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.
LAST UPDATE | 30 Sep 2024
THE BUDGET IS set to include a €2 billion cost of living package and a number of once-off payments, The Journal understands.
Coalition leaders and senior ministers have wrapped up budget negotiations ahead of the announcement tomorrow at 1pm.
Taoiseach Simon Harris took to Instagram to say Government leaders and the money ministers have “just finished” budget negotiations at 10.20pm this evening. “It is 23 minutes past 10 and the budget is now ready to go to Cabinet tomorrow,” he said.
“I think it’s a really good package. I think what we’ve tried to do here is get the balance right,” he said.
He added that the first element of the budget is to assist the public with the cost of living while the second element of the budget is to plan for next year’s investment in education, healthcare, childcare and housing.
Once-off social welfare payments will likely be issued before and after Christmas, which will include two double child benefit payments before Christmas along with extra payments on fuel and living alone allowances.
It is understood that the ‘Baby Boost’ payment, which grants a triple child benefit payment to new parents, has been agreed and will be announced tomorrow.
From next year, new parents will receive a one-off €420 payment as well as increases to maternity and paternity leave benefits.
Cost-of-living measures
Tax measures
Social welfare
Health
Other measures
There has been much talk at the weekend about a sticking point over the level of social welfare increases.
The Taoiseach agreed with Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys yesterday that the jobseekers’ allowance should not increase at the same rate as other social welfare payments, saying it is a “practical” matter rather than an “ideological debate”.
“These are many good ideas, how do we best make the carpet fit the room,” Harris tod reporters yesterday.
He agreed with his Fine Gael colleague that the allowance should not be prioritised over payments to carers, pensioners and people with disabilities given that the economy is operating at near full employment.
However it is understood that a €12 increase will now be rolled out to all social welfare payments, including jobseekers after the Greens and Fianna Fáil said leaving out one cohort of people would not be acceptable to them.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said today that the budget is now “largely complete” but added there will be a meeting this evening to finalise it.
Martin said he is “bemused” by the reports of back and forths between coalition parties, stating that there was never a €15 increase put on the table for discussion at any meeting he has attended.
He said there was “spinning”, “mischief” and a “phoney war” going on, stating that it has been “overplayed” and is “much to do about nothing”.
“There’s a bit of spinning going on here that has no substance, really. Because for the last four years in government, this never arose. There was never an issue made about this by any party government. It was always agreed that the same level would apply… maybe it’s the cycle we’re in,” he added.
Martin said inflation has come down but prices have remained at an elevated level, he said.
There continue to be sticking points, with ongoing discussions on the VAT rate for the hospitality sector.
Government sources state that this spend was not accounted for in the Summer Economic Statement, however with bumper surpluses, the money might be found.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Irish is taught in schools for around 13 years from infants through to leaving cert but yet the majority of people can’t string a sentence together, why is that?
Maybe we need to look at how it’s being taught instead.
@Jim Buckley Barrett: Answer: Gaelscoileanna.
@Jim Buckley Barrett: I can only speak for my personal experience of learning Irish, ending up as 1 of 6, out of almost 200, to get an honour! We were bullied into learning History and Geography through Irish. We had Gaeltacht holidays, where we learnt “sad depressing Irish songs, had a few haon do tri dances. It is so funny (in a sad way) that the Dept of Education (for all their intellectuals) did not realise that when we left school 90% of us would hate Irish and be reminded of that hatred every time we hear a hyperactive unintelligible (to the masses) speaker rattle through the nuacht in a gutteral delivery reminding us every so often of 13 years of bullying teachers of Gaeilge. Mo bhrón.
Please No.
@Dave Barrett: excuse me?? Why
@LiamMac2018: Just another amadán with a colonised mind. Ná bac leis
Maybe if RTE and TG4 stopped using people with thick dialects to speak Irish on TV and Radio, people would stop, listen and understand a bit more to care about it? I was fluent in school but got fed up trying years ago. There are many like me that the Gaelgoiri in charge of Irish wont listen to.
@Neil Neart:
“.. I was fluent in school but got fed up trying years ago..” what are you even trying to say?
In all fairness Neil, you’re making a habit of posting negative comments on these Irish language articles and it just makes you look like you have a serious chip on your shoulder when it comes to the Irish language.
Complaining about fluent speakers who speak in their native dialects?
How rïdïculous. Would you complain about someone from Kerry or Donegal speaking English in their native accents just because you can’t understand it?
You must have had a bad experience somewhere along the line to be coming out with these sorts of juvenile responses
Somehow the Irish language feels irrelevant and out of touch. It’s too confined to a small part of a small island.
@Teresa O’Donnell Joyce: All the more reason for its expansion so.
@Teresa O’Donnell Joyce: Irish was originally a simple language spoken by ordinary people in everyday life. Then it was codified and complexified by a group of well meaning intellectuals who decided to teach it in a way that alienated ordinary people. Irish needs new champions to survive and thrive.
@Neil Neart: @Neil Neart: Irish was never “codified” or complexified by a group of intellectuals who for some reason decided to add weird rules so the plebs wouldn’t be able to speak it, these were all features of the language already. It’s definitely true that it needs to be taught better in schools, but what you seem to want is a simplified version of the language, probably without the “ach” sounds as well so it will be easier on your anglicised ears. I personally don’t see any value in keeping the language “alive” if it’s in a form that bears little resemblance to the natively spoken tongue.
@Neil Neart: Because the language is confined to Ireland and is a second language, most people won’t bother learning or using it. It’s of no real practical use.
@Neil Neart: @Neil Neart: Irish was never “codified” or “complexified” by a group of intellectuals who for some reason decided to add weird rules so the plebs wouldn’t be able to speak it, these were all features of the language already. It’s definitely true that it needs to be taught better in schools, but what you seem to want is a simplified version of the language, probably without the “ach” sounds so it will be easier on your anglicised ears. I don’t see any value in keeping the language “alive” it it’s in a form that bears little resemblance to the natively spoken tongue.
@Neil Neart: @Neil Neart: Irish was never “codified” or “complexified” by a group of intellectuals who for some reason decided to add weird rules so the plebs wouldn’t be able to speak it, these were all features of the language already. It’s definitely true that it needs to be taught better in schools, but what you seem to want is a simplified version of the language, probably without the “ach” sounds so it will be easier on your anglicised ears. I don’t see any value in keeping the language “alive” if it’s in a form that bears little resemblance to the natively spoken tongue.
@Neil Neart: Irish was never “codified” or “complexified” by a group of intellectuals who for some reason decided to add weird rules so the plebs wouldn’t be able to speak it, these were all features of the language already. It’s definitely true that it needs to be taught better in schools, but what you seem to want is a simplified version of the language, probably without the “ach” sounds so it will be easier on your anglicised ears. I don’t see any value in keeping the language “alive” if it’s in a form that bears little resemblance to the natively spoken tongue.
@Neil Neart: Irish was never “codified” or “complexified” by some group of intellectuals who for some reason decided to add lots of weird rules to make the language harder for the plebs to learn, all these rules were features of the language already. I agree that it definitely needs to be taught better but that’s a different matter. What you seem to want is a simplified version of the language, probably without the “ach” sounds as well so it will be easier on your anglicised ears. Personally, I don’t see any value in keeping the language “alive” in an artificial form that bears little resemblance to the historic, natively spoken tongue,
I tried to post this comment a few times but kept having issues attempting to verify my account, I finally managed it and it seems they all went through now, and now its not letting me delete them?
My other half is from South Africa and is self taught, before I met him. We live in an English speaking area but about half hr drive from Gaeltacht. He became aware that the elderly man in local corner shop speaks Irish, and now always speaks Irish to him when he shops there. Also, when he had to go buy timber from timber mill, he needed directions and because this timber mill is located in the Gaeltacht he decided to chance his arm and only ask for directions in Irish and guess what, he succeeded. He is an inspiration. So he is a European using the language and enjoys it. He watches TG4, is very much dependent on the subtitles but just enjoys listening to the language.
@Anú Ni Shúilleabháin: nice. Its a pity one person wont be enough to rescue Irish from its gaelgoiri guards who prefer utterly perfect complexity from a few (with dialects that only they can understand) over simplicity from many.
@Anú Ni Shúilleabháin: He’s lucky to want to speak and learn it. He hasn’t been put off the language with years of it being forced on him in school with ‘God help us’ books.
Cinnte tá an AE in ann go leor a dhéanamh agus tá déanta acu cheana féin. Is minic Gaeilgeoirí le teangacha eile na hEorpa agus le dearcadh níos leithne ná lucht an Bhéarla amháin. Viva Europa!
Unfortunately we are controlled by the EU by our muppets who have not only sold us out but now we have to ask then to approve even energy hikes reductions. Ireland will fall to the Europe knees and so will our sovereignty.
@hw007: a ludicrous, disastrous comment. Sure the EU is helping keep it alive, funding and expanding its use
So we can talk to ourselves
Irish is a cultural language and we force it academic. Its hated by most accounts with poor materials. Duolingo has probably done more for the language. If a hotel could lose its VAT rate off season if it operated in Irish. We need to start with a focus on fluent speech.
Ireland needs to rapidly be more European about language and Irish could be part of that. Our investment model of low corporation tax now harmonized and nullified, Intel for example will likely be gone in 10 years its moved its newer technology to Germany and Italy. However it could be offset with a genuine multi lingual workforce. Free summer courses, genuine community classes, multiple free accredited online courses to get recognized language badges.
Enough already. Let the language live or die on its own two feet. All the government ‘help’ won’t make a jot of difference
Parents of young children need to be allowed to opt their children out of learning Irish.
Making Irish compulsory in school belongs to the days when Ireland was a small-minded State and priests, doctors and anyone in authority could tell you what to do and you would just accept it.
We have opened up divorce, abortion and homosexually, now is the time for free choice on forcing families to waste their children’s time on Irish.
Too late. I’m learning Latin. I know more Latin in 2 years than Irish, which I studied for 11 years in school. Lost interest decades ago. Plus now when I’m reading (english) I can understand and recognise the roots of so many english words we use on a daily basis.
I think TG 4 and RTE should offer Free Irish language classes!
have your say