Fianna Fáil gets into the budget ‘flyer’ business

• Published date: 15 April 2024
• Publication title: Irish Times (Dublin, Ireland)

Last year, Fianna Fáilers were especially annoyed at what they saw as Varadkar’s attempt to bounce them into middle-class tax cuts in the budget for which he would then try to take credit. The trigger on that occasion was a newspaper article by three Ministers of State in May advocating tax cuts for the “squeezed middle”

Fianna Fáilers tut-tutted at this blatant attempt to roll the pitch for the budget to Fine Gael’s political advantage. Not helpful, they complained, for a budget that had to be agreed by three parties. Not collegiate. Not conducive to heathly Coalition relations. Not on.

That was then, this is now. With a new Fine Gael leader and Taoiseach in place, Fianna Fáil has decided to take the initiative itself on the budget flyer issue, lest Simon Harris beat them to it.

As the party gathered for its ardfheis in Dublin at the weekend, Tánaiste Micheál Martin outlined several budget priorities for his party six months before the budget is due.

In his ardfheis speech to delegates, Martin avoided any specific commitments on tax and welfare. But in media interviews he was clear about what he would be seeking in the budget.

He told the Business Post that tax credits could be increased, mirroring and surpassing last year’s level. “That would mean in effect that for every employee, pensioner, self-employed person, the first €20,000 of their income would be exempt from income tax,” he said.

“That’s new, it’s something we’ve worked on as a party and it’s something we’ll be bringing to the table,” added Martin.

In the Sunday Times, he declared his support for welfare increases, a €10 increase in child benefit, further cuts to childcare costs, further energy credit and a €12 increase in the old-age pension.

Not to be outdone, Minister for Finance Michael McGrath was using the ardfheis weekend to assure workers he wanted them “to keep as much of their hard-earned money as...