So then the budget came out today, here is my assessment. This Budget is an attack on the youth, the retired and those who fall ill, while there are some good measures that I agree with such as the home improvement scheme and the start your own business scheme it would seem that there is not one Economist in the govt. with the intelligence or the moral obligation to have the budget work for the ordinary hard working people of Ireland. “We made good on our commitments to the international community that has supported us.” – Brendan howlin. The Irish budget should be working in the best interests of Ireland, not the international community. The pensions of our elderly, the people who’ve worked all their lives trying to build up this country have been attacked 0.6% Pensions Levy to be abolished from 31 Dec 2014. But an addition of 0.15% Pensions Levy to be introduced to pension funds’ assets between 2014 and 2015. The telephone allowance which is part of the household benefits package is to be abolished from 1 Jan 2014, cutting many of our elderly off from the rest of society, leaving them in isolation, charities can only do so much in terms of funding and support that they can offer to try and combat these cuts. There is to be a “review” of medical card eligibility which is expected to save the state €113m, This tells me that weather or not you are eligible the govt. wants your medical card back this along with the increase to 6 days wait for Illness benefit and the €2.50 per item prescription charge will make it unaffordable for people to get sick. The youth of this country will be forced to say goodbye to their friends and family, at the moment education has become too expensive for most people to afford, having decided to go through the internet for the cheapest possible prices my book list still comes in at the pretty sum of €377 for 11 books, given I also have a dissertation this year, that figure is due to rise, an additional €25m is to be cut from 3rd level institutions, the job market is already very competitive for graduates as it is, and so after excluding many from the 3rd level system, as SUSI has been more of a hindrance than a help they decide to have a reduced jobseekers allowance just for being under the age of 25!! I hate to break it to the govt. but that’s not progress, its ageism. An Interesting point was made on the journal that people under 25 should also pay a reduced amount of tax, since they will be on reduced payments should they lose their job. So I can assure you the live register figures will go down, but emigration will go up, The youth guarantee is a waste of time as placements will only do so much, most jobs now want you to have a 3rd level degree I’ll finish with this; the govt. clearly has not learned the mistakes of the past, it wants to have approved €2bn in NAMA funding for Irish projects between 2011 and 2015. It should construct 4,500 residential properties (including apts). Between 2010 and 2011 Ballymun Regeneration was given €90m in govt. funding yet in Ballymun we got a half-finished job, with sub-standard houses built on top of one another, dangerous roads, some of which are too small to use, or else cutting through the middle of a housing estate and of course an undeveloped shopping centre that was not allowed to let out units, yet NAMA (our govt.) gives money to the likes of MKN investments who have taken approx. 40% of its tenants in the Omni Park Shopping Centre to court in Disputes over rent and standing charges, including its anchor stores, and yet our govt. decides to punish our elderly who done their best to build up this country, our youth, whom they (the govt.) are relying on to continue to take Ireland into the future and the sick, who let’s face it can’t help their conditions. Instead we need to be passing laws to stop greedy firms such as MKN investments from stunting job creation, If cuts need to be made start at the top, abolish the €23k per year every T.D. gets called the public representation allowance (showing up to work) the extra expenses they get for sitting on committees there is so much waste in the oireachtas alone, to abolish the 23k would save approx. €3.8m, we need to stimulate the economy, not damage it. Every T.D. Costs the state approx. €300k per year and €500k at ministerial level, lets delayer the middle management in the public sector and get more people on the front line, it’s not rocket science, just common sense and smart economics that will get this country moving again, clearly none of the party’s in the Dáil have heard have heard of those things.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 20:03:55 +0000
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