Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE MAJORITY OF people would rather see income tax cuts than spending increases in next month’s Budget.
According to a new opinion poll, 64% of people would prefer income tax cuts, while 34% would favour spending increases.
The poll of over 1,000 people, carried out by Ámarach Research for Claire Byrne Live, found that slightly more women favoured income tax cuts than men – 66% to 63%.
€800 million has been earmarked for Budget 2019 and there has been much speculation as to how the money will be spent.
Last month Taoiseach Leo Varadkar outlined a number of measures people can expect. In short, he wants a balance of spending and tax cuts.
He said he wants the majority of any additional cash to go into improving public infrastructure rather than tax reduction.
The programme for government has committed to a 2:1 ratio between spending on services and tax measures.
“We talked in the past about the proportion of 2:1 but it is going to be much greater than that. There will be a tax package, perhaps similar to last year – relatively modest,” Varadkar said.
Social welfare increases and a jump in the standard cut-off rate for income tax are expected.
Risks
In its pre-Budget submission, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC) warned that risks to Ireland’s rapidly growing economy lurk on the horizon.
IFAC has said that while the good performance of the Irish economy could lead to the government increasing spending more than the previously flagged figure of €800 million, that may not be a good idea.
The risks of overheating and the narrowing window of opportunity provided by a favourable external environment would suggest that improving the budget balance by more than currently planned would be desirable.
“The Government should instead use these receipts to build buffers either through additional contributions to the Rainy Day Fund or through a budget surplus and faster debt reduction,” it said.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Wife is getting induced tomorrow with our first child. Bricking it. Not just because of the changes it will bring but worried about them both. Still can’t take in the magnitude of it all but hoping that just being there for her throughout it all will help her.
“Forget about all the advice”… Offers advice!
The best advice I received was to treat the first three months as the fourth trimester. Take to the bed as often as you want/need, breastfeed as much as baba wants, bond, snuggle, have loads of skin to skin contact, sleep whenever you can. Don’t put pressure on yourself to get back out into the world. Those first 12 weeks are a blur, give you and your baby time to get to know each other before venturing outside your bubble. And you’re not alone if you wonder what the f**k have I done! It gets easier!
My daughter in law, who’s Colombian, had a baby three months ago, her second, my sons first. She’s breastfeeding, carries the baby everywhere in a sling and I can honestly say that he’s the quietest, most contented child I’ve ever met! I, a mum of 6, am in awe. We can learn from those less well developed countries, where people still practice the basics. In the first world, we are too concerned with having all the latest gadgets, the prettiest clothes and the horrendously expensive prams and buggies.
Being a parent, the toughest best thing ever, most head wrecking rewarding job going!
Eventually it becomes normal to eat a full roast dinner at ten am cause your up at 5am every morning!!
As a father of two young children I know from experience new mothers are initially reluctant to accept support and like to think they can do everything. They gradually come around though.
It’s a bit hard to ignore the mess when you have OCD. Trust me.
There is nothing wrong with checking out some of Gina Ford advise. It is good to have routines for both parents and child especially if a baby struggles with naps. Other advise regarding preparing meals was also useful to us.
have your say