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MICHAEL NOONAN AND Brendan Howlin were sending positive signals that October’s Budget may not be as harsh as initially feared as they headed in to a Cabinet meeting at Government Buildings this morning.
“In April, when we were projecting the adjustments necessary, we thought that it would be necessary to increase tax and cut expenditure by €2 billion,” the Finance Minister told reporters.
“We’ll get under three per cent now by making less cutbacks, less tax increases,” Noonan said, adding…
But it’s too early to say yet by how much.
A memo was presented to Cabinet this morning, outlining the Government’s approach to Budget 2015.
“The over-arching target is to get the deficit below three per cent and we’re on track to do that,” Noonan said.
Last year’s Budget was built on a deficit of 4.8 per cent — and the way things are going after six months of the year has gone by, we’ll beat that target so we should be able to get under 3 per cent as planned.
Howlin added that the Government would “certainly” not have to make “an adjustment of a €2 billion scale that was forecast in last year’s budget”.
“The economy has grown. The tax revenue has increased. The number of unemployed has fallen,” the Public Expenditure Minister said.
“So these are all good auguries. They’re assistances.”
Originally posted 3:00pm
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They are obviously going to cut income tax and they will make a HUGE deal out of that, but you will be getting a water tax to replace it,so most people will probably have same amount of money to spend
Exactly….they are taking a leaf out of the USA ‘s book….reduce direct tax people feel great….increase/introduce stealth tax to make up the shortfall and soon people wonder how they are getting hammered
They will cut taxes in the next two budgets… then election and get re-elected (well FG anyway) and then they’ll cut again – right out of the McCreevy handbook on ‘how to dupe the electorate and get them to keep voting you in in consecutive elections and stuff’.
How did mccreavy dupe the electorate? Not a supporter, but always wondered why people thought that. He did bring in a savings scheme to encourage people to save, but people blew that once it matured. He introduced a pension fund which the current gov blew on paying bond holders. They were 2 very significant initiatives which others wasted.
He brought in a saving incentive which took money from tax payers & gave to other tax payers . Please enlighten me to the fairness to tax payers or the intelligence of such an incentive ?
He introduced a savings scheme which benefited only those who could save at the expense of everyone, regardless of whether or not you saved yourself.
No Fianna Fáil supporter myself either, but it didn’t just benefit those who could save. It sought to benefit the economy as a whole by taking some money out of it in a time of overspending and inflation. Sound economics for the time.
I hope the electorate are not that stupid that they would re-elect this shower, I think the property tax and the water charges will mean the end of the Labour Party and a much reduced Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil will be making a huge mistake if they are considering going into coalition with either party.
As bad as that is it beats paying tax twice.. That’s what we are doing right now.
I couldn’t care less about this posturing. Give us a decent budget which puts money back in our pockets for once and stick any bright ideas you have for new taxes or charges straight up your hole. This budget needs to give something back to the people of this country.
JUST GET RID OF THE USC! Cut out smoke and mirrors
Give a little bit back with one hand when there’s an election around the corner but take it all back and more with the other hand when they get re-elected. Don’t fall for it this time, kick them out and vote Independent.
The USC see means people pay tax. Over 50% of people paying no net tax was wrong.
He must have forgot to mention tax cuts! USC must be scrapped immediately!!
Totally agree. Get rid of that and watch the public start spending again, helping small and medium businesses in their localities.
Lads don’t forget the pensions levy too, another stealth tax which is costing your thousands by the time we retire!!
And so BEGINS the buying of the next election.
‘The Government has chosen to gamble that economic growth has returned and that the improvement in tax revenues can safely be dished around to what they hope will be a grateful electorate.
‘Since nobody can predict with confidence, this is a pure roll of the dice, highly imprudent and against the advice of their own Fiscal Council. Fasten your seatbelts.’
Colm McCarthy – July 2014
McCarthy is an extreme right wing economic hawk who has never been right about anything. His Bord Snip Nua was considered far too right wing even for FG. He deals in economies, not actual human beings.
that’s because he’s an…
Moore McDowell is right up there as well …the arrogance that these people can convey into their minds because they are “economists” is stifling.
I had a very good friend who was studying economics when I was in college , he’s the only honest economist I have ever met for when I asked him what economics was all about he said “it’s a load of “bullocks!!”
“Less cutbacks, less tax increases” = There will still be cutbacks and tax increases.
I kind of wish we could have got all this out of the way as one big bang in 2009. The constant feeling that there is still worse to come doesn’t exactly help national morale.
That would have caused the economy to utterly implode.
So yeah, NO.
It could have been done quicker but the it would have meant job losses even higher.
Fewer cutbacks, fewer tax increases.
Thank you for bringing to light the atrocious grammar in this headline. This from a top politician!! Rant over.
David the economy imploded on the night of the bank guarantee ,…what’s happening now is State-controlled secretive protection that won’t last forever and then there will be a reckoning !
I love the way they think the amount of unemployed has fallen, I think that’s called emigration
It is also because more people are working than last year, a lot more.
Is there even one piece of evidence, from domestic or international measures, from state or private firm indicators that says otherwise.
The “everything is crap, always will be” outlook on life is a mainstay for too many here.
Explain the above expected tax take Bren? You seem to have all the answers
Bren made a valid point….
Emigration is still too high but there is also a lot more jobs coming on board.
Mc Donalds opening another petrol station cafe?
You come across as very angry today Richard. I don’t have all the answers as you put it but I do have an opinion, we are allowed that aren’t we Richard ??
Numbers in employment have increased so no, it’s not just emigration: http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/number-of-people-employed-in-ireland-grows-3-3-1.1706802
I am still waiting to see a report which compares peoples income when going back to work against what they got from social welfare while unemployed. Having a job is brilliant but if your circumstances have not changed financially then you will still be struggling to spend.
Bren you are allowed an opinion but if you post it on a public forum don’t take umbrage if you have to defend it .
@Bren, you are allowed have an opinion but when it’s not based in fact and just an excuse for a good moan then people are also allowed call you out on it
Need to take a look at free legal aid for minor offences where if found guilty the offender pays fees at source per week. Haemorrhaging money through the current system. Also methadone clinics dispensing methadone to addicts without question. Many of who are on these clinics for 10/15 year. Free high in many cases. Time to leave the working man and woman alone.
“Less cutbacks, less tax increases”
NOOOOOOO!!!! It is FEWER cutbacks and FEWER tax increases! Jesus man, learn how to speak English!
Election must be around the corner that the economy just took or some other waffle.
Commenters here used the exact same line in the year or so prior to the local and European elections any time there was some sort of good news. And now 19 months is “around the corner”? Jesus Christ, you’d swear Journal commenters want austerity.
Cut out the pyjaminal subsidy and no tax increase
I will vote for anybody who gets rid of the “pyjaminal subsidy”. Have you been unbanned?
Must be getting close to an election I think!!!
Wouldn’t believe a word from Noonans mouth! He lied befor.
Blatantly and bare faced lied about the local property tax!!
Noonan must be using the appearance money he got from Trump, to reduce the tax burden!
O yes and another recession in 10 years!
That’s the spirit!
That is normal, has any country in the last 100 years avoided that???
What a truly miserable outlook on life that when things start picking up now you have to start crying about 10 yrs time.
What a truly miserable outlook on life that when things start picking up now you have to start crying about 10 yrs time.”
He is not the only one – John Bruton
”IRELAND faces at least a decade of austerity because of strict European rules on slashing debt, former Taoiseach John Bruton has warned. – See more at: http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/bruton-were-facing-another-10-years-of-austerity”
He goes further
‘ Mr Bruton who was once Finance Minister and now speaks on behalf of Ireland’s financial services centre, said we may not even be experiencing austerity yet ”
– So really it is just beginning ??
”His comments came as Finance Minister Michael Noonan said the Government would not ease back on cuts in October’s Budget. -”
- Bit of a change there anyway – and a quick one !!!.
full article .
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/bruton-were-facing-another-10-years-of-austerity-30310189.html
Anyone who thinks this is a one off ie Austerity / Robbery is living in cloud cuckoo land – the robbery will continue – like in most EU countries – as policy is not made in Dublin – but at ECB .
The Dail is well nigh superfluous.
anyone who thinks we are a sovereign country is not paying attention
agree 100%with you jim ! this government is littlemore than a mouthpiece for the e.u , they dont make the decisions anymore(and never have to be honest) ireland ‘lost’ the right to run itself when they forced the people to vote a second time on the lisbon treaty , that handed control over to the ecb and the eu. if our politicians had any sort of backbone they would have stood up for the people of this country and refused to accept the bank guarantee and paying the bondholders. europe is just a ponsie scheme for the rich and financial speculators.
So things are ever so slowly getting better.
How will the Shinners spin this one?
They will return to their “brits out” slogans
That’s long gone….they are free state….it’s now all about reinforcing british rule in Ireland….look at them up in the north
Who says they will?….it will be funny how fg lab take the credit since they spent every penny pandering to the bondholders….
lets see how funny it is when the 500 euro water bill floats in the door
Kev….I meant funny in an ironic way not a comedy way….I apologize for my intent didn’t translate over to cold text
Well said “munster 2014″ couldn’t agree more!
So the headline is basically saying there will be benefit cuts and tax increases next budget. The good news apparently is that they will be small compared to
Some arbitrary figure that exists only in noonans and howlins minds.
Why Oh why do we pay for people that never contribute to civil society?
Childish thing to say
why oh why do we pay so much for gobshit8s like noonan ? that should be the question your asking!
He should first fix the holes in the social security net with tax from the corporate sector.
Typical SF “tax-the-shit-out-of-the-rich” shite.
I’m no sinn feiner….but stop subsidizing the rich by over taxing the working and middle classes
Can smell an election!!!!
“Fewer cutbacks and fewer tax increases “Mr Noonan!!
If they got back our 64 billion bailout from the banks we could have a nice Xmas
Come the budget opposition parties will switch from outrage at savage cuts over the last six years to outrage at auction politics and buying votes. Either way they will be suitably outraged. It’s as much as they’ve been able to offer during the recession…
Bit like FG during the good times with their moral outrage that not enough was being given to the tax payer, pensioners and unemployed you mean?
No Kerry, nothing like that. There’s a difference between calling for more spending and expressing outrage at the reversal of the cuts that caused the outrage in the first place…
O’Reilly every post I read on here from you just makes me laugh so much everyday mainly cos its the rantings of a delusional FG/Edna true believer who would agree if this government said they were greater than Jesus…………Thanks for the laughs O’Really
But still property n water charges. Get that smug smile off your face ye bolllox
FF did the same trick to buy votes while borrowing billions to keep the country solvent. They gave away money in the form of SSIAs now FG want to buy votes so they buy the votes back by giving people more money in the for of tax reduction. We are still borrowing a BILLION a month to survive.
Yet again it is the better off who will benefit like the people who could afford the SSIAs.
So they are gonna leave everything as it is and give us nothing back.
Yeah yeah! I think we have heard it all before. If we are doing so well, abolish the prsi as noone appears to know where that money goes or what benefit it gives as it doesn’t give me any benefit!
Rich geting richer, poor getin poorer, stop usc,
ABOLISH THE WATER AND HOUSEHOLD TAXES
Believe NOTHING this government of muppets say.Their main purpose is to get re-elected.They will probably wheel out Bottler who will send every voter a letter telling them the great plans they have in the pipeline just like he did to Roscommon voters promising to keep the A&E open then closing it weeks after they were elected. They are untrustworthy, they are liars and all they care about is their nice pensions when they retire, pensions you are paying them. If you keep voting them in you will continue to see the country been sold off. They disgust me!
The agenda is set ,no matter who gets in to power in the next election we are still screwed , Germany will look at our budget and call the shots from behind the scene ,we sailed into a trap ,they had to know that when they flooded Ireland with money that it was not viable ,we on our part we followed the dream encouraged by the banks and government who all came out of it very well ,nice pensions ,nice salaries ,because they are worth it after all if you pay peanuts you get monkeys ,everybody knows that
The people of Ireland will yet again be screwed over, just wait and see
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