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Updated 12.40pm
THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATS will maintain current rates of Universal Social Charge (USC) and have pledged to set up an Irish version of the NHS in their general election manifesto.
The new party, which launched in July of last year, is running 14 candidates for the Dáil and targeting at least seven seats in order to have parliamentary speaking rights.
Jointly-led by former independent TDs Stephen Donnelly, Catherine Murphy and Róisín Shortall, the SocDems are not ruling any other party out of post-election government negotiations.
“We’ll be saying to the electorate: here is our platform. After the people have their say there will be conversations to be had,” a well-placed party source told TheJournal.ie
Under proposals that were launched today, the SocDems are not putting forward any changes to current rates of USC, arguing that the tax base should not be eroded any further, with the €4 billion it generates annually vital for investment in public services.
This is in contrast to Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fáil who have all pledged to phase out USC on lower and middle income earners, with Fine Gael pledging to eventually abolish it altogether. Sinn Féin has promised to change thresholds to reduce the USC burden on low income earners, while Renua is advocating a flat 23% tax on all income.
Labour TD Anne Ferris described the party’s stance on USC as “a major letdown for working families”.
The SocDems election manifesto instead promises to reduce the cost of living and put money back in people’s pockets through greater investment in public services. Proposals include:
Speaking at the launch on Dublin’s O’Connell Street, Murphy said:
What we’ve set out in this is not a shopping list. “We’ve set out a vision that is integrated.
We’ve had far too much short-term thinking in this country. We need to have longer vision for things that take longer to implement, for example a national health service.
Donnelly said a “fraction” of the promises made ahead of the 2011 general election have been delivered.
Unlike Fianna Fáil before the recession and unlike Fine Gael and Labour now we would not erode the tax base, we would maintain it. We would use that revenue to get us ready for the next macro shock that is coming our way from China or somewhere else.
Donnelly said the party would use this money, billions of euro, to invest in things like healthcare, education, housing and backing Irish businesses.
He noted that since making the move from the private sector to politics five years ago he has been “absolutely shocked at how politics is run in this country”.
“The cartel is not about to change … it will only be through challenges from new parties.”
‘Irish NHS’
The SocDems are also proposing a radical overhaul of the health system with the introduction of what’s being dubbed an ‘Irish NHS’.
This will be modelled on the UK National Health Service which is free at the point of delivery and funded through general taxation.
The party is proposing to overhaul the health service within a ten-year period by switching from acute hospitals to community care, ensuring universal access to primary and community healthcare, and ending the two-tier system.
The party is also promising to repeal the Eighth Amendment, which enshrines the equal right to life of the mother and the unborn in the Constitution.
It also wants to examine the introduction of a living wage of €11.50 subject to further consultation and mandate the Low Pay Commission to study the use of internships by Irish employers.
The manifesto will also contain a proposal to establish a community banking sector. The resources of credit unions and post offices will be used to establish full banking services in communities. It’s being billed as banking ‘for the people, by the people’.
Since launching last July, the SocDems have had around 6,000 people sign-up through their website.
Although the party does not have any formal membership structure, sources say there are over 1,000 people actively canvassing for the 14 SocDem candidates across the country.
- with reporting by Órla Ryan
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You couldn’t imagine how the world could let this happen??? Neither can I Nadia…..
@Nora McElhinney: Not taking away the fact from your comment Nora but you do realise there is a lunatic in Russia with the power to destroy the world as we know it.
I can’t belive that Ireland is not helping Ukrainians leave Ukraine or around the western borders. I can’t believe that all the charities raking in donations are not here on the border helping women and children. I can’t belive the Irish government expect Ukrainians to walk to Ireland. There’s a lot of things I can’t believe about Irelands response to the Ukrainian refugees, the trafficking at the borders, kidnapping of women and children. I so happy you got to Ireland Nadia. Please tell the story of the hell on the borders and the lack of help Ukrainians are getting down here from Ireland.
@Joby Redmond: what have you done? Have you taken in a refugee? Are you going over to fight? You can if you volunteer. Stop pretending to care.
@John Moloney: actually, I think Joby is on the ground in Poland doing everything that he can for the refugees. From what I’ve seen online anyway.
@John Moloney: Did it ever enter your head that there are people on here that genuinely care, and are involved in whatever capacity they can. Say something positive for a change.
@Colleen: has he taken one in? NO. End of. Its a great time to appear as a good person online. Everyone doing nothing is doing it. It’s utter nonsense. Supporting arms being sent to ukraine for a war they will never win, what is the final outcome people want here? People need to be realistic, it is terrible, Putin is a disgrace but the reality is that prolonging a war and while asking people to help the refugees it creates is like throwing more petrol than water on the fire.
@John Moloney: John. There are a lot of people like you online and we have Claire and Mick mouthing off about supporting the war against Russia and I am always interested in hearing what exactly they and you are actually proposing. I would really appreciate a genuine reply without resorting to half insults and popular tag lines and tell me what it is you are suggesting the people of Ukraine should have done when Russia invaded. Just tell us what you would do if you were a Ukrainian citizen in ukraine right now and what would you be asking your country’s leaders to do? Genuine question and I will respect your answer whatever it is.
@John Moloney: did ireland lie down and die once the British came? No we didn’t, and neither will the Ukrainians, and as most of them are consistently saying, they will not stop until every Russian soldier is ridden from their country. They’ve asked for weapons to fight back, not to prolong, and we should listen as we would hope for the same good forbid it ever happened to us.
We were neutral on Hitler and neutral on Putin
Things have to change militarily
@John Byrne: neutral with Hilter as a country, yet 100,000 Irish people went to the UK and volunteered
@John Byrne: Are you daft we are not and never will be in a position to be a military power. Neutrality is the most common sense weapon we have. Decades of proper politicians realised this but the shower we have at the moment are only interested in soundbites and being the good little boys of Europe. By all means help in any non military way we can but other than that we are in no position to help militarily
@John Byrne: go over and join the war. Nothing stopping you.
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