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Updated 4.55pm
FIANNA FÁIL FINANCE spokesperson Micheal McGrath has launched a scathing attack on Fine Gael, claiming the party only cares about looking after the well-off.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie today, McGrath said he believed Fine Gael’s “driving ideology” was to look after the better-off in society.
That’s, in essence, what they stand for and I don’t think they care too much about ordinary people, that’s my own view.
He was speaking after launching Fianna Fáil’s pre-budget submission where the party outlined plans to deliver cuts to the USC that would benefit the majority of taxpayers by €293 annually, irrespective of their income.
McGrath said his party was proposing a much fairer tax cut than the government introduced last year where higher earner benefitted up to fives times more than low and middle-income earners.
He also suggested that if current economic growth continues the Universal Social Charge (USC) could be abolished entirely within 6 to 8 years:
Acknowledging a recent poll finding that most people do not trust Fianna Fáil to run the economy again, McGrath said his party was adopting a cautious approach in its budget proposals in recent years.
In doing this, he said that Fianna Fáil is recognising mistakes of the past which are “deeply ingrained in my psyche and I believe in the party’s psyche”. But he added:
“I think people don’t trust politicians or political parties in general and that’s a problem we have and it’s a problem that the body politic has created.
But I accept that it is a particular issue for us to convince people that we can responsibly manage the economy into the future and it’s principally my job of work, as finance spokesperson, to convince people we can do it.
McGrath also insisted that the Fianna Fáil policy to abolish Irish Water and water charges is a red line issue in any future coalition negotiations:
There will be more from our wide-ranging interview with Micheal McGrath on TheJournal.ie this weekend
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There’s no traffic jams or pay parking online petrol tank still full and more time with children and walking the dog.
@Gerard Heery: Less stress, more money and no rip offs.
They want poeple out of their cars they won but at a price!
That’s a bit of a no-brainier. People have set budgets and if they send their money on-line then of course shop sales will drop. I do a lot of window-shopping and see items I want to buy and then go home and order them on-line at a cheaper price..
The high street is dead when it comes to shopping. It’ll only get worse.
There’s room for both high street shops and online retail.
Most people will want to try on a suit before buying it. It’s just most people don’t want to get completely gouged just because it’s being sold on Grafton St.
Got cashback over £70 sterling from flubit for all presents bought online last month. It’s a no brainer when you have the likes of Debenhams selling drones for €110 instore when you can buy them online in the UK for £25. People aren’t stupid.
Puma Kings €55 online. Enough said.
Nike air max 2017 €113 online , €175-€190 in the shops. Joke !
Reduce vat before , all is lost ….
Lets be real, even without the sterling collapse it’s better value to buy online from the UK than Irish stores. Irish business need to shape up, they’re part of a global marketplace now where people will gravitate towards the best offer.
Welcome to the new normal.
Well in all fairness shops have been robbing us for years. So if you can find what you want on the web then good luck to you. After all the amount you can save means more money in your pocket. There’s a massive gap in shop prices and web prices for the same product so why would you pay more.
Isn’t this what capitalism is supposed to be all about – market choices ?
The cost the the world of the climate change scam is equal to all internet sales worldwide annually.
have your say