Sinn Féin fully supports The Irish Heart
Foundation in its call for the introduction of a
Sugar Tax. 7% of children rising to 36% of older
people are obese. Unless obesity and food
poverty rates are reduced it is predicted that there
will be a signifcant impact on quality of life, life
expectancy and healthcare costs in Ireland.
The purpose in introducing a Sugary Soft Drinks
(SSD) tax which would increase prices by at least
5% (Sinn Féin would move to a 20% SSD tax over
4 years) is both to reduce consumption of these
high sugar products and to provide funding for
health and nutrition programmes.
34
Bank Levy Raises €44 million
Sinn Féin recognise the enormous cost which has
been borne by Irish society as a result of banking
recklessness. In this regard, we welcomed the
introduction of the Bank Levy, which is a levy in
relation to each bank’s deposits. However, we
think that the banking sector should be liable to
larger levy and we would increase the Bank Levy
from 35% to 45%.
Abolish administration fee from VRT
Export Repayment Scheme
Cost €1 million
Vehicle Registration Tax is chargeable on
the registration of motor vehicles (including
motor-cycles) in the State. The VRT Export
Repayment Scheme allows for the repayment of
Vehicle Registration Tax on passenger vehicles
permanently exported from the State. There is
a €500 administration charge payable, which
will be deducted from the amount of VRT that is
repayable. Sinn Fein would abolish this as it is a
punitive charge without justifcation.
Extension of 50% relief Alcohol
Products Tax Cost €500,000
In recognition and support of our indigenous
and burgeoning Craft Beer Industry, we propose
to support Irish Microbreweries through the
extension of the maximum quantity of beer on
which 50% on Alcohol Products is allowed for any
brewery in a calendar year from 30,000 hectolitres
to 35,000 hectolitres.
INCOME TAX – RAISES €283M
New Income Band & Rate
Raises €283 million
Sinn Féin would increase the tax paid on the
portion of individual income earned over €100,000
by 7 cent in each euro.
PRSI – RAISES €267.4M
Employers PRSI – Salary
Raises €267.4 million
Sinn Féin would introduce a new rate of 15.75%
employers PRSI on the portion of salary paid in
excess of €100,000 per annum.
TAX EVASION – RAISES €25M
As part of its Comprehensive Review of expenditure,
the Revenue Commissioners identifed how tax
take could be increased through hiring 125 qualifed
revenue staf, to bring in an additional €25 million
per annum by targeting tax evasion and black
market activity.
PENSIONS – RAISES €217M
Ceiling cap and standardising the rate
The current ‘earnings cap’ recognises €115,000 per
annum (whatever your salary is) as the maximum
salary against which percentages are calculated
for pension tax reliefs. We would reduce the
earnings cap for pension contributions to €60,000
per annum, which would raise €135 million. We
would standardise the relief at which tax back can
be claimed. Beginning with a reduction to 35% in
2016. This raises €82 million
ENCOURAGING
ENTREPRENEURS - COSTS €5
MILLION
Sinn Féin are in agreement with the Irish Tax
Institute that this Start Up Relief for Entrepreneurs
(SURE) has not been efective to date due to its
exclusion of individual whose sole income is self-
employed earnings from the scheme. We believe
that all tax payers should be able to avail of the
scheme.
REIGNING IN HIGH PAY AND
EXCESSIVE PUBLIC SPENDING
Reduce Oireachtas pay (€75,000 TDs,
€60,000 Senators) and allowances
including the Taoiseach and Ministers
(by 50% on portion of salary over
€75,000) Saves €5.59m
Time and time again Fine Gael and Labour have
chosen to punish our most vulnerable citizens and
hard pressed working families. In contrast, and
despite four previous opportunities to do so, the
Fine Gael-Labour Government has chosen not
to use the full potential of the budget to reign in
the spending of public monies on politicians and
senior management pay or departmental spends
on private consultancy fees.
35
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
Reduce Oireachtas Pay and Allowances
Any further expenditure reductions for 2016 must
start with elected representatives’ own pay and
allowances. Fat remains, therefore reductions can
still be made.
In Budget 2016 we would:
Reduce by 50% the portion of pay to the
Taoiseach, ministers and ministers of State that
is over and above their basic TD salary.
Reduce TDs pay to €75,000 and Senators pay
to €60,000.
In addition to these pay reductions, we
would:
Cap Government Special Advisors pay,
withdraw the Super Junior Ministers allowance,
Oireachtas Ofceholders allowances, and
Oireachtas committee Chair allowances.
Combined, these proposals would reduce
Oireachtas expenditure by €5.59m
Reduce Excess Pay and Pensions at
Management Level in the Public Sector
Saves €15.28m
Pay at the top of our civil and public service still
remains high compared to European standards.
All the while, nurses, Gardaí, fre brigade
members, teachers and other frontline public
workers have seen their income fall sharply. Sinn
Féin in government will pursue a full fairness
review of all public sector pay, and bring high pay
into line with other European countries.
Reduce pay for top earners with a 15%
reduction on income earned between
€100,000 and €150,000 and 30% on income
over €150,000. We would also reduce the
CEO salaries in commercial, non-commercial
semi-state bodies, local authorities and the
Education and Training Boards by 10%.
Reduce general government
expenditure Saves €21.45m
Reduce departmental spending on
professional fees and consultants, travel and
subsistence by 10%, and economise civil
service education and training by securing
a 10% discount on third level education and
other training expenditure.
Public Expenditure Saves €186.6m
As part of the abolition of water charges
withdraw the Water Conservation Grant.
Saves €130m.
Sinn Féin would withdraw the private
school subsidy over 5 years. Saves €20.6m.
Reduce the State’s drugs bill for branded
medicines by a further 2%, in addition to
reductions previously implemented. Saves
€36m.
Regulation of the Financial Sector
Saves €70m
At present the Irish public, with certain
exceptions, subsidise 50% of the cost of the
Central Bank’s regulating of certain fnancial
service providers. Sinn Féin would take this
charge from the Irish public and move the
entire cost of regulation of the fnancial sector
onto the industry.
Wind-Down JobBridge Scheme
Saves €7.9m
While some individuals have had a positive
experience, overall the JobBridge scheme
displaces existing paid work, defers real job
creation, depresses wages and exacerbates
underemployment. Sinn Féin believes that
the JobBridge scheme is beyond repair. We
would close the JobBridge scheme to new
applicants, meaning that it would become
obsolete during the course of 2016.
Cancel Gateway Scheme Saves €5.6m
Participation on Gateway is not voluntary
and it does not involve meaningful accredited
training. Sinn Féin opposed the introduction of
the Gateway scheme during 2014. We would
cancel the Gateway scheme from Budget 2016.
Greater Use of JobsPlus Saves €28.7m
This scheme involves real jobs with real pay,
terms and conditions. Employers receive a
subsidy from the state when they recruit an
employee of the live register who is long and
longer-term unemployed. We would reassign
the department staf, eforts and other
resources currently focused on JobBridge
to the promotion of JobsPlus with the aim of
placing an additional 5,000 in employment via
the scheme. The average full year saving from
placing 5,000 jobseekers in employment via
the JobsPlus scheme is €28.7m.
36
LOW PAY AND THE LIVING
WAGE
Increase the Minimum Wage
Sinn Féin are committed to equality and a Fair
Recovery through raising the minimum wage of
€8.65 by €1 in 2016.
“By not addressing inequality, governments are
cutting into the social fabric of their countries and
hurting their long-term economic growth.” OECD
Secretary-General Ángel Gurría
The fostering of better jobs for a larger proportion
of the workforce will be key to reducing inequality,
the OECD said, “Many nonstandard workers are
worse of in many aspects of job quality, such as
earnings, job security or access to training,” the
OECD said. “In particular low-skilled temporary
workers face substantial wage penalties, earnings
instability and slower wage growth.”
The most comprehensive meta-studies (study of
studies) on the minimum wage suggest that the
efect on the employment rate of a change in the
national minimum wage is likely to be small or
non-existent.
Universal Social Charge Exemption
Cost €93m
Sinn Féin will exempt income earners at or below
the increased minimum wage of €19,572 (factoring
in a €1 increase in the minimum wage in 2016)
from the Universal Social Charge.
Increase Employee and Employer PRSI
bands in tandem with minimum wage
increase of €1 for 2016 Cost €21.5m
In line with Sinn Féin’s proposed 2016 minimum
wage increase by €1 to €9.65, Sinn Féin would
ensure employee and employers are not penalised
by increasing the Employee PRSI exemption to
€376 per week and increasing the Employer PRSI
rate of 8.5% up to €376.
Introduce a Living Wage across the Civil
Service Cost €1.5m
Ireland has one of the highest rates of low pay
in the developed world, and this is one of the
key factors behind the latest wave of mass
emigration of the under 35s since 2011. Sinn Féin
is committed to the introduction of a living wage
as a key measure to stem the tide of low paid
work, and we believe as the largest employer in
the state the government must lead the way. We
would introduce a living wage of €11.45 across the
civil service.
37
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
PART 3
TO PURSUE THE HAPPINESS AND PROSPERITY
OF THE WHOLE NATION
SUPPORTING AND
ENCOURAGING BUSINESS
Sinn Féin recognises that the number one priority
to our economic well being must be the creation of
decent jobs with decent pay with a real commitment
to our SME sector. 70% of people employed in the
private sector work for SMEs, and these businesses
are the engine of our economy.
Providing relief to our self employed, encouraging
entrepreneurship, supporting our retailers, fostering
the Craft Beer industry, easing the administration
of taxation, opening up public procurement and
advocating a new system to getting credit fowing to
SMEs are ways are ways in which we would foster
business in Ireland.
Relief to the self employed Cost €39m
Sinn Féin recognises the contribution that the self-
employed, from entrepreneurs to carpenters to
farmers, make to our economy and are conscious
that the current taxation system discriminates
against them in comparison to PAYE workers. We
wish to alleviate some of their tax burden through
a tax credit on earned income similar to that
available to PAYE workers of €500.
The credit shall be available on earned income
for the self-employed up to €80,000 and reduced
by 5% per €1,000, for gross income between
€80,000 and €100,000 with no entitlement to the
credit on gross income in excess of €100.000.
Encouraging Entrepreneurship
Cost €5m
The Start Up Relief for Entrepreneurs (SURE)
currently in place, aims to incentivise individuals
currently or recently in employment to start and
invest in their own business. SURE enables
such individuals to claim income tax relief on
investments in their business which Sinn Féin
would would limit to €15,000.
The relief is limited to the amount of income tax
the individual has paid through PAYE over the
previous 6 years. The individual must control at
least 30% of the new trading company and must
take up employment with that company.
However, this relief has not been efective to
date due to its exclusion of the self-employed
who have no PAYE income from the scheme.
The requirement that the individual must have
paid PAYE is limiting this relief for a whole group
of entrepreneurs. We believe that all tax payers
should be able to avail of the scheme.
Double current Trading Online Voucher
Scheme for 2016 Cost €2.73m
Retail is one of the forgotten sectors of the
economy, although it has probably sufered the
most outside of construction in recent years. Of
increasing concern for the sector is the radical
reorientation of people’s spending patterns from
the shop to online purchasing with a massive 75%
of this business is going abroad. Government
fgures show online is expected to reach €21bn
by 2017, yet 75% of these sales are going outside
of the state. We will double the current trading on
line voucher scheme.
Ease the Administration of the Tax
System for Business
Sinn Féin are cognisant of a number of difculties
entrepreneurs and SMEs face in relation to the
administration of the tax system and would take
the following action:
Delays in VAT registration: Feedback from
a recent survey conducted by the Irish Tax
Institute indicated that over a ffth of VAT
registrations are taking more than four
weeks to be processed. In many cases, the
turnaround time on these registrations is
in excess of 2 to 3 months. These delays
are impacting businesses and preventing
economic activity and the creation of jobs
from taking place. Sinn Féin would ensure that
sufcient resources are provided to Revenue
resolve the VAT registration process.
38
As part of their simplifed fling arrangements,
Revenue allows small companies to pay
their VAT and PAYE/PRSI liabilities on a less
frequent basis. We would like to see a similar
arrangement extended to small businesses for
corporation tax and income tax so that they
do not pay a large tax bill in one lump sum. We
agree with the Irish Tax Institute that it would
be useful to allow businesses to pay tax “on
account” during the year. This would be of
particular use to for example, businesses in the
service sector with seasonal cash-fow.
Extend the 50% relief for indigenous
Craft Beer to 35,000 hectolitres
Cost €500,000
In recognition and support of our indigenous
and burgeoning Craft Beer Industry, we propose
to support Irish Microbreweries through the
extension of the maximum quantity of beer on
which 50% on Alcohol Products is allowed for any
brewery in a calendar year from 30,000 hectolitres
to 35,000 hectolitres.
Improve Access to Public Procurement
Contracts for SMEs
Sinn Féin has long argued that public
procurement acts as a critical stimulus for the
domestic economy and is an important driver of
Ireland’s recovery both in terms of employment
and employment standards across the economy.
Sinn Féin seeks a system of procurement that
brings real value to the citizen and society.
Government has to be more ambitious for the
economic and social return of the €12bn annual
public spend on goods, services and capital
projects.
The Ofce of Government Procurement to put in
place robust predatory pricing safeguards at the
mini-competition
Clearly defne a micro, small and medium
size organisation and collect and disseminate
procurement data that pertains accurately to
each category
Set up key performance indicators for micro,
small and medium size enterprise participation
for all public procurers and a monitoring
mechanism ensuring these performance
indicators are met
Reduce the size of tenders to make them
accessible to the relevant enterprise size
Review the current centralised tendering
model to provide an alternative approach that
better marries cost benefts with wider regional
economic and social policy objectives
Extend categorising of suppliers by number
of employees, and also a ‘subsidiary’
classifcation for companies who are Irish
subsidiaries of multinational companies
A STRONG ISLAND ECONOMY
This document sets out a narrative surrounding
the budget and economy in the 26 Counties.
However, each year Sinn Fein makes the point
that cooperation on and harmonisation of certain
measures north and south would be benefcial for all
people on the island and both economies.
A united Ireland would make even more sense as we
move forward, economically and socially.
6.4 million people live on this island, yet we have
two separate tax regimes, two currencies and
legal systems, two public service systems and two
separate competing economies.
Sinn Fein wants to advance a single island economy
that delivers a fair and harmonised progressive
taxation regime, regulation and trade. We want to
provide the tools to create greater opportunities
for growth, harmonise workers’ rights and develop
a better business climate for advancement of
entrepreneurial spirit north and south.
Diferent economic structures north and south have
undermined economic growth and labour market
mobility. Companies are on record stating that the
diferences in currency have a sizeable impact on
proft margins to the extent that they have been
discouraged from having operations on both parts
of the island. Cross-border movement in Ireland
north and south has been impeded by diferent
levels of vehicle registration tax; diferences in direct
and indirect tax rates; eligibility for tax credits;
diferences in tax years; housing costs, afecting
employers and employees alike.
Despite the interconnection and interdependence
of the economies north and south, there has been
a limited focus placed on promoting island wide
growth and recovery. Island wide trade has yet to
reach its full potential. Inter Trade Ireland does a
sterling job, but receives limited funding support
and its budget is continuously under attack. Some
businesses have taken the lead in cross border
trading and investment over the last couple of years
despite the impediments caused by cross border
credit card transaction fees; telecommunication
cross-border charges; and dual tax and pay roll
systems.
39
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
There is no doubt that a planned and agreed
approach to economic development across the
island of Ireland would deliver greater:
Export trade and inward investment;
economic and jobs growth and improved
workforce skills;
productivity and innovation
All Ireland trade and reduce costs and
research and development
Island wide trade currently generates £3bn for the
island. Removing barriers to it makes sense. The
north cannot exist in isolation from the rest of the
country and the rest of the country cannot reach its
full potential without the north.
Co-operation between the administrations is not
new. Both governments have worked together
on a range of projects for economic, social
and environmental beneft. This has happened
for example through the creation of the Single
Electricity Market, joint investment in the City
of Derry Airport, and by signifcant road and rail
investment on routes linking Dublin to Belfast and
Project Kelvin and electricity grid strengthening
proposals. Other ongoing co-operation themes
include agriculture and plant and animal health
policy and research, education, environmental
protection and waste management, in a cross
border context. There is also joint working on animal
and plant disease prevention and contingency
planning, accident and emergency planning,
health promotion and cooperation, energy matters,
transport planning, road and rail infrastructure, and
public transport services and road safety. These
and other projects are advanced both through the
North South Ministerial Council and through other
contacts between Departments and Agencies,
in both jurisdictions for example the North West
Gateway Initiative.
Councils from both jurisdictions are working with
ILEX, the urban regeneration company in the
North West. Local authorities in the Newry and
Dundalk have come together to deliver the Twin
City Region project and have developed and signed
Memorandum of Understanding to the beneft of
both communities. The Irish Central Border Area
Network (ICBAN), a network of Councillor’s, is also
working together to respond to unique economic
and social needs of the central border region.
Co-operation is not enough. Integration, joint
planning and delivery is the way forward.
Integration provides opportunities to boost
economic performance. More can be achieved
through this than through competition. Both
jurisdictions on the island struggle to fnd
efciencies in the delivery of public services yet
we have back to back provision. North and south
we have disconnected policies and practice. Yet
where joint island wide enterprise has been applied
it has improved service delivery. Integrated island
wide co-operation within public services makes
economic sense.
Health provides examples of where a better service
can be developed by an all-Ireland approach. The
joint cancer centre in Derry will provide services
for patients from throughout the north-west. No
longer will patients from Donegal or Derry have to
travel to Belfast or Dublin for treatments. There
are opportunities within a new integrated island
wide structure to reconfgure how we deliver health
services across this island. The total money spent
per person within the current regressive health
system in the south is more than is spent per person
in the north of Ireland or in Britain.
With vision, commitment and determination we
could deliver better services to all the people of
Ireland north and south.
IRISH LANGUAGE AND
SUPPORTING THE GAELTACHT –
TOTAL COST €5.95M
Increase Udarás na Gaeltachta capital
fund grant Cost €5m
Fianna Fáil gutted the fund to create employment
in Gaeltacht areas and the current Government
has continued that trend. Sinn Féín will begin to
redress the defcit in this year’s budget by making
an extra €5m available. This can be targeted
to create new jobs in Gaeltacht communities
throughout the country.
Increase funding for Irish language
community schemes Cost €750,000
Sinn Féin will make an extra €750,000 available
specifcally to support community base projects
to promote the Irish language. This is essential to
maintain Irish as a vibrant, community language
and goes some way to counteract the cutbacks
and lack of support given by this government
during their tenure.
40
Increase outreach assistance for
parents in Gaeltacht areas
Cost €200,000
One of the most important areas of successful
language transmission is in the home. Sinn Féin
will make an extra €200,000 available to assist
families in Gaeltacht areas who are encouraging
their children to use and improve their Irish.
Making the Gaeltacht more afordable
Sinn Féin would ensure afordability for working
families and sustainability for the Gaeltacht
regions through providing tax relief to hard
pressed families. This would involve the provision
of a 20% tax credit in relation to expenditure
incurred by parents for children for Gaeltacht
courses set at a maximum at €950 per child.
With regards to children whose parents are not
working, Sinn Féin would grant a deduction at
source for 20% of fees, if you have a medical
card.
MEASURES THE DEPARTMENT
WERE UNABLE TO COST
The revenue that would be raised by
introducing a wealth tax of 1% on net assets
over €1m with exclusions
The revenue that would be raised by abolishing
CGT exemptions when a home is sold for over
€1m
The revenue that would be raised by increasing
by 1/2/3/4/5/10/15/20% respectively the taxes
on exploration/drilling for oil and gas
Reduce Standard Fund Threshold for high
earners from €2m to €1.7m
Introducing Equality Impact Assessments
of expenditure and taxation across all
departments
Implementation of a Living Wage of €11.45
across the public sector including non-
commercial and commercial state bodies
Reopening of Garda Stations
41
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
42
43
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
SINN FÉIN
44 Parnell Square
Dublin 1
Ireland
Ph: +353 1 8726100
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.sinnfein.ie
doc_687415169.pdf
Over the last decade people have been pushed to the limit as a result of the Governments austerity policy.
REPAIR
REBUILD
RENEW
SINN FÉIN ALTERNATIVE BUDGET 2016 | CÁINAISNÉIS CHOMHROGHNACH SHINN FÉIN
OCTOBER 2015
DELIVERING
A F A I R R E C O V E R Y
T É A R N A M H C OT H R O M A S H O L ÁT H A R
CONTENTS
Introduction Page 5
Overall Balance Sheet Page 8
Budget 2016 Proposals Page 9
Réamhrá Page 15
Clár Comhordaithe Foriomlán Page 18
Moltaí Buiséid Shinn Féin 2016 Page 19
PART 1 - Cherishing all citizens of the nation equally Page 24
Capital Investment Programme
Emergency homeless accommodation
Increasing funding for women’s refuges
Addressing the crisis in the health service
Putting key resources back into education
Supporting Parents, Investing in childcare
Tackling income inequality
Protecting communities
Frontline workforce
Establish an Equality and Budgetary Advisory Body
Lansdowne Road Agreement/Haddington Road Agreement
Providing for demographics
PART 2 – Equal rights, equal opportunities Page 32
Tax measures, rebalancing the scales
Reining in politicians’ pay and pensions
Reining in high pay and excessive public spending
Low pay & the living wage
PART 3 – To pursue the happiness and
prosperity of the whole nation Page 37
Supporting and encouraging business
Building a strong island economy
Irish language and the Gaeltacht areas
Measures the Department were unable to cost Page 40
4
5
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
INTRODUCTION
DELIVERING A FAIR RECOVERY
Over the last decade people have been pushed to
the limit as a result of the Government’s austerity
policy. While things are undoubtedly getting better
for some, for the vast majority little has changed in
their day-to-day lives. The Government is merely
ofering more of the same and unless there is a
dramatic change, the impact of the cuts will be felt
for years to come.
The reality is that despite the economic crisis, the
wealthiest in society have become richer.
This is a policy, not an accident.
So, while 250 individuals saw their combined wealth
increase by 16% to €75 billion in the last twelve
months, the reality for the average family continues
to be lower income as a result of wage cuts, the
USC, water charges and property tax. This is on top
of the high cost of childcare, health care, housing,
education and other necessities. It is these families
who need to be supported in Budget 2016.
When they got into Government, Fine Gael and
Labour threw their election manifestos in the bin and
instead implemented Fianna Fáil’s economic plan.
Their cynical move has prolonged the recession,
forced half a million people to emigrate and
destroyed core elements of our public services.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in the health
service. Enda Kenny and Joan Burton can cry
crocodile tears and talk about a crisis in the
health service, but what is happening is not
some unforeseen disaster. It is the outworking of
Government policy.
You cannot take 9,255 whole time equivalent staf
out of the public health system in four and a half
years without an impact. The reason that an elderly
cancer patient spent fve days on a trolley at Our
Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda last month is
because of Government policy and if we want things
as shameful as this to stop happening we need
to change Government policy. Investment in core
public services needs to be urgently prioritised.
The Government’s plan for a 50:50 split between
spending and tax cuts isn’t the answer. It’s an
electoral ploy. The Sinn Féin plan is based on
‘Delivering a Fair Recovery’ and in it we have four
key priorities:
Fair taxation – this means easing the tax
burden on the average worker, including those
who are self-employed and asking those who
earn the most to pay their fair share.
An investment of over €1.7 billion in public
expenditure – this means 1,000 more Gardaí,
an additional 1,000 frontline posts in health to
include nurses, midwives and consultants and
more than 1,700 teachers.
Ambitious capital spend programme of €400
million.
Promoting the all-Ireland economy.
IN BUDGET 2016 SINN FÉIN WILL:
Put between €600 and €2,000 into the pockets
of the average worker or family, depending
on their wage and family circumstances, by
abolishing the property tax, stopping water
charges, removing approximately 100,000
workers from the USC, expanding access to
childcare, reducing the cost of health care, and
assisting with education costs.
Prioritise investment in health, education and
childcare.
Invest in disability services and supports.
Support and encourage SMEs and
entrepreneurs through the introduction of the
self-employed tax credit, the provision of seed
capital and other measures.
Increase funding to build social houses, to
tackle the homeless crisis, and to make capital
investment to grow the economy.
Explore the creation of a Border Economic
Development Zone to harmonise trade and
maximise returns for border businesses.
6
WHO IS PAYING MOST UNDER
FINE GAEL/LABOUR POLICIES?
1.8 million households are paying an
average of €244 each year in property tax.
300,000 mortgage holders are paying
thousands extra each year because the
Government refuses to deal with variable
interest rates being well above the
Eurozone average of 2.7% approx.. A 1%
reduction would save mortgage holders
an average of €2,000 a year on a €200,000
mortgage.
Almost 5,000 people were homeless in
July 2015, including 1,495 children.
7,775 patients were on hospital trollies in
June 2015, including two elderly women of
over 100 years of age.
77,000 carers had their respite grant cut by
20%.
615,000 families are in receipt of child
beneft for 1.2 million children. Over three
budgets FF/FG and Labour slashed child
beneft.
WHO IS GAINING UNDER FINE
GAEL AND LABOUR?
250 individuals saw their wealth increase
by 16% to €75 billion in the last twelve
months alone.
121 people availed of the SARP tax relief
for high earners at a cost of €1.895 million
to the Exchequer in 2013.
Anglo senior bondholders were paid in full
with billions of euro of taxpayers money.
Some special advisors to Government
ministers continue to be paid well above
the pay cap – up to €156,380 for Enda
Kenny’s advisors and €119,577 in Joan
Burton’s ofce.
Property developers were paid €11 million
a year in wages by NAMA. 15 were paid
between €150,000 to €199,000 per year.
Secretary Generals of Government
Departments: the Secretary General in the
Department of Jobs retired in May 2011
aged 59 with a lump sum of €380,452, a
gross severance gratuity in the amount of
€126,817 and is entitled to receive a gross
annual pension of €126,817.
7
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
Fianna Fáil brought the
economy to its knees
Fianna Fáil squandered the boom and brought
the economy to its knees. They protected the
wealthiest in society, including the property
developers and the senior bankers, and forced
ordinary people to pay by imposing new taxes and
charges, delivering savage cuts to public services
and forcing half a million people to emigrate. And if
they had been re-elected in 2011 they would have
continued to do the same. Fine Gael and Labour
have implemented the Fianna Fáil plan. Just prior
to the 2011 General Election, Fianna Fáil signed
up to the four-year so-called National Recovery
Plan, which committed them to four years of
tax increases, spending cuts and cuts to public
services. – The party’s plan wanted to:
Introduce water charges – with a scheme
for the metering of the domestic sector with
charging for domestic water by 2014
Cut public service staf numbers by 24,750
over 2008 levels (when we were just below
the OECD average in stafng levels)
Increase the student contribution to the costs
of third-level education
Cut the minimum wage by €1 per hour
Impose cuts to Social Welfare
Impose cuts to school funding, including all
capitation grants, grants for Adult Literacy,
Community Education, School Completion
Programme and Youthreach.
Accident and Emergency
The crisis in health is government policy
There were 7,775 people on hospital trolleys
in June. This was the highest ever level of
overcrowding in the month of June since the INMO
started Trolley Watch over 12 years ago. Every
month we hear horror stories about the treatment
of our elderly in A&E units, with not enough beds
or staf. This has long ceased to be a crisis. It’s
government policy and it needs to change.
December 2014
An 87-year old woman spent 57 hours on a trolley
and on a chair in a hall in University Hospital
Limerick.
February 2015
A 100-year-old woman was left waiting 24 hours
on a trolley in Tallaght hospital – sufering from a
potentially serious infection. She was one of up
to ten patients over the age of 80 left waiting on
trolleys up to 23 hours to be seen.
June 2015
Two elderly ladies, both over a hundred years old,
had to sufer the indignity of spending more than
24 hours on a trolley awaiting a hospital bed.
September 2015
An elderly cancer patient spent fve days on
a trolley at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in
Drogheda. The emergency department in Drogheda
is short of fve nurses in a hospital that this year
recorded its highest level of overcrowding since
2006.
8
OVERALL BALANCE SHEET
€million
Tax
Tax Income 1,110.7
Tax Spend -815
Net Tax Increase 295.7
Expenditure
Savings 341.12
Spend -1,736.82
Net Expenditure -1,395.7
Capital
Spend -400
Fiscal space 1,500
€million
Tax 295.7
Expenditure -1,395.7
Capital -400
Balance -1500
9
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
CAPITAL INVESTMENT PROGRAMME TOTAL: €400 million
SPENDING TOTAL: €1736.82 million
Homelessness and refuge services - page 24 Cost €25.45m
Dealing with the Crisis in the Health System - page 25-26 Cost €383m
Putting Key Resources back into Education - page 26-27 Cost €180.19m
Supporting Parents, Investing in Childcare - page 28 Cost €238.28m
Tackling Income Inequality - page 29-30 Cost €289.92m
Protecting Communities - page 30 Cost €21.7m
Establish an Equality and Budgetary Advisory Body - page 30 Cost €1.1m
Irish Language and supporting the Gaeltacht - page 39 Cost €5.95m
Frontline Workforce - page 30 Cost €20m
Introduce a Living Wage across the civil service - page 36 Cost €1.5m
Double current Trading Online Voucher Scheme for 2016 - page 37 Cost €2.73m
Lansdowne Road Agreement/Haddington Road Agreement - page 31 Cost €267m
Provision for demographics - page 31 Cost €300m
Sinn Féin Budget 2016 proposals
10
SAVINGS TOTAL: €341.12 million
Reduce public sector pay and pensions of the highest earners in the
public sector
Saves €15.28m
Reduce Oireachtas pay (€75,000 TDs, €60,000 Senators) and
allowances including the Taoiseach and Ministers (by 50% on portion of
salary over €75,000)
Saves €5.59m
Reduce General Government Expenditure Saves €21.45m
As part of the abolition of water charges withdraw the Water
Conservation Grant
Saves €130m
2% reduction in branded medicines Saves €36m
Phased withdrawal of private school annual state subsidy over fve years Saves €20.6m
Regulation of the Financial Sector Saves €70m
Wind-down JobBridge Scheme Saves €7.9m
Cancel Gateway Scheme Saves €5.6m
Greater use of JobsPlus (5,000) Saves €28.7m
TAX SPEND TOTAL: €815 million
Easing the burden on families, workers and businesses
Abolition of the Property Tax Cost €440m
End water charges Cost €210.5m
Take workers earning €19,572 or less out of the USC Cost €93m
Introduce Tax Credits for the Self Employed Cost €39m
Increase employee & employer PRSI bands in line with Sinn Féin’s €1
per hour increase to the National Minimum Wage
Cost €21.5m
Making the Gaeltacht more afordable Cost €4.5m
Abolish administration fee from VRT Export Repayment Scheme Cost €1m
Encouraging Entrepreneurs Cost €5m
Extend the 50% relief for indigenous Craft Beer to 35,000 hectolitres Cost €0.5m
11
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
TAX YIELD TOTAL: €1,110.7 million
Capital and Property Taxes
Re-introduce the second home charge and increase to €400 per annum Yield €110m
Increase Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on passive investments by 2% to 35% Yield €0
Increase Capital Acquisitions Tax by 3% to 36% Yield €31m
Excise Duties & Levies
Increase betting shop tax to be applied to customer to 3% Yield €50m
Duty on Liquid Nicotine for e-cigarettes Yield €8.3m
Increase excise duty on a packet of cigarettes by 20c Yield €26m
Increase Bank Levy from 35% to 45% Yield €44m
Introduce a 5% Sugary Sweetened Drinks Tax Yield €49m
Income Tax
Increase tax paid on income over €100,000 by 7 cent in each euro Yield €283m
PRSI
Introduce new 15.75% rate of Employers PRSI on portion of salary in
excess of €100,000
Yield €267.4m
Tax Evasion
Increase Revenue Commissioner’s activity to target tax evasion Yield €25m
Pensions
Reduce the ‘earnings cap’ for pension contributions from €115,000 per
annum to €60,000
Yield €135m
Standardise the relief at which tax back can be claimed, beginning with
a reduction to 35% in 2016
Yield €82m
12
Married, one child, one self-employed earner
Donal and Mary are married living in a home they own in Dublin with one child aged 15. Donal works as
carpenter earning €40,000. Donal will beneft from a tax credit as a self-employed earner to the value of
€500. An increase in their child beneft of €60 (€5 per month).Tax credit for their son who will attend Irish
College in the summer of 2016 of €190. Abolition of the property tax saves the family €420. Abolition of
water charges saves €260. Income increases by €1,430.
Self-employed tax credit: +€500
Child Beneft increase: +€60
College Tax Credit: +€190
Abolished Property Tax: +€420
Abolished Water Charges: +€260
Total income increase: €1,430
Income: €40,000
Married with two children, both PAYE workers
John and Aine are married living in a home they own in Donegal. John works as a forklift driver on €40,000 and
Aine works in a care home earning €20,000. They have two children aged 18 and 19 both in college.
John and Aine will beneft through: Abolition of the property tax €315. Abolition of water charges €260. Reduce
third level student contribution fee by €1,000 (€500 x 2). Their income is increased by €1,575.
Abolished Property Tax: +€315
Abolished Water Charges: +€260
Reduced Third level fee: +€1,000
Total income increase: €1,575
Income 1: €40,000 Income 2: €20,000
Case Studies - Sinn Féin Budget 2016
*
* If the household is registered with Irish Water the total income increase will be reduced by €100.
13
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
Living alone, retired and on state pension
Josephine 76 is retired, living in her own home in Cork City. Josephine benefts from: Abolition of water
charges €160. Abolition of property tax €283. Increase Fuel Allowance by 3 weeks, worth a total of €60.
€9.50 per month to provide for a telephone allowance, equalling €114 per year.
Josephine’s income increases by €617.
Abolished Property Tax: +€283
Abolished Water Charges: +€160
Increase Fuel Allowance: +€60
Telephone Allowance: +€114
Total income increase: €617
College graduate, unemployed
Michael has just graduated from NUIG and is unemployed. Michael will beneft from an additional €40
per week in his jobseekers’ payments. Michael won’t have to pay water charges for his accommodation
saving him €160. His total income is increased by €2,240.
Jobseekers increase: +€2,080
Abolished Water Charges: +€160
Total income increase: €2,240
Single, 50, with grown up children living abroad
Mary is single, 50, living in rented accomodation and her grown up children now live abroad. She works 30
hours each week in her local shop earning the national minimum wage. Mary will beneft by: €1 per hour
increase to the national minimum wage giving her an additional €1,560 each year. Our increase in the PRSI
exemption in tandem with the minimum wage increase means Mary will continue to be exempt from PRSI.
Mary will no longer have to pay USC putting €286 back into her pocket each year. She will also save €160
as she will not have to pay water charges. Mary’s total income will increase by €2,006
Minimum wage increase: +€1,560
USC Exemption: +€286
Abolished Water Charges: +€160
Total income increase: €2,006
14
15
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
RÉAMHRÁ
TÉARNAMH COTHROM A SHOLÁTHAR
Le deich mbliana anuas rinneadh daoine a bhrú chuig
an imeall mar gheall ar pholasaí déine an Rialtais. Níl
aon amhras ná go bhfuil an saol ag daoine áirithe ag
dul i bhfeabhas, ach don chuid is mó níor tháinig mórán
d’athrú ar an saol s’acu. Níl i ndán dúinn ón Rialtas ach
tuilleadh den méid céanna agus mura dtagann athrú
ollmhór ar chúrsaí, beimid thíos leis mar gheall ar na
ciorruithe leis na blianta fada atá amach romhainn.
Is í fírinne an scéil ná gur éirigh leis na daoine ba
shaibhre sa tsochaí ní ba shaibhre, in ainneoin go bhfuil
géarchéim ann sa gheilleagar.
Tharla sé seo mar gheall ar pholasaí, ní de thaisme.
De réir mar a tháinig méadú de 16% go €75 billiún
ar shaibhreas 250 duine le dhá mhí dhéag anuas, is í
lomchnámh na fírinne don ghnáth-theaghlach ná go
bhfuil laghdú ag teacht isteach an ioncam, mar thoradh
ar chiorruithe tuarastal, an USC, muirir uisce agus cáin
réadmhaoine. Tá sé seo ar bharr an chostais mhóir ar
chúram leanaí, cúram sláinte, tithíocht, oideachas agus
ábhar eile atá riachtanach. Is siad na teaghlaigh seo a
bhfuil tacaíocht de dhíth orthu i mBuiséad 2016.
Nuair a cuireadh isteach sa Rialtas iad is amhlaidh gur
chaith Fine Gael agus Páirtí an Lucht Oibre a bhforógraí
olltoghcháin sa bhruscar agus ina áit sin chuir siad
plean Fhianna Fáil don gheilleagar i bhfeidhm. Is mar
gheall ar na hiarrachtaí ciniciúla seo a cuireadh leis an
gcúlú, arbh éigean do leathmhilliún duine dul ar imirce
agus a scriosadh croí-eilimintí ár seirbhísí poiblí.
Ní léire é seo in áit ar bith eile ná sa tseirbhís sláinte. Is
féidir le Enda Kenny agus Joan Bruton ligean orthu féin
gur cúis imní dóibh í géarchéim a bheith sa tseirbhís
sláinte.
Ní tubaiste nach rabhthas ag dúil leis, áfach, atá ag tarlú
sa tseirbhís sláinte, is toradh ar pholasaí an Rialtais atá
ann.
Ní féidir 9,255 d’fhoireann lánaimseartha a ghlacadh
amach sa córas na sláinte poiblí laistigh de cheithre
bliana go leith gan tionchar a bheith ann. Is í an chúis
gur chaith seanduine a raibh ailse air cúig lá ar throlaí
in Otharlann Mhuire Lourdes i nDroichead Átha an
mhí seo caite ná polasaí an Rialtais agus má táimid ag
iarraidh go dtiocfaidh deireadh lena leithéid de rudaí
náireacha ní mór dúinn polasaí an Rialtais a athrú. Ní
mór tosaíocht a dhéanamh láithreach d’infheistíocht inár
gcroí-sheirbhísí poiblí.
Ní hé plean an Rialtais le haghaidh scoilt 50:50 idir
caiteachas agus ciorruithe imeallacha cánach an
freagra. Is cleas roimh an olltoghchán é. Tá plean Shinn
Féin bunaithe ar ‘Téarnamh cothrom a sholáthar’ agus
sa phlean tá ceithre phríomhthosaíochtaí againn:
Cáin Chothrom - ciallaíonn sé sin an t-ualach
cánach a laghdú ar an ngáthoibrí, lena n-áirítear
iad siúd atá féinfhostaithe agus ag iarraidh orthu
siúd a thuilleann an méid is mó a gcion cothrom
féin a íoc.
Infheistíocht €1.7 billiún i caiteachas poiblí -
ciallaíonn sé sin tuilleadh banaltraí, dochtúir,
múinteoirí agus Gardaí.
An fód a sheasamh in aghaidh na mbaincéirí
lena chinntiú go laghdaítear na hollrátaí úis atá
á ngearradh ar shealbhóirí morgáistí. Bheadh
coigilteas de €2,000 sa bhliain ar mhorgáiste
€200,000 ar an meán do shealbhóirí morgáistí dá
mbeadh laghdú de 1% ann.
An ngeilleagar uile Éireann a fhorbairt.
I MBUISÉAD 2016 IS AMHLAIDH GO NDÉANFAIDH
SINN FÉIN AN MÉID SEO A LEANAS:
Cuirfear idir €600 - €2,000 isteach i bpócaí an
ghnáthoibrí nó clann, ag brath ar a thuarastal
agus ar chúinsí an teaghlaigh trí dheireadh a chur
leis an gcáin réadmhaoine, deireadh a chur le
muirir uisce, thart ar 100,000 oibrí a bhaint den
USC, rochtain ar chúram leanaí a leathnú, costas
cúraim leanaí a laghdú, agus cuidiú le costais
oideachasúla.
Déanfar tosaíocht de shláinte, oideachas agus
cúram leanaí.
Déanfar infheistíocht i seirbhísí agus i
dtacaíochtaí míchumais.
Tacófar agus spreagfar Fiontair Bheaga agus
Mheánmhéide agus fontraithe trí chreidmheas
cánach do dhaoine féinfhostaithe a thabhairt
isteach, agus síol-chaipitil agus bearta eile a
sholáthar.
Méadófar maoiniú chun tithe sóisialta a thógáil
agus le dul i ngleic le géarchéim na ndaoine
atá gan dídean, agus méadófar maoiniú chuig
infheistíocht chaipitil chun an geilleagar a
fhorbairt.
Crios Forbartha le haghaidh Gheilleagar na
Teorann a chruthú.
16
CÉ ATÁ AG ÍOC AN MÉID IS MÓ
MAR GHEALL AR PHOLASAITHE
FHINE GAEL / PHÁIRTÍ AN LUCHT
OIBRE?
1.8 milliún teaghlaigh ag íoc €244 ar an meán
gach bliain ar cháin réadmhaoine.
300,000 sealbhóir morgáiste ag íoc na mílte
sa bhreis gach bliain as siocair go ndiúltaíonn
an Rialtas plé le rátaí éagsúlaithe úis i bhfad
níos airde ná an meán i Limistéar an Euro.
Choigleofaí breis agus €400m d’íocaíochtaí
do bhreis agus 300,000 teaghlach mar gheall
ar chiorrú de 1 faoin gcéad. (Stocbhróicéirí
Goodbody – Aibreán 2015)
Bhí thart ar 5,000 daoine gan dídean in Iúil
2015, agus 1,495 páiste ina measc.
7,775 othar ar thralaithe otharlainne i
Meitheamh 2015, agus beirt sheanbhan ina
measc a bhí níos sine ná 100 bliain d’aois.
77,000 cúramóir - ar gearradh an deontas
faoisimh orthu le 20%
615,000 teaghlach ag fáil sochar linbh le
haghaidh 1.2 milliún páiste. Thar thréimhse
ama thrí bhuiséad, ghearr FF/FG agus Páirtí an
Lucht Oibre sochar linbh a scoradh.
CÉ ATÁ AG DÉANAMH DUL CHUN
CINN MAR GHEALL AR FHINE
GAEL AGUS PHÁIRTÍ AN LUCHT
OIBRE?
Tháinig méadú de 16% go €75 billiún ar
shaibhreas 250 duine le dhá mhí dhéag anuas.
Bhain 121 duine leas as faoiseamh cánach
SARP le haghaidh saothraithe arda ar chostas
€1.895 milliún don Státchiste i 2013.
Íocadh sealbhóirí bonda sinsearacha Anglo ina
n-iomláine le na billiúin euro cháiníocóirí.
Comhairleoirí speisialta ag airí Rialtais - cuid
acu atá go fóill á n-íoc ar leibhéal i bhfad níos
airde ná an uasteorainn tuarastail - suas le
€156,380 do chomhairleoirí Enda Kenny agus
€119,577 in oifg Joan Bruton.
Forbróirí réadmhaoine ar íocadh €11 milliún sa
bhliain dóibh mar thuarastal ag NAMA. Íocadh
idir €150,000 go €199,000 le 15 acu sa bhliain.
Ard-Rúnaithe Rannóga Rialtais - chuaigh an
tArd-Rúnaí ar an Rannóg Fostaíochta ar scor
i mBealtaine 2011 agus é 59 mbliana d’aois
agus íocadh cnapshuim de €380,452 leis,
chomh maith le pacáiste scarúna comhláin
de €126,817 agus tá sé i dteideal pinsean
comhláin sa bhliain de €126,817.
17
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
Scrios Fianna Fáil an
geilleagar
Is é Fianna Fáil an páirtí a chuir an borradh amú agus
a scrios an geilleagar. Chosain Fianna Fáil an dream
ba shaibhre sa tsochaí, forbróirí réadmhaoine agus
baincéirí sinsearacha agus thug ar dhaoine íoc as trí
cháin agus trí mhuirir nua, trí chiorruithe fíochmhara ar
sheirbhísí poiblí agus a thug ar leathmhilliún duine dul
ar imirce. Agus dá dtoghfaí arís iad i 2011 leanfaidís
ar aghaidh ar an bport céanna. Tá plean Fhianna Fáil
curtha i bhfeidhm ag Fine Gael agus ag Páirtí an Lucht
Oibre. Roimh Olltoghchán 2011, shínigh Fianna Fáil
leis an bPlean Ceithre Bliana - Plean an Téarnaimh
Náisiúnta a chuir de cheangal orthu cloí le ceithre
bliana de mhéaduithe i gcúrsaí cánach, i gciorruithe ar
chaiteachas agus i gciorruithe ar sheirbhísí poiblí.- ba
é an plean a bhí leis an phlean ceithre bliana:
Muirir uisce a thabhairt isteach - agus scéim ann le
méadrú a chur i bhfeidhm san earnáil bhaile agus
muirear ann ar uisce an bhaile ó 2014 ar aghaidh.
Gearradh siar ar líon na ndaoine fostaithe sa
tseirbhís phoiblí le 24,750 thar leibhéil 2008 (nuair
a bhí muid go díreach faoin meán OECD maidir le
meánleibhéil foirne)
Ranníocaíocht mac léinn a mhéadú le costais
oideachas tríú leibhéal
An t-íosphá a ghearradh ag €1 in aghaidh na huaire
Ciorruithe a chur i bhfeidhm ar leas sóisialta
Ciorruithe a chur i bhfeidhm ar mhaoiniú scileanna
lena n-áirítear gach deontas caipitíochta, deontas
le haghaidh Litearthachta ag Daoine Fásta,
Oideachais Phobail, an Chláir Chríochnaithe
Scolaíochta, agus Ógtheagmháil.
Rannóga Timpistí agus Éigeandála
Ní géarchéim atá ann, is polasaí de chuid an Rialtais atá ann
Bhí 7,775 duine ar thralaithe otharlainne i
Meitheamh. Ba é seo an leibhéal ab airde riamh
plódaithe i mí an Mheithimh ón thosaigh an INMO
ar Trolley Watch breis agus 12 bliain ó shin. Gach
mí cluinimid scéalta uafáis faoin dóigh a gcaitear
le daoine scothaosta sna haonaid Timpistí agus
Éigeandála agus gach leor leor leapacha ná
foireann ann. Is i bhfad ó ghéarchéim atá ann
anois. Is polasaí an rialtais atá ann agus ní mór dó
athrú.
Nollaig 2014
Chaith bean 87 mbliana d’aois 57 uair an chloig
ar thralaí agus ar chathaoir i halla in Ospidéil na
hOllscoile, Luimneach.
Feabhra 2015
Fágadh beann 100 bliain d’aois ag fanacht 24 uair
an chloig ar thralaí in Ospidéil Thamhlachta - agus
í ag fulaingt mar gheall ar ionfhabhtú a d’fhéadfadh
a bheith tromchúiseach. Bhí sé ar dhuine de
dheichniúr othar thar 80 bliain d’aois a fágadh ag
fanacht ar thralaithe le suas le 23 uair an chloig
sular bacadh leo.
Meitheamh 2015
Bhí ar bheirt bhan scothaosta, an bheirt acu thar
100 bliain d’aois, fulaingt go náireach agus iad ag
fanacht breis agus 24 uair an chloig ar thralaí ag
fanacht ar leaba san otharlann.
Meán Fómhair 2015
Chaith seanduine a raibh ailse air cúig lá ar throlaí
in Otharlann Mhuire Lourdes i nDroichead Átha. Tá
an Rannóg Éigeandála i nDroichead Átha cúigear
banaltraí gann in otharlann a bhfuil an leibhéal is
airde plódaithe ann ó bhí 2006 ann.
18
CLÁR COMHORDAITHE FORIOMLÁN
€milliún
Cáin
Ioncam Cánach 1,110.7
Caiteachas Cánach -815
Méadú Cháin Ghlan 295.7
Caiteachas
Coigiltí 341.12
Caiteachas na Roinne -1,736.82
Caiteachas Ghlan -1,395.7
Caipitil
Caiteachas -400
Spás Fioscach 1500
€milliún
Cáin 295.7
Caiteachas -1,395.7
Caipitil -400
Cothromaíocht -1500
19
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
CLÁR INFHEISTÍOCHTA CHAIPITIÚIL IOMLÁN: €400 MILLIÚN
CAITEACHAS IOMLÁN: €1736.82 MILLIÚN
Seirbhísí do dhaoine gan dídean agus do thearmann Costas €25.45m
Ag Plé leis an nGéarchéim sa Chóras Sláinte Costas €383m
Acmhainní a chur ar ais sa Chóras Oideachais Costas €180.19m
Tacú le Tuismitheoirí, Infheistíocht i gCúram Leanaí Costas €238.28m
Dul i nGleic le hÉagothroime Ioncaim Costas €289.92m
Pobail a chosaint Costas €21.7m
Buiséadú Cothroime Costas €1.1m
An Ghaeilge agus tacú leis an nGaeltacht Costas €5.95m
Fórsa Oibre Líne Thosaigh Costas €20m
Tuarastal Maireachtála a thabhairt isteach sa Státseirbhís Costas €1.5m
Scéim Dearbhán le haghaidh Trádáil ar Líne a dhúbláil do 2016 Costas €2.73m
Comhaontú Bhóthar Lansdún /Comhaontú Bhóthar Haddington Costas €267m
Soláthar do Féimeagrafaic Costas €300m
Moltaí Buiséid 2016
20
COIGILTÍ IOMLÁN: €341.12 milliún
Pá agus pinsean san earnáil phoiblí ag na saothraithe is mó a laghdú Coigilt €15.28m
Tuarastal an Oireachtais a laghdú (€75,000 Tdanna, €60,000 Seanadóirí)
agus liúntais lena n-áirítear an Taoiseach agus Airí (le 50% ar thuarastal
thar€75,000)
Coigilt €5.59m
Caiteachas Ginearálta an Rialtais a laghdú Coigilt €21.45m
Mar chuid de na muirir uisce a chur ar ceal, an Deontas um
Chaomhnaithe Uisce a bhaint ar shiúl
Coigilt €130m
Laghdú de 2% i gcógas brandáilte Coigilt €36m
Deireadh a chur go céimneach leis an bhfóirdheontas bliantúil ón stát do
scoileanna príobháideacha thar cúig bliana
Coigilt €20.6m
An Earnáil Airgeadais a rialú Coigilt €70m
Deireadh a chur go céimneach le scéim JobBridge Coigilt €7.9m
Deireadh a chur le Scéim Gateway Coigilt €5.6m
Úsáid níos fearr le baint as JobsPlus (5,000) Coigilt €28.7m
CAITEACHAS CÁNACH IOMLÁN: €815 milliún
An t-ualach ar theaghlaigh, oibrithe agus ar ghnólachtaí a laghdú
Deireadh a chur leis an gcáin réadmhaoine Costas €440m
Deireadh a chur le muirir uisce Costas €210.5m
Oibrithe a thuilleann níos lú ná €19,572 a ghlacadh amach as an Muirear
Sóisialta uilíoch
Costas €93m
Creidmheas Cánach a thabhairt isteach do dhaoine féinfhostaithe Costas €39m
Bandaí ÁSPC fostaithe agus fostóirí a ardú de réir mhéadú Shinn Féin €1
san uair leis an Íosphás Náisiúnta
Costas €21.5m
An Ghaeltacht a dhéanamh níos inacmhainne Costas €4.5m
Deireadh a chur leis an táille riaracháin ón Scéim Aisíocaíochta
Easpórtála VRT
Costas €1m
Fiontraithe a spreagadh Costas €5m
An faoiseamh de 50% le haghaidh Beoir Cheirde a shíneadh go 35,000
heictilítear
Costas €0.5m
21
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
TORADH CÁNACH IOMLÁN: €1,110.7 milliún
Cáin Mhaoine agus Réadmhaoine
An muirear ar an dara teach a thabhairt isteach arís agus a mhéadú go
€400 sa bhliain
Toradh €110m
Cáin ghnóthachan caipitiúil a mhéadú ar (CGT) ar infheistíochtaí
éighníomhacha le 2% go 35%
Toradh €0
Cáin Fháltas Caipitiúil a mhéadú le 3% to 36% Toradh €31m
Dleacht Stampála agus Máil
An cháin ar shiopaí geallghlacadóireachta a ardú to 3% ac a chur i
bhfeidhm ar an gcustaiméir
Toradh €50m
Dleacht ar Leacht-Nicitín le haghaidh r-thoitíní Toradh €8.3m
An dleacht máil ar bhosca toitíní a ardú le 20c Toradh €26m
An Tobhadh Bainc a ardú ó 35% go 45% Toradh €44m
Cáin ar Dheochanna lán Siúcra de 5% a thabhairt isteach Toradh €49m
Cáin Ioncaim
An cháin a íoctar ar ioncam thar €100,000 a mhéadú le 7 cent i ngach
euro
Toradh €283m
ÁSPC
Ráta nua fostóra ÁSPC de 15.75% a thabhairt isteach ar chuid an
tuarastail thar €100,000 a íoctar gach bliain
Toradh €267.4m
Imghabháil Cánach
Gníomhaíocht an Choimisinéara Ioncaim a mhéadú le díriú isteach ar
Imghabháil cánach
Toradh €25m
Pinsin
Teorainn tuillimh a laghdú le haghaidh ranníocaíochtaí pinsin ón
€115,000 sa bhliain go €60,000 sa bhliain
Toradh €135m
An leibhéal faoisimh ar ar féidir cáin a éileamh ar ais a chaighdeánú, ag
tosú le laghdú 35% i 2015
Toradh €82m
22
Pósta, leanbh amháin, saothraí amháin féinfhostaithe
Tá Donal agus Mary pósta ar a chéile agus ina gcónaí i dteach ar leo é i mBaile Átha Cliath agus leanbh amháin acu atá
15 bliana d’aois. Oibríonn Donal mar shiúinéir agus tuilleann sé €40,000 sa bhliain. Bainfdh Donal leas as creidmheas
cánach mar shaothraí féinfhostaithe ar fú €500 é. Meadófar an liúntas sochair linbh go €60 (€5 sa mhí). Beidh
creidmheas cánach ann dá mac a dhéanfaidh freastal ar Choláiste Gaeilge i Samhradh 2016 de luach €190. Sábhálann
deireadh leis an gcáin réadmhaoine €420. Sábhálann deireadh leis na muirir uisce €260. Méadaíonn ioncam le €1,430.
Creidmheas cánach féinfhostaithe: +€500
Meadú sochair linbh: +€60
Creidmheas cánach choláiste: +€190
Deireadh le cáin réadmhaoine: +€420
Deireadh le muirir uisce: +€260
Méadú ioncam iomlán: €1,430
Ioncam: €40,000
Pósta agus beirt leanaí acu, an bheirt acu in n-oibrithe ÍMAT
Tá John agus Áine pósta ar a chéile i dteach ar leo féin é i Dún na nGall. Oibríonn John mar thiománaí forcardaitheora ar
€40,000 agus oibríonn Áine i dteach cúraim ag tuilleadh €20,000. Tá beirt leanaí acu agus iad 18 mbliana d’aois agus 19
mbliana d’aois agus iad beirt ar choláiste. Bainfdh John agus Áine leas as: Deireadh a chur leis an gcáin €315. Deireadh
a chur leis na muirir uisce €260. Táille ranníocaíochta mic léinn tríú leibhéal a laghdú le €1,000 (€500 x 2). Méadaítear a
n-ioncam le €1,575.
Deireadh le cáin réadmhaoine: +€315
Deireadh le muirir uisce: +€260
Laghdú táillí mhic léinn: +€1,000
Méadú ioncam iomlán: €1,575
Ioncam 1: €40,000 / Ioncam 2: €20,000
Sinn Féin - Buiséad 2016
-Téarnamh cothrom a sholáthar
23
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
Ina cónaí léi féin agus ar phinsean stáit
Tá Josephine 76 bliain d’aois, ina cónaí ina teach féin i gCathair Chorcaigh. Baineann Josephine leas as:
Deireadh a chur leis na muirir uisce €160. Deireadh a chur leis an gcáin réadmhaoine €283. An Liúntas
Breosla a ardú le trí seachtaine, ar fú €60 san iomlán é. €9.50 sa mhí le caitheamh ar liúntas gutháin, arb
ionann agus €114 sa bhliain é. Méadaíonn ioncam Josephine le €617.
Deireadh le cáin réadmhaoine: +€283
Deireadh le muirir uisce: +€160
Ardú liúntas breosla: +€60
Liúntas gutháin: +€114
Méadú ioncam iomlán: €617
Céimí Coláiste, dífhostaithe
Tá Micheal i ndiaidh céim a bhaint ó Choláiste na hOllscoile, Gaillimh agus tá sé dífhostaithe. Bainfdh
Micheal leas as €40 sa bhreis sa tseachtain as na híocaíochtaí cuardaitheoirí poist. Ní bheidh ar Michael
muirir uisce a íoc dá lóistín agus sábhálfaidh sé sin €160. Méadaítear a n-ioncam le €2240.
Meadú híocaíochtaí
cuardaitheoirí poist: +€2,080
Deireadh le muirir uisce: +€160
Méadú ioncam iomlán: €2,240
Singil, 50 bliain d’aois, agus tá cónaí ar a páistí fásta anois thar lear
Tá Mary singil, 50 bliain d’aois, agus tá cónaí ar a páistí fásta anois thar lear. Oibríonn sí 30 uair an chloig sa tseachtain
ina siopa áitiúil agus í ag saothrú an íosphá náisiúnta. Bainfdh Mary leas as: Méadú de €1 ar an íosphá náisiúnta
agus €1,560 sa bhreis aici sa bhliain. Tá an ár méadú sa díolúine ÁSPC de réir an mhéaduithe san íosphá náisiúnta a
chiallaíonn go mbeidh Mary go fóil saor ó ÁSPC. Ní bheidh ar Mary USC a íoc agus cuirfear €286 ar ais ina póca gach
bliain. Sábhálfaidh sí €160 freisin as siocair nach mbeidh uirthi muirir uisce a íoc. Méadófar ioncam iomlán Mary le
€2,006.
Meadú íosphá náisiúnta: € 1,560
Díolúine USC: +€286
Deireadh le muirir uisce: +€160
Méadú ioncam iomlán: €2,006
24
PART 1
CHERISHING ALL CITIZENS OF THE NATION EQUALLY
ENHANCED CAPITAL
INVESTMENT PROGRAMME –
COST €400M
Sinn Féin is proposing an enhanced €400 million
capital investment programme prioritising housing
build (€300 million), roads and broadband provision.
The Government intends to increase capital spend
by €180 million in 2016. In its frst year in ofce,
with its frst budget, it slashed €750 million from
the capital budget. In any recovery, this budget has
to be substantially increased, both to remedy the
damage done to existing services and stock and
also to stimulate the economy through job creation
and materials consumption.
We are substantially increasing housing build spend
to address the housing crisis and to create jobs
in 2016. There are ofcially 89,872 households on
local authority waiting lists. However, recent fgures
suggest the number in need of housing could be as
high as 130,000 households.
We do not believe the Government’s Housing 2020
strategy will deliver on its promises and its funding
sources and commitments are vague in detail.
€300 million will allow for a further 1,680 houses to
be built in 2016 on top of existing government plans.
HOMELESSNESS AND REFUGE
SERVICES – COST €25.45M
Funding for emergency homeless
accommodation Cost €20m
In the frst half of 2015 over 1,000 children were
sleeping in emergency accommodation every
night. 78 families are presenting as homeless
each month. All the major homeless charities
have stated that their budgets cannot cope. Local
Authority services are straining.
The government’s claim that funding is not the
issue is at odds with the view of on-the-ground
responders to homelessness. The number of
placements into emergency accommodation in
Dublin increased from 147 per night in 2014 to 227
per night in Q1 2015 (Focus Ireland/Peter McVerry
Trust). It costs an average of €3 million to house
50 families in emergency accommodation per
annum.
We are calling for – in line with a series of other
measures outlined in our full housing policy to be
launched this autumn – an additional emergency
€20 million for 2016 to ensure no family is left
sleeping on the streets next year. We are also
demanding that Minister Alan Kelly fulfl his
promises on funding due to be released to Local
Authorities and that the Government meets its
commitment to cover 90% of section 10 funding
for homeless services.
Increase funding for women’s refuges
Cost €5.45m
In June of this year, Women’s Aid released its
annual report and stated that in 2014 it had
received complaints of 16,464 cases of violence
against women, some of them repeat instances,
as well as 5,786 child abuse reports. Domestic
violence is a leading cause of homelessness for
women and children, but worse, the absence of
enough refuge spaces for women trying to escape
abusive partners is forcing them to stay in violent
and sometimes life-threatening relationships.
Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, reported
that up to 80 per cent of women feeing domestic
violence were turned away from Dublin refuges in
the frst quarter of this year because of the crisis
in accommodation in the capital city (Irish Times
July 2015). We believe funding for refuges should
be ringfenced from all cuts and an increase of
€5.45 million be applied to this budget.
25
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
DEALING WITH THE CRISIS IN
THE HEALTH SYSTEM – COST
€383M
Emergency Department trolley crisis –
Cost €86.28m
Emergency Department (ED) services have
been at crisis point for some time, as regularly
highlighted by the ‘Trolley Watch’ survey
carried out by the Irish Nurses and Midwives
Organisation. The trolley crisis is not just an
ED crisis but a symptom of the malaise that is
endemic across the wider health system. It is
primarily due to a lack of capacity resulting from
the chronic failure of government to provide
adequate funding to the public health system.
There are insufcient staf and beds in the acute
hospital system; insufcient exit packages; and
insufcient nursing home beds or home care
options. Sinn Féin is prioritising the provision of
an additional 500 nurses to tackle the crisis in the
EDs themselves and to open further beds across
the system. We would also increase the number of
Registered Nurse Prescribers. And in developing
sustainable solutions to the issue of delayed
discharges we have provided for additional
nursing home beds, home help hours and home
care packages.
Waiting times crisis Cost €55.83m
The Irish Hospital Consultants Association has
highlighted the real cost to the health system of
agency consultants, which work out at twice the
price of a long-serving permanent consultant
and three times the cost of a new consultant.
Sinn Féin has prioritised the recruitment of an
additional 250 hospital consultants and medical
secretaries for 2016. These posts are vital if we
are to tackle shamefully long waiting times for
consultations and treatments.
Increase maternity resources
Cost €15.16m
Ireland had the highest per capita birth rate
of all 28 member countries of the EU in 2014.
Despite this, maternity care in Ireland has been
left in crisis, with shortages of staf in hospitals
across the state. Our maternity services are
severely understafed, lacking both midwives
and obstetricians. Sinn Féin would recruit an
additional 250 midwives, and obstetricians and
gynaecologists from our new consultant intake for
2016.
Increase investment in mental health
services Cost €29.16m
Year after year the Government has failed to
deliver on its mental health commitments. Despite
a greater need for mental health services, there
are 1,200 fewer mental health staf now than there
were in 2006. Sinn Féin believes that the ‘A Vision
for Change’ strategy for mental health must be
implemented. We intend to address stafng-level
shortcomings with a particular focus on stafng
Child and Adolescent Mental Health teams, the
provision of suicide critical assessment nurses
and mental health intellectual disability posts and
increasing access to the Counselling in Primary
Care service.
Increase funding to disability services
Cost €45.89m
565,000 people in this state reported having
various forms of disability in the last census.
Disability is a societal issue, afecting people of
all ages and their families, directly and indirectly.
Despite disability having being proclaimed
as a focus for the Government, the recession
and austerity imposed has seen a reduction in
services for those with disabilities in the order of
14-16%. Sinn Féin’s budget proposals provide for
between 500 and 600 occupational therapists,
physiotherapists, speech and language therapists,
and psychologists, and additional funding for
personal assistant hours and community based
neuro-rehabilitation teams and transitional
services.
Medical Card Reform Cost €21.29m
Some of our sickest and most vulnerable citizens
continue to go without medical cards. With
the exception of childhood cancer, the time-
consuming and onerous fnancial audit of the
entire household remains the sole criteria upon
which eligibility for a medical card is based.
This is despite promises by government to build
compassion into the system. Our proposals
include providing an automatic medical card for
children with signifcant medical needs arising
from serious illness or disability.
Further provisions for the extension of free
GP visits to the remainder of the population,
commencing with lower income households and
for the expansion of GP capacity to facilitate this
roll-out will be included in an upcoming Health
Policy document. We are now providing for an
initial increase in the number of GPs in training.
26
Address high cost of prescription
charges and medicines Cost €33.9m
The overwhelming body of evidence shows that
charges for drugs can lead to higher costs on
the health budget in the medium to longer term,
not to mention the serious strain and ill efects
they can have on the health of those who need
medications. As a frst step in phasing them out,
we would reduce the charge per prescription
by 50c as well as lowering the Drug Payment
Scheme monthly limit from €144 to €132.
Increase investment in dental care
Cost €81.1m
During the recession there has been a drastic
scaling back across the three main felds of
public-funded dental provision. As with other
frontline services the recruitment moratorium has
had a negative efect on frontline dental services,
and waiting lists have become shamefully long.
We would provide an additional 80 dentists,
including orthodontists, and 120 dental nurses,
expand orthodontic treatment for children, extend
the annual dental check-up, and restore funding
for maintenance treatments.
Increase emergency ambulance cover
Cost €7.8m
Many communities across the country
experience long and dangerous delays waiting for
ambulances. HIQA sets the targets in which 80
per cent of life-threatening cardiac or respiratory
emergency calls for emergency assistance are
supposed to be dealt with within 8 minutes. Last
year just 26.6% of such calls were responded to
within this time. In rural areas just 6.6% of calls
were responded to within the eight-minute target
time. We would increase emergency ambulance
cover by providing two additional ambulances,
including personnel (88), for each of the four HSE
regions.
Increase funding for the National Drugs
Strategy Cost €5.76m
Problem drug use is a public health issue. In the
nine years from 2004 to 2012 problem drug use
played a role in the deaths of 5,289 people. That’s
more than one death every single day. But despite
the threat to the lives of so many, predominantly
young men, funding for the health services vitally
needed to stabilise and save these lives has
been severely cut. We would increase funding for
delivery of the National Drugs Strategy.
Additional funding to strengthen HIQA’s
role Cost €630,000
HIQA has a varied and challenging workload
in setting standards across the health sphere
and monitoring whether they are adhered to, in
hospital, residential homes, child care settings
and technology relating to health care. HIQA
needs to be adequately supported and resourced.
We make an initial provision for additional staf.
Increase funding to Healthy Ireland
Cost €200,000
There are currently only fve staf in the
Department of Health assigned to work in the
Health and Wellbeing Programme, which is
coordinating Healthy Ireland. Providing adequate
funding for Healthy Ireland will help to ensure that
citizens young and old are encouraged to achieve
as high a level of health and wellbeing as possible.
PUTTING KEY RESOURCES
BACK INTO EDUCATION –
TOTAL COST €180.19M
Reduce primary school classes by one
pupil Cost €5m
Many children are taught in overcrowded
classrooms, with an average pupil-teacher ratio
of 28:1. Sinn Féin agrees that smaller classes
beneft young children and for this reason we
would reduce class sizes by one pupil, which
provides for an additional 250 teachers.
Increase funding to school meal
programme by 40% Cost €16.09m
Successive cuts to social protection measures
that protect low income and vulnerable families
have resulted in children going to school hungry
and relying on breakfast clubs and the voluntary
sector to ensure they get a healthy meal each day.
We would increase the funding to the School Meal
Programme, extending it to an additional 500
schools, to ensure children have access to food
that is both flling and nutritious.
27
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
Increase funding to school books grant by
30% Cost €4.8m
Barnardos’ annual School Cost Survey found that
school books continue to be a substantial cost to
parents, particularly for secondary school pupils,
where they make up on average over 40% of the
total cost. The charity also warned that the prices
of school books appear to be increasing. We would
increase funding to the School Book Grant Scheme.
Increase the annual Back to School
Clothing and Footwear Allowance by €50
Cost €15.2m
Barnardos’ have also found that two in fve primary
school parents and 55% of secondary school
parents have applied for the Back to School Clothing
and Footwear Allowance, yet the charity reports
an overwhelming sense that the payment is not
sufcient to give adequate support to struggling
families. This vital support has been cut in three
separate budgets. In increasing the allowance by
€50 we are supporting up to 300,000 children and
their families.
Increase capitation grant by 2%
Cost €11.4m
Sinn Féin would increase the capitation rates for
primary and secondary schools by 2% as we are
aware of the difculties faced by schools in meeting
their basic running costs, such as providing light and
heat and insurance for school buildings. Government
cuts have put an undue burden on parents by way
of voluntary contributions, as school management
boards try to make up the decrease in funding. We
are also proposing a 1% increase in the capitation
grant rates for VTOS, YouthReach, BTEI, PLC and
Adult Literacy.
Reverse cut to provision of Guidance
Teachers in second level schools
Cost €14.7m
Cuts to secondary-level guidance counselling
provision has resulted in schools that are less well-
of having no guidance service at all for their pupils.
Guidance Counselling plays an important role in
students’ lives and should be ring-fenced separately
from teaching staf. Sinn Féin has provided for
approximately 700 posts.
Increase resource teaching hours for
children with special needs by 15%
Cost €71m
Since 2011, there has been a 15% reduction in the
level of resource teaching hours allocated to children
with special needs, despite there being an increase
of over 8,000 children with special needs requiring
resource hours since 2011. A child receiving 3 hours
and 45 minutes of resource hours now, would have
received 5 hours before the cuts introduced in 2010.
It is essential that the 15% additional allocation of
time is returned so that it is brought back up to the
2010/2011 levels. This measure would provide 1,183
additional posts.
Increase teaching principal administration
days to one extra day per month
Cost €2.2m
Teaching principals in small schools are in efect
doing two jobs. They need more free time from
class in order to run the school efectively. We would
increase the time out of classrooms for teaching
principals by one day per month. This measure
would require an additional 108 teaching posts’
Reduce threshold for acquiring
administrative principal from 178 to 145
Cost €3.5m
The threshold of 178 pupils for acquiring an
administrative principal is too high. We would
reduce this threshold to 145 pupils (creating 176 new
teaching posts) so that children in small schools do
not miss out. Where a teacher has responsibility for
the leadership, management and administration of
a school, they can become overburdened by the
competing demands of being a principal as well as a
teacher. When the small amount of time is taken up
with managing the physical resources of the school,
it takes away from the time a principal can dedicate
to development, monitoring and coaching teaching
standards of others, which can lead to a negative
efect on pupils.
Reduce third level student contribution
fee by €500 Cost €34m
Increased student contribution fees are putting
an undue hardship on many families, and some
are being efectively priced out of education. The
economic, employment and research impact of
higher education is to the beneft of the whole of the
society, not just students and graduates.
Provide an additional 500 places on the
Momentum Scheme for Jobseekers with a
disability Cost €2.3m
The Momentum programme funds the provision
of free education and training projects to allow
jobseekers to gain skills and to access work
opportunities in identifed growing sectors, yet young
people with a disability are currently excluded. We
would fund an initial 500 Momentum places for
young recipients of a Disability Allowance.
28
SUPPORTING PARENTS,
INVESTING IN CHILDCARE
– COST €238.28M
Extend the ECCE Programme to 48
weeks Cost €44.20m
The current free pre-school year or ECCE
contract is not ft for purpose as it does not allow
a sufcient margin for additional bills or costs.
Many service providers operate at a loss, with
many owner-managers taking no salary and staf
signing on the dole during the summer months.
A move towards a second free pre-school year
should be progressed when the frst year’s quality
has been determined and secured. Extending
the programme by ten weeks will, as an initial
measure, address both childcare cost for parents
during the summer period for that age group
and contribute to easing fnancial hardship for
employees in the sector.
Provide an additional 1,000 SNAs to the
ECCE Programme Cost €11m
The free pre-school year is universal in name only.
Many children with special needs are prevented
from availing of the government-subsidised
scheme due to the absence of necessary
supports. Minister Reilly states that currently no
specifc funding is available from his Department
to provide additional support to children with
special needs accessing the ECCE programme.
11% of early-years services were forced to refuse
a child with additional needs last year (2014)
because they were unable to meet his/her needs.
(Early Childhood Ireland). The above measure
would go some way to addressing the crisis as
well as creating employment.
Increase capitation grant for the free
pre-school year Cost €16.5m
An increase in the capitation paid per child will
make improvement in quality provision in ECCE
services possible. We want to increase capitation
grants for the Free Pre-School Year by €5 per
week to €67.50, and by €9.50 for the higher
capitation rate to €82.50. The higher capitation
grant is paid to services that have a level 7-led
room (graduate-led provision). The payment
should be linked to quality control mechanisms.
Full details will be set out in our childcare policy,
to be launched over the coming months.
Introduce an additional 6 weeks
maternity beneft that can be taken by
either parent at the end of the existing
26 weeks leave Cost €63m
This is a measure we want to see introduced
as part of a longer-term plan to increase the
maternity payment/obligation on employers to
contribute more to the payment and to introduce
paid parental leave. As it stands, many women in
the private and/or self-employed sector cannot
aford to take full maternity leave because
they see their wages fall from a normal level to
approximately €230 per week maternity beneft.
International evidence and research shows that a
child benefts most by spending the frst year of
life at home. Parents should be provided with that
choice and parental leave policies should refect
that.
Introduce 2 weeks paternity leave
Cost €31m
There is currently no provision for paternity leave.
Most European countries ofer paid paternity
leave, typically around 2 weeks in duration.
Current government policy assumes that the
child’s mother is the principal carer after birth.
There is no consideration given to the possibility
that the child’s mother may be unable to ofer
that care due to post-traumatic stress or other
disabling factors. Nor is it recognised that a father
should be entitled to leave to help care for his
newborn. This is a progressive policy move that
will assist families both mentally and fnancially.
Increase child beneft by €5 per child
Cost €72.58m
Despite pre-election promises, Labour and
Fine Gael in Government targeted Child Beneft
payments, reducing this much needed monthly
support by between €10 and €58 depending
on the number of children. In addition to our
measures to support parents Sinn Féin would
increase Child Beneft by €5 for each child.
29
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
TACKLING INCOME
INEQUALITY – TOTAL COST
€289.92M
Poverty in Ireland has deepened since 2011. Nearly
one in seven citizens are living in poverty and
over 200,000 of these are children. As Barnardos
and others have highlighted, the net result of this
enforced poverty is children and their parents going
without warm winter clothing, living in substandard
housing and families going hungry. By targeting lone
parents, people with disabilities, the elderly and the
unemployed for the harshest cuts over the last four
budgets, Labour and Fine Gael have increased and
embedded disadvantage across Irish society. The
following proposals seek to reverse some of the
worst inequities Labour and Fine Gael have pursued
in government.
Increase Family Income Supplement by
10% Cost €41m
FIS is a payment made to supplement the
incomes of parents in low paid employment.
Approximately 47,000 families would beneft from
the measure, which would see average weekly
payments increase.
Restore the Respite Care Grant by €325
Cost €29m
Labour and Fine Gael’s cut to the respite care
grant has caused undue hardship for almost
77,000 families, making it one of their cruellest
budget cuts.
Restore Equality for Young Jobseekers
Cost €71.9m
Over two budgets, Sinn Féin will reverse the cuts
to Jobseekers Allowance and Supplementary
Welfare Allowance for the under 26s. This would
entail a €40 weekly increase in Budget 2016.
Add a Telephone Allowance of €9.50 per
month to the Living Alone Increase Cost
€21.65m
This measure would allow vulnerable people living
on their own to access panic alarms.
Raise the cut-of age of the One Parent
Family payment to 12 years old and
increase the earnings disregard to €120
Cost €40.4m
These measures will better support lone parents
in the home or in work, who currently have a cut
of point as early as 7 years old and an earnings
disregard of €90
Introduce 4,000 Additional Community
Employment Scheme Places
Cost €13.4m
CE schemes based on structured, accredited
training should be extended and schemes that are
exploitative or displace jobs such as JobBridge
and Gateway should be ended.
Increase Investment in Employability
Services Cost €2.9 million
This investment of 1,000 additional places would
increase the capacity of the Employability Service
to support more people with disabilities to
become work ready, to fnd and to maintain a job
in the labour force.
Increase Back to Education Allowance
for under 26s to €188 Cost €6.6m
This cut by the Government made it more difcult
for job seekers to attain educational qualifcations.
We would restore the fgure to €188 from it’s
current level of €160.
Re-Instate Solas Training Allowance
Cost €6.7m
The €20 training allowance, eliminated in Budget
2014, is a vital support towards the cost of
engaging in training. Without it participation can
be unafordable for many of the nearly 4,000
trainees afected.
Increase Fuel Allowance by 3 Weeks
Cost €23.65m
These additional fuel allowance payments
would beneft some 400,000 households, after
a sustained period of energy price rises and fuel
poverty increases.
Restore the Bereavement Grant
Cost €22m
Labour and Fine Gael’s decision in 2013 to stop
the one-of bereavement grant payment was
seen as one of this Government’s meanest cuts
targeting vulnerable families at one of the most
difcult stages of life.
30
Increase funding and introduce targets
for Reasonable Accommodation Fund
Cost €120,000
The Government’s recurring underspend on a
range of disability schemes and failure to even
set estimates for the Reasonable Accommodation
Fund are indicative of the lack of priority aforded
by them to the promotion of equal employment
opportunities for people with disabilities. We
would provide for an initial increase and proactive
spending so that greater numbers of people with
disabilities can fnd or return to employment.
Secure and Replicate the Walk PEER
programme Cost €1.1m
The Walk PEER programme is an example of a
positive pilot that was allowed to expire by this
Government’s refusal to provide an extension of
funding. It was a project that supported young
people on disability allowance into paid positions
of employment in the open labour market and
further education or training in mainstream
settings. We want to ensure the positive working
concepts developed by Walk PEER continue and
are replicated by others. We would guarantee the
future of the Louth Walk PEER Programme and
roll-out initially to at least two further locations.
Restore Farm Assist Cost €5m
This measure reduces the assessment of means
from self-employment, including farming, to
85% and reinstates the deductions from income
in respect of children that were discontinued in
2013.
Additional 500 places on the Rural
Social Scheme Cost €3.8m
This measure will expand the current number of
scheme places by 20%
Increase funding for Travellers
Initiatives Cost €310,000
Increase funding to the National
Disability Authority Cost €390,000
PROTECTING COMMUNITIES
1,000 extra Gardaí - Cost €21.7m
Since Fine Gael and Labour took up ofce in 2011
they have depleted Garda numbers by 1,066 leaving
the current strength of the force at under 13,000. In
order for the force to be ft for purpose and meet the
demands of community policing, the Government
must increase investment in Garda personnel to
bring numbers back to pre-recession levels. We
have provided for the training of 1,000 gardaí in our
costings, with the intent of Templemore meeting its
maximum intake in 2016, and the remainder being
trained in 2017.
FRONTLINE WORKFORCE –
COST €20M
We are including a provision of €20 million to be
ringfenced to ensure additional frontline posts in the
public service sector that are urgently needed can
be flled.
ESTABLISH AN EQUALITY AND
BUDGETARY ADVISORY BODY
– COST €1.1M
Sinn Féin has long advocated for the introduction
of ‘Equality Budgeting’ by Government. In 2013
Sinn Féin introduced legislation to provide for
equality proofng of government policy and
budgets and public bodies through impact
assessments. This legislation would ensure that
both government and public bodies, in exercising
their functions do so in a way that is designed
to reduce the inequalities of government policy
outcomes. Sinn Féin wants to see the introduction
of Equality Impact Assessments of Government’s
expenditure and taxation policy but the Department
of Public Expenditure was unable to cost this
proposed measure. In addition Sinn Féin believes
the establishment of an independent Equality
and Budgetary Advisory Body underpinned by
legislation is necessary to secure equality of
outcome for citizens and would be a progressive
addition to the budgetary framework.
31
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
LANSDOWNE ROAD
AGREEMENT/HADDINGTON
ROAD AGREEMENT
– COST €267M
We have provided for the Lansdowne Road
Agreement (LRA) pay commitments for 2016
however we do not support the Government’s pay
restoration commitments to the highest earners.
Sinn Féin will table amendments to tackle excessive
pay at the top and increases to politicians pay and
pensions in payment when the LRA legislation
comes before the Dáil and Seanad.
PROVIDING FOR
DEMOGRAPHICS
– COST €300M
The expenditure side of Sinn Féin’s budget for
2016 provides €300m for demographics which the
system needs just to stand still. In addition to this
provision we have provided for signifcant additional
frontline posts and resources in the areas of health,
education, childcare and policing.
32
PART 2
EQUAL RIGHTS, EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
TAX MEASURES –
REBALANCING THE SCALES
Sinn Féin is committed to rebalancing the scales to
deliver a Fair Recovery. Redistribution via taxes and
transfers is a powerful instrument to contribute to
more equality and more growth.
Since 2008, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour have
made our tax system deeply regressive through the
introduction of the Property Tax and Water Charges.
Sinn Féin wants a fair tax system, one in which all
people and businesses pay their fair share. We will
scrap the Family Home Tax and Water Charges,
remove those on the minimum wage from the USC
net, provide relief to the self-employed and support
our entrepreneurs.
The fgures below were provided to Sinn Féin by the
Department of Finance’s costing unit.
Whilst it is clear the Government will meet the
anticipated budget defcit target of 2.3% for 2015
it is clear that additional revenue will be available
before the end of year. Government must ensure
departmental overspends and critical expenditure
are dealt with by supplementary estimates before
the year end so that Ireland is compliant with the
expenditure benchmark in 2016.
EASING THE BURDEN ON
FAMILIES, WORKERS &
BUSINESSES
– COST €808.5M
Abolition of Property Tax
Cost €440 million
Abolishing the unfair property tax will act as a
massive fnancial stimulus for stretched families,
and boost the local economy by restoring some
disposable spending. It will save 1.8 million home-
owners an average of €244 per annum.
End Water Charges Cost €210.5 million
Sinn Féin is opposed to domestic water charges.
These charges will only cause further hardship for
families already struggling to make ends meet and
mean that households will be double-charged for
water, the removal of charges costs €209 million.
To ensure that group water customers would not
have to pay for domestic use an additional cost of
€1.5 million would also arise. The cost provided
assumes 100% payment compliance therefore
the cost of abolishing Irish Water would in fact be
lower.
However the net cost to scrapping household
water charges is €80.5 million. The €130 million
ringfenced for the so called Water Conservation
Grant would be redundant.
Take workers earning €19,572 or less
out of the USC Cost €93 million
Sinn Féin will exempt income earners at or below
our proposed minimum wage of €19,572 (factoring
in Sinn Féin’s proposed €1 increase in the
minimum wage) from the Universal Social Charge.
Introduce Tax Credits for the Self
Employed Cost €39 million
This credit of €500 shall be available on earned
income for the self-employed up to €80,000
and reduced by 5% per €1,000, for gross
income between €80,000 and €100,000 with
no entitlement to the credit on gross income in
excess of €100.000.
Increase employee & employer PRSI
bands in line with Sinn Féin’s €1 per
hour increase to the National Minimum
Wage Cost €21.5 million
In line with Sinn Féin’s proposed 2016 minimum
wage increase by €1 to €9.65, Sinn Féin would
ensure employee and employers are not penalised
by increasing the Employee PRSI exemption to
€377 per week and increasing the Employer PRSI
rate of 8.5% up to €377.
33
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
Making the Gaeltacht more afordable
Cost €4.5 million
Sinn Féin would ensure afordability for working
families and sustainability for the Gaeltacht
regions through providing tax relief to hard
pressed families. This would involve the provision
of a 20% tax credit in relation to expenditure
incurred by parents for children for Gaeltacht
courses set at a maximum at €950 per child.
With regards to children whose parents are not
working, Sinn Féin would grant a deduction at
source for 20% of fees, if you have a medical
card.
CAPITAL & PROPERTY TAXES
- RAISES €141M
Re-introduce the second home charge
and increase it to €400 per annum
Raises €110 million
Sinn Féin would re-introduce the second home
charge (Non-Principle Private Residence Tax), and
increase it from €200 to €400 per annum.
Increase Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on
passive investments by 2% to 35%
Sinn Féin would keep the current rate of Capital
Gains tax (CGT) at 33% which applies to gains on
capital assets in relation to active investments. An
active business investment would be one involving
an active business development.
In line with our previous budget we would increase
CGT on passive income. Passive investors will
make investments with the intention of long-term
appreciation and limited maintenance e.g shares
on stock market. We propose to levy CGT at a
higher rate of 35% on these gains. The frst year
income is negligible from this increase, however it
would increase in the following full year.
Increase Capital Acquisitions Tax by 3%
to 36% Raises €31 million
Capital Acquisitions tax (CAT) is a tax on gifts and
inheritance. We would raise the rate of CAT from
33% to 36%.
EXCISE DUTIES & LEVIES
– RAISES €175.8M
Increase Betting Shop Tax to be applied
to customers to 3% Raises €50 million
Increase betting shop tax to be applied to the
customer to 3%.
Duty on Liquid Nicotine for e-cigarettes
Raises €8.3 million
Sinn Féin would introduce a duty applicable
to e-liquid containing nicotine above a certain
percentage of volume (i.e. above 0.5%), imposing
a (VAT-inclusive) duty of €0.50 per 10ml of
‘e-liquid’.
Increase Excise Duty on a packet of
Cigarettes by 20c Raises €26 million
Thousands of people die from smoking relating
illnesses each year. The cost to the health service
of providing care to those with long-term illnesses
caused by smoking runs into hundreds of millions.
We support the calls of the Irish Heart Foundation
and Irish Cancer Society to increase the taxation
take from cigarettes and simultaneously introduce
measures to reduce the tobacco industry’s profts
from cigarettes. Our simultaneous measure to
fund the Revenue Commissioners to increase
activity to clamp down on black market activity
should contribute to protecting against a rise in
the illegal cigarette market.
Introduce a 5% Sugary Sweetened
Drinks Tax Raises €49 million
Sinn Féin fully supports The Irish Heart
Foundation in its call for the introduction of a
Sugar Tax. 7% of children rising to 36% of older
people are obese. Unless obesity and food
poverty rates are reduced it is predicted that there
will be a signifcant impact on quality of life, life
expectancy and healthcare costs in Ireland.
The purpose in introducing a Sugary Soft Drinks
(SSD) tax which would increase prices by at least
5% (Sinn Féin would move to a 20% SSD tax over
4 years) is both to reduce consumption of these
high sugar products and to provide funding for
health and nutrition programmes.
34
Bank Levy Raises €44 million
Sinn Féin recognise the enormous cost which has
been borne by Irish society as a result of banking
recklessness. In this regard, we welcomed the
introduction of the Bank Levy, which is a levy in
relation to each bank’s deposits. However, we
think that the banking sector should be liable to
larger levy and we would increase the Bank Levy
from 35% to 45%.
Abolish administration fee from VRT
Export Repayment Scheme
Cost €1 million
Vehicle Registration Tax is chargeable on
the registration of motor vehicles (including
motor-cycles) in the State. The VRT Export
Repayment Scheme allows for the repayment of
Vehicle Registration Tax on passenger vehicles
permanently exported from the State. There is
a €500 administration charge payable, which
will be deducted from the amount of VRT that is
repayable. Sinn Fein would abolish this as it is a
punitive charge without justifcation.
Extension of 50% relief Alcohol
Products Tax Cost €500,000
In recognition and support of our indigenous
and burgeoning Craft Beer Industry, we propose
to support Irish Microbreweries through the
extension of the maximum quantity of beer on
which 50% on Alcohol Products is allowed for any
brewery in a calendar year from 30,000 hectolitres
to 35,000 hectolitres.
INCOME TAX – RAISES €283M
New Income Band & Rate
Raises €283 million
Sinn Féin would increase the tax paid on the
portion of individual income earned over €100,000
by 7 cent in each euro.
PRSI – RAISES €267.4M
Employers PRSI – Salary
Raises €267.4 million
Sinn Féin would introduce a new rate of 15.75%
employers PRSI on the portion of salary paid in
excess of €100,000 per annum.
TAX EVASION – RAISES €25M
As part of its Comprehensive Review of expenditure,
the Revenue Commissioners identifed how tax
take could be increased through hiring 125 qualifed
revenue staf, to bring in an additional €25 million
per annum by targeting tax evasion and black
market activity.
PENSIONS – RAISES €217M
Ceiling cap and standardising the rate
The current ‘earnings cap’ recognises €115,000 per
annum (whatever your salary is) as the maximum
salary against which percentages are calculated
for pension tax reliefs. We would reduce the
earnings cap for pension contributions to €60,000
per annum, which would raise €135 million. We
would standardise the relief at which tax back can
be claimed. Beginning with a reduction to 35% in
2016. This raises €82 million
ENCOURAGING
ENTREPRENEURS - COSTS €5
MILLION
Sinn Féin are in agreement with the Irish Tax
Institute that this Start Up Relief for Entrepreneurs
(SURE) has not been efective to date due to its
exclusion of individual whose sole income is self-
employed earnings from the scheme. We believe
that all tax payers should be able to avail of the
scheme.
REIGNING IN HIGH PAY AND
EXCESSIVE PUBLIC SPENDING
Reduce Oireachtas pay (€75,000 TDs,
€60,000 Senators) and allowances
including the Taoiseach and Ministers
(by 50% on portion of salary over
€75,000) Saves €5.59m
Time and time again Fine Gael and Labour have
chosen to punish our most vulnerable citizens and
hard pressed working families. In contrast, and
despite four previous opportunities to do so, the
Fine Gael-Labour Government has chosen not
to use the full potential of the budget to reign in
the spending of public monies on politicians and
senior management pay or departmental spends
on private consultancy fees.
35
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
Reduce Oireachtas Pay and Allowances
Any further expenditure reductions for 2016 must
start with elected representatives’ own pay and
allowances. Fat remains, therefore reductions can
still be made.
In Budget 2016 we would:
Reduce by 50% the portion of pay to the
Taoiseach, ministers and ministers of State that
is over and above their basic TD salary.
Reduce TDs pay to €75,000 and Senators pay
to €60,000.
In addition to these pay reductions, we
would:
Cap Government Special Advisors pay,
withdraw the Super Junior Ministers allowance,
Oireachtas Ofceholders allowances, and
Oireachtas committee Chair allowances.
Combined, these proposals would reduce
Oireachtas expenditure by €5.59m
Reduce Excess Pay and Pensions at
Management Level in the Public Sector
Saves €15.28m
Pay at the top of our civil and public service still
remains high compared to European standards.
All the while, nurses, Gardaí, fre brigade
members, teachers and other frontline public
workers have seen their income fall sharply. Sinn
Féin in government will pursue a full fairness
review of all public sector pay, and bring high pay
into line with other European countries.
Reduce pay for top earners with a 15%
reduction on income earned between
€100,000 and €150,000 and 30% on income
over €150,000. We would also reduce the
CEO salaries in commercial, non-commercial
semi-state bodies, local authorities and the
Education and Training Boards by 10%.
Reduce general government
expenditure Saves €21.45m
Reduce departmental spending on
professional fees and consultants, travel and
subsistence by 10%, and economise civil
service education and training by securing
a 10% discount on third level education and
other training expenditure.
Public Expenditure Saves €186.6m
As part of the abolition of water charges
withdraw the Water Conservation Grant.
Saves €130m.
Sinn Féin would withdraw the private
school subsidy over 5 years. Saves €20.6m.
Reduce the State’s drugs bill for branded
medicines by a further 2%, in addition to
reductions previously implemented. Saves
€36m.
Regulation of the Financial Sector
Saves €70m
At present the Irish public, with certain
exceptions, subsidise 50% of the cost of the
Central Bank’s regulating of certain fnancial
service providers. Sinn Féin would take this
charge from the Irish public and move the
entire cost of regulation of the fnancial sector
onto the industry.
Wind-Down JobBridge Scheme
Saves €7.9m
While some individuals have had a positive
experience, overall the JobBridge scheme
displaces existing paid work, defers real job
creation, depresses wages and exacerbates
underemployment. Sinn Féin believes that
the JobBridge scheme is beyond repair. We
would close the JobBridge scheme to new
applicants, meaning that it would become
obsolete during the course of 2016.
Cancel Gateway Scheme Saves €5.6m
Participation on Gateway is not voluntary
and it does not involve meaningful accredited
training. Sinn Féin opposed the introduction of
the Gateway scheme during 2014. We would
cancel the Gateway scheme from Budget 2016.
Greater Use of JobsPlus Saves €28.7m
This scheme involves real jobs with real pay,
terms and conditions. Employers receive a
subsidy from the state when they recruit an
employee of the live register who is long and
longer-term unemployed. We would reassign
the department staf, eforts and other
resources currently focused on JobBridge
to the promotion of JobsPlus with the aim of
placing an additional 5,000 in employment via
the scheme. The average full year saving from
placing 5,000 jobseekers in employment via
the JobsPlus scheme is €28.7m.
36
LOW PAY AND THE LIVING
WAGE
Increase the Minimum Wage
Sinn Féin are committed to equality and a Fair
Recovery through raising the minimum wage of
€8.65 by €1 in 2016.
“By not addressing inequality, governments are
cutting into the social fabric of their countries and
hurting their long-term economic growth.” OECD
Secretary-General Ángel Gurría
The fostering of better jobs for a larger proportion
of the workforce will be key to reducing inequality,
the OECD said, “Many nonstandard workers are
worse of in many aspects of job quality, such as
earnings, job security or access to training,” the
OECD said. “In particular low-skilled temporary
workers face substantial wage penalties, earnings
instability and slower wage growth.”
The most comprehensive meta-studies (study of
studies) on the minimum wage suggest that the
efect on the employment rate of a change in the
national minimum wage is likely to be small or
non-existent.
Universal Social Charge Exemption
Cost €93m
Sinn Féin will exempt income earners at or below
the increased minimum wage of €19,572 (factoring
in a €1 increase in the minimum wage in 2016)
from the Universal Social Charge.
Increase Employee and Employer PRSI
bands in tandem with minimum wage
increase of €1 for 2016 Cost €21.5m
In line with Sinn Féin’s proposed 2016 minimum
wage increase by €1 to €9.65, Sinn Féin would
ensure employee and employers are not penalised
by increasing the Employee PRSI exemption to
€376 per week and increasing the Employer PRSI
rate of 8.5% up to €376.
Introduce a Living Wage across the Civil
Service Cost €1.5m
Ireland has one of the highest rates of low pay
in the developed world, and this is one of the
key factors behind the latest wave of mass
emigration of the under 35s since 2011. Sinn Féin
is committed to the introduction of a living wage
as a key measure to stem the tide of low paid
work, and we believe as the largest employer in
the state the government must lead the way. We
would introduce a living wage of €11.45 across the
civil service.
37
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
PART 3
TO PURSUE THE HAPPINESS AND PROSPERITY
OF THE WHOLE NATION
SUPPORTING AND
ENCOURAGING BUSINESS
Sinn Féin recognises that the number one priority
to our economic well being must be the creation of
decent jobs with decent pay with a real commitment
to our SME sector. 70% of people employed in the
private sector work for SMEs, and these businesses
are the engine of our economy.
Providing relief to our self employed, encouraging
entrepreneurship, supporting our retailers, fostering
the Craft Beer industry, easing the administration
of taxation, opening up public procurement and
advocating a new system to getting credit fowing to
SMEs are ways are ways in which we would foster
business in Ireland.
Relief to the self employed Cost €39m
Sinn Féin recognises the contribution that the self-
employed, from entrepreneurs to carpenters to
farmers, make to our economy and are conscious
that the current taxation system discriminates
against them in comparison to PAYE workers. We
wish to alleviate some of their tax burden through
a tax credit on earned income similar to that
available to PAYE workers of €500.
The credit shall be available on earned income
for the self-employed up to €80,000 and reduced
by 5% per €1,000, for gross income between
€80,000 and €100,000 with no entitlement to the
credit on gross income in excess of €100.000.
Encouraging Entrepreneurship
Cost €5m
The Start Up Relief for Entrepreneurs (SURE)
currently in place, aims to incentivise individuals
currently or recently in employment to start and
invest in their own business. SURE enables
such individuals to claim income tax relief on
investments in their business which Sinn Féin
would would limit to €15,000.
The relief is limited to the amount of income tax
the individual has paid through PAYE over the
previous 6 years. The individual must control at
least 30% of the new trading company and must
take up employment with that company.
However, this relief has not been efective to
date due to its exclusion of the self-employed
who have no PAYE income from the scheme.
The requirement that the individual must have
paid PAYE is limiting this relief for a whole group
of entrepreneurs. We believe that all tax payers
should be able to avail of the scheme.
Double current Trading Online Voucher
Scheme for 2016 Cost €2.73m
Retail is one of the forgotten sectors of the
economy, although it has probably sufered the
most outside of construction in recent years. Of
increasing concern for the sector is the radical
reorientation of people’s spending patterns from
the shop to online purchasing with a massive 75%
of this business is going abroad. Government
fgures show online is expected to reach €21bn
by 2017, yet 75% of these sales are going outside
of the state. We will double the current trading on
line voucher scheme.
Ease the Administration of the Tax
System for Business
Sinn Féin are cognisant of a number of difculties
entrepreneurs and SMEs face in relation to the
administration of the tax system and would take
the following action:
Delays in VAT registration: Feedback from
a recent survey conducted by the Irish Tax
Institute indicated that over a ffth of VAT
registrations are taking more than four
weeks to be processed. In many cases, the
turnaround time on these registrations is
in excess of 2 to 3 months. These delays
are impacting businesses and preventing
economic activity and the creation of jobs
from taking place. Sinn Féin would ensure that
sufcient resources are provided to Revenue
resolve the VAT registration process.
38
As part of their simplifed fling arrangements,
Revenue allows small companies to pay
their VAT and PAYE/PRSI liabilities on a less
frequent basis. We would like to see a similar
arrangement extended to small businesses for
corporation tax and income tax so that they
do not pay a large tax bill in one lump sum. We
agree with the Irish Tax Institute that it would
be useful to allow businesses to pay tax “on
account” during the year. This would be of
particular use to for example, businesses in the
service sector with seasonal cash-fow.
Extend the 50% relief for indigenous
Craft Beer to 35,000 hectolitres
Cost €500,000
In recognition and support of our indigenous
and burgeoning Craft Beer Industry, we propose
to support Irish Microbreweries through the
extension of the maximum quantity of beer on
which 50% on Alcohol Products is allowed for any
brewery in a calendar year from 30,000 hectolitres
to 35,000 hectolitres.
Improve Access to Public Procurement
Contracts for SMEs
Sinn Féin has long argued that public
procurement acts as a critical stimulus for the
domestic economy and is an important driver of
Ireland’s recovery both in terms of employment
and employment standards across the economy.
Sinn Féin seeks a system of procurement that
brings real value to the citizen and society.
Government has to be more ambitious for the
economic and social return of the €12bn annual
public spend on goods, services and capital
projects.
The Ofce of Government Procurement to put in
place robust predatory pricing safeguards at the
mini-competition
Clearly defne a micro, small and medium
size organisation and collect and disseminate
procurement data that pertains accurately to
each category
Set up key performance indicators for micro,
small and medium size enterprise participation
for all public procurers and a monitoring
mechanism ensuring these performance
indicators are met
Reduce the size of tenders to make them
accessible to the relevant enterprise size
Review the current centralised tendering
model to provide an alternative approach that
better marries cost benefts with wider regional
economic and social policy objectives
Extend categorising of suppliers by number
of employees, and also a ‘subsidiary’
classifcation for companies who are Irish
subsidiaries of multinational companies
A STRONG ISLAND ECONOMY
This document sets out a narrative surrounding
the budget and economy in the 26 Counties.
However, each year Sinn Fein makes the point
that cooperation on and harmonisation of certain
measures north and south would be benefcial for all
people on the island and both economies.
A united Ireland would make even more sense as we
move forward, economically and socially.
6.4 million people live on this island, yet we have
two separate tax regimes, two currencies and
legal systems, two public service systems and two
separate competing economies.
Sinn Fein wants to advance a single island economy
that delivers a fair and harmonised progressive
taxation regime, regulation and trade. We want to
provide the tools to create greater opportunities
for growth, harmonise workers’ rights and develop
a better business climate for advancement of
entrepreneurial spirit north and south.
Diferent economic structures north and south have
undermined economic growth and labour market
mobility. Companies are on record stating that the
diferences in currency have a sizeable impact on
proft margins to the extent that they have been
discouraged from having operations on both parts
of the island. Cross-border movement in Ireland
north and south has been impeded by diferent
levels of vehicle registration tax; diferences in direct
and indirect tax rates; eligibility for tax credits;
diferences in tax years; housing costs, afecting
employers and employees alike.
Despite the interconnection and interdependence
of the economies north and south, there has been
a limited focus placed on promoting island wide
growth and recovery. Island wide trade has yet to
reach its full potential. Inter Trade Ireland does a
sterling job, but receives limited funding support
and its budget is continuously under attack. Some
businesses have taken the lead in cross border
trading and investment over the last couple of years
despite the impediments caused by cross border
credit card transaction fees; telecommunication
cross-border charges; and dual tax and pay roll
systems.
39
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
There is no doubt that a planned and agreed
approach to economic development across the
island of Ireland would deliver greater:
Export trade and inward investment;
economic and jobs growth and improved
workforce skills;
productivity and innovation
All Ireland trade and reduce costs and
research and development
Island wide trade currently generates £3bn for the
island. Removing barriers to it makes sense. The
north cannot exist in isolation from the rest of the
country and the rest of the country cannot reach its
full potential without the north.
Co-operation between the administrations is not
new. Both governments have worked together
on a range of projects for economic, social
and environmental beneft. This has happened
for example through the creation of the Single
Electricity Market, joint investment in the City
of Derry Airport, and by signifcant road and rail
investment on routes linking Dublin to Belfast and
Project Kelvin and electricity grid strengthening
proposals. Other ongoing co-operation themes
include agriculture and plant and animal health
policy and research, education, environmental
protection and waste management, in a cross
border context. There is also joint working on animal
and plant disease prevention and contingency
planning, accident and emergency planning,
health promotion and cooperation, energy matters,
transport planning, road and rail infrastructure, and
public transport services and road safety. These
and other projects are advanced both through the
North South Ministerial Council and through other
contacts between Departments and Agencies,
in both jurisdictions for example the North West
Gateway Initiative.
Councils from both jurisdictions are working with
ILEX, the urban regeneration company in the
North West. Local authorities in the Newry and
Dundalk have come together to deliver the Twin
City Region project and have developed and signed
Memorandum of Understanding to the beneft of
both communities. The Irish Central Border Area
Network (ICBAN), a network of Councillor’s, is also
working together to respond to unique economic
and social needs of the central border region.
Co-operation is not enough. Integration, joint
planning and delivery is the way forward.
Integration provides opportunities to boost
economic performance. More can be achieved
through this than through competition. Both
jurisdictions on the island struggle to fnd
efciencies in the delivery of public services yet
we have back to back provision. North and south
we have disconnected policies and practice. Yet
where joint island wide enterprise has been applied
it has improved service delivery. Integrated island
wide co-operation within public services makes
economic sense.
Health provides examples of where a better service
can be developed by an all-Ireland approach. The
joint cancer centre in Derry will provide services
for patients from throughout the north-west. No
longer will patients from Donegal or Derry have to
travel to Belfast or Dublin for treatments. There
are opportunities within a new integrated island
wide structure to reconfgure how we deliver health
services across this island. The total money spent
per person within the current regressive health
system in the south is more than is spent per person
in the north of Ireland or in Britain.
With vision, commitment and determination we
could deliver better services to all the people of
Ireland north and south.
IRISH LANGUAGE AND
SUPPORTING THE GAELTACHT –
TOTAL COST €5.95M
Increase Udarás na Gaeltachta capital
fund grant Cost €5m
Fianna Fáil gutted the fund to create employment
in Gaeltacht areas and the current Government
has continued that trend. Sinn Féín will begin to
redress the defcit in this year’s budget by making
an extra €5m available. This can be targeted
to create new jobs in Gaeltacht communities
throughout the country.
Increase funding for Irish language
community schemes Cost €750,000
Sinn Féin will make an extra €750,000 available
specifcally to support community base projects
to promote the Irish language. This is essential to
maintain Irish as a vibrant, community language
and goes some way to counteract the cutbacks
and lack of support given by this government
during their tenure.
40
Increase outreach assistance for
parents in Gaeltacht areas
Cost €200,000
One of the most important areas of successful
language transmission is in the home. Sinn Féin
will make an extra €200,000 available to assist
families in Gaeltacht areas who are encouraging
their children to use and improve their Irish.
Making the Gaeltacht more afordable
Sinn Féin would ensure afordability for working
families and sustainability for the Gaeltacht
regions through providing tax relief to hard
pressed families. This would involve the provision
of a 20% tax credit in relation to expenditure
incurred by parents for children for Gaeltacht
courses set at a maximum at €950 per child.
With regards to children whose parents are not
working, Sinn Féin would grant a deduction at
source for 20% of fees, if you have a medical
card.
MEASURES THE DEPARTMENT
WERE UNABLE TO COST
The revenue that would be raised by
introducing a wealth tax of 1% on net assets
over €1m with exclusions
The revenue that would be raised by abolishing
CGT exemptions when a home is sold for over
€1m
The revenue that would be raised by increasing
by 1/2/3/4/5/10/15/20% respectively the taxes
on exploration/drilling for oil and gas
Reduce Standard Fund Threshold for high
earners from €2m to €1.7m
Introducing Equality Impact Assessments
of expenditure and taxation across all
departments
Implementation of a Living Wage of €11.45
across the public sector including non-
commercial and commercial state bodies
Reopening of Garda Stations
41
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
42
43
Sinn Féin Alternative Budget - October 2015
SINN FÉIN
44 Parnell Square
Dublin 1
Ireland
Ph: +353 1 8726100
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.sinnfein.ie
doc_687415169.pdf