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THE MAIN ELEMENTS of Budget 2014 have been signed-off on and will be announced in the Dáil tomorrow afternoon.
At a special Cabinet meeting in Government Buildings last night ministers reached agreement over the contentious areas of health and social protection.
The meeting continued longer than had been expected but concluded before midnight with ministers agreed on the taxation and spending adjustment measures that will amount to €2.5 billion in total.
It had been thought that just health – the budget for which it is feared will run over this year – was left to negotiate but some aspects of the social protection budget were also discussed in more detail last night.
All other departmental budgets were signed-off by Cabinet last night.
Speaking to RTÉ last night, Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Brendan Howling said that “by-and-large” the Budget has been signed off on with “a few little tweaking things” left to do.
“The overarching shape of the Budget has been agreed,” he said.
The details will be outlined by the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan and Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Brendan Howlin tomorrow.
It is reported in the Irish Independent this morning that these measures will include free GP care for under 5s as well as changes in social welfare payments to young unemployed people.
In a speech at the Fine Gael national conference on Friday, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said that significant reform is needed to the social welfare system to tackle a culture fostered by previous governments where people became “caught in the welfare trap”.
He said on Friday: “Today after the crash over a fifth, yes a fifth, of households are categorised as jobless. That’s twice the European average.
“This is damaging to our society and is unacceptable. Particularly for our young people. The fact is without significant reform of the social welfare system. Ireland could be facing a prolonged and unprecedented period of long-term unemployment.”
Meanwhile, several papers reported yesterday that a bank levy would be introduced as a way of replacing the fees the banks stopped paying when the bank guarantee scheme came to an end in March of this year.
Speaking at the Fine Gael conference on Saturday, Michael Noonan said there would be room to “ease back a little” in the Budget.
He also told the audience: “You’ll be astounded at all the good news I’ll be announcing!”
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Sarcastic soundbites from Fox News hosts is now newsworthy in Ireland! Journalism in 2017.
@Chris M.: Oh the irony.
@Chris M.:
I never understand when people come to TheJournal and expect serious high-quality reporting. It’s a light-hearted news/entertainment site.
@Carl Nolan: But it’s not even entertaining, I thought there was a joke but it’s just another sad dig.
@Revolting Peasant: the “not a complete surprise” bit was funny
Scientists: don’t look directly at the sun even during an eclipse.
Trump: Hold my glasses
@Paul Quirke: You’ve never looked directly at the Sun for a second?
This whole story is ridiculous petty crap from the Left.. Take Trump down on any of the millions of genuine reasons..
@Paul Quirke: scientists: global warming
Trump : burn baby burn
@Mairtin Cathbhar: Most here are victims of a truncated history fed to them at school which is why they can’t make proper judgments when it comes to astronomy or terrestrial sciences like climate. I would have thought a younger group of readers would not behave like 21st century Luddites but that is what I see for the most part, kids with amazing technology imaging and graphics in front of them yet can’t use it. Again,fair dues to the Journal for permitting a wider view but the intellectual standard in the comments is not what it should be.
“My dear Kepler, I wish that we might laugh at the remarkable stupidity of the common herd. What do you have to say about the principal philosophers of this academy who are filled with the stubbornness of an asp and do not want to look at either the planets, the moon or the telescope, even though I have freely and deliberately offered them the opportunity a thousand times? Truly, just as the asp stops its ears, so do these philosophers shut their eyes to the light of truth” Galileo to Kepler
If he’s a vocal supporter, are you sure it’s a joke?
@Titus Groan: Tucker has taken a negative turn on President Trump since he threw Jeff Sessions under the bus and ousted Steve Bannon.
@Titus Groan: bellend
@Shane o rourke: Don’t know what your problem is but likely, it’s hard for you to pronounce. Is what I got from your comment…
He isn’t that orange colour by covering up from the sun you know.
Trump is too cool for sunglasses
@Government Sachs when asked why he always wears sunglasses, Gene Simmons replied ‘the sun never sets on planet cool’… Christ knows what planet trump’s on
It’s official, modern media is truly obsessed with Trump. The equivalent of a sex addict with an erection. They just keep going back for more, however poor the quality (news) is. In a close second is Brexit. It’s like groundhog day listening to the news everyday. A completely pointless, nonsensical waste of journalism.
@Ronan: it’s a presidency worth documenting for its peculiarity alone. As soon as he starts getting legislative wins they’ll write about them
@Ronan: Obsessed with the most powerful person on the planet? I’d hope they are.
@Eamonn Sheen: Great, can’t wait to hear what he’s having for breakfast so.
@Ronan: Pretty stupid, if he went blind as a result and after been warned about it. But what’s new there, he is an idiot and the ones who support are worse.
@Ronan: It’s official? Like totally!
Double yawn
Imagine if this guy was President of the United States. Oh.. wait a minute…
It is a case of noticing a splinter in someone’s eye, so to speak, without noticing the beam in your own. The eclipse is an event where it is possible to look inwards to the solar system centre rather than ‘skywards’ as most descriptions have it. Fair dues to the Journal for allowing the first descriptions of an eclipse this way even if the standard of discussion was fairly poor rather than childish trolling that constantly refers to a political leader.
http://www.astroasheville.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Total-Solar-Eclipse.jpg
The ability to predict when an eclipse happens is a wonderful part of timekeeping astronomy however to interpret the eclipse itself comes from a different area of astronomy that nobody really uses. A comment yesterday said that predicting the eclipse is the same as predicting ‘climate change’ but within that distinction is a huge history that has almost destroyed Western society in ultimately creating the awful science vs religion racket.
@Gerald Kelleher: I’d say you’re some craic at parties..
@Paul Watchorn: Despite all the barking in my direction, people somehow realize that they find these observations easy to understand. When the party is over people do like to be out in nature and this is for those who sometimes feel down as the normal ability to judge motions is expanded to include the solar system, our position in it and how we see the motions and positions of other planets and our moon. Most of the comments on a political leader and the eclipse are from kids who have no sense of occasion and that is fine, everyone has be there at some time or other however,sooner or later, people sober up and take notice of the expanse of the Earth,solar system and Universe like a ‘behold’ moment.
Be informed by history instead of being driven by it .
@Gerald Kelleher: If I wound up in your company at a party I’d have a sudden urge to be out in nature as well.
Buttkisser Tucker
His friend David Duke sent him a special hood with 2 little holes in it – why didn’t he wear it?
@Pat O’Leary: Not his friend to be fair – Duke now thinks Trump has been manipulated by the Jews.
@Malachi: does he? He seemed very fond of him in Charlottesville
OH i thought he was looking at one of kim ye sun s missiles all the way from north korea .
Sick of reading about this plonker every day, is there any way I can filter Trump news out of the Journals content
@Charles Coughlan: Have you tried NOT clicking on articles that specifically name him and have his picture in the headline?
@DaisyChainsaw: Very original
@Ladude: And effective if you do it.
@Eamonn Sheen: Great, can’t wait to hear what he’s having for breakfast so.
Such an idiot!
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