Alternative Budget proposals
Labour’s Alternative Budget for 2022
 We want this year’s budget to deliver real change for working people that goes beyond a once-off ‘pandemic dividend’ or an extra day off work. The Labour Party believes that a fairer, more equal Ireland must emerge from this period of crisis and deliver a new deal that supports workers and protects incomes. Central to our budget proposals is the need to tackle the soaring cost of living. Inflation reached 3% in August, the highest in years, while gas and electricity prices continue to soar, with multiple increases already from many suppliers. Everyone’s feeling it in their pockets, people’s pay isn’t going as far as it used to. Instead of hoping these problems go away, we are calling on government to introduce practical measures to protect up to 1 million households from the rising cost of living through a refundable Carbon Tax Credit worth €200 and increases to the fuel allowance and changes to the means test. This is just one of the many proposals we published today. Our Alternative Budget aspires to provide for social democratic European-style public services that are taken for granted in progressive societies and successful economies. All evidence shows that most wealth in Ireland is held in assets – not wages and we are calling for a series of taxes on wealth that would raise €1 billion, and a further €400m from increasing and extending the Bank Levy to pay for better universal public services. In this way we can broaden, instead of narrowing the tax base, with charges and levies on non-productive wealth and assets that do not impact on work, job creation nor impact on the spending power of ordinary working families. Budget 2022 is a real opportunity for Ireland to build back fairer. Our Budget proposals focus on the key areas of work, care, climate and housing – the foundations on which a fairer post-pandemic society can be built. I welcome your feedback and please do engage with our posts on social media to promote our key messages. Thank you, Ged Nash Labour Party spokesperson on Finance |
