Today\u2019s budget is a giveaway on steroids that is bad for the public and bad for the State, according to Social Democrats finance spokesperson R\u00f3is\u00edn Shortall.<\/p>\n
\u201cBudget 2025 has just one overriding purpose \u2013 self-preservation of the Government parties.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt bears all the hallmarks of a Bertie Budget \u2013 hardly surprising when you consider that Taoiseach Simon Harris recently invited the former Fianna F\u00e1il leader to Government Buildings for a fireside chat.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is textbook electioneering, spraying money around in the hope that the Government can buy people\u2019s votes with their own money.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will not make homes any more affordable or healthcare easier to access. It won\u2019t increase the availability of childcare places or make disability services for children with additional needs more accessible.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will not allow disabled people to live more independent lives or better support older people to remain living at home, nor will it end the scandal of child poverty or inequality in our society.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause when the thin veneer of this budget is stripped away, it becomes clear that the emperor has no clothes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe complex array of one-off measures announced, while welcome, will not last long. Once these bonus payments dry up, people around the country will continue to struggle to pay their bills or put a roof over their heads.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all know that the only way to significantly drive down the cost-of-living is by investing in public services.\u00a0That means quality childcare, genuinely free education, affordable housing, accessible healthcare, reliable public transport and strong social care delivered in the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is something seriously wrong with a country where children awaiting scoliosis surgery languish on waiting lists in agony for years while resources are frittered away on bonus payments and energy credits for all, including the wealthiest.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is also justifiable anger over the burning pyre of public money that is the endless budget for the new National Children\u2019s Hospital, not to mention wasteful spending on \u20ac300,000 bike sheds, \u20ac1.5 million security huts and modular homes costing almost half a million euro each.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis does not sound like a Government that can be trusted with a \u20ac25 billion surplus.\u201d<\/p>\n
October 1, 2024<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today\u2019s budget is a giveaway on steroids that is bad for the public and bad for the State, according to Social Democrats finance spokesperson R\u00f3is\u00edn Shortall. \u201cBudget 2025 has just one overriding purpose \u2013 self-preservation of the Government parties. \u201cIt bears all the hallmarks of a Bertie Budget \u2013 hardly surprising when you consider that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7525,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[552,88,7,264],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-budget-2025","category-finance","category-press-release","category-roisin-shortall"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n