Brian Stanley: Demands a Left, Republican Budget for Workers
Brian Stanley addresses the Dail debate to call for a radical reset of economic priorities ahead of the next Budget. He argues last year’s measures left disabled people and PAYE workers worse off and sets out targeted proposals on tax, energy supports, housing and agriculture.
Budget priorities and targets
Brian Stanley urges a democratic, left, republican Budget that adjusts income tax thresholds and bands in favour of middle and low income workers. He insists any one-off winter or energy credits must be targeted to households with incomes below 75,000 gross and that retrofitting, solar and energy grants must be accelerated.
Housing, childcare and business costs
Stanley highlights the need to calm rents, improve rent credits and address affordable childcare. He criticises VAT changes that favour large hotels and fast food chains and proposes a graduated VAT scale: 9% on the first 5 million of turnover, rising to 13% thereafter, to help smaller shops and hotels.
Agriculture, transport and procurement
On agri policy he calls for added-value supports for family farms, faster adoption of anaerobic digestion and use of farm waste for pelleted fertilizer. He also recommends reviewing high VAT on HVO biofuels for haulage. Finally, Stanley demands better value for money in government procurement and an end to what he calls wasteful spending choices.
Implications and next steps
The speech frames these proposals as practical policy shifts aimed at protecting vulnerable households and supporting small businesses and farmers. Stanley asks the Budget Minister to prioritise targeted supports, sustainable investment and tighter oversight of public spending in the upcoming Budget.
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So the debate we're having here is very welcome and thanks to the Independent Ireland Group for putting this forward. I think the economy, you know, we have to radically reset how we're doing things and the next Budget Minister has to be different. Over nine and a half billion extra was given out last year in measures but none of it, none of it went to the disabled, the self-implied, the PAYE workers who were left out. In fact the disabled finished up 1,400 a year worse off. The upcoming Budget has to change that. We need a democratic, left, republican Budget this year. Income tax thresholds and tax bands needed to be just adjusted to favour middle and low income workers. Any one-off winter credits, winter energy credits must be targeted, must be targeted and go to households that are on below 75,000 gross. I know everybody can't get everything, I understand that and we shouldn't do that but what we should do is favour middle and low income families. Retrofitting of homes has to be accelerated. I welcome the progress that's been made but some of the grants do need to be improved. 880 homes in leash in 2024-25 added solar. 1,100 homes in total in that period of time got some energy works. That's welcome but there needs to be, out of over 30,000 homes, that needs to be accelerated. We need the rent credits to be improved but most importantly we need measures to calm rent and reduce the cost of rent and cap rents and affordable childcare must be addressed. For businesses insurance cost continues to be high. VAT changes that we had in the last Budget are going to favour large hotels and the big fast food companies with the VAT reductions. It should be altered and I would propose that we do a graduated scale that would be 9% on the first 5 million of turnover VAT and after that 13%. You know let's favour the smaller coffee shops and the businesses, the smaller hotels. That would benefit them. Agri supports, let's face it, we need added value. Of course we need supports, financial supports for farmers but there also has to be added value if we're going to keep modest sized family farms there. That's the reality and anaerobic digestion, we haven't even got off the blocks with it and we need, farmers need to be getting a second income from their produce. We have a huge farm waste problem. There's an opportunity there for pelleted fertilizer which is being done in other countries such as Italy. We haven't even started doing it. I welcome the proposal from the government relation to flour production. That means and counties like Leash to have a big tradition of growing wheat. One of those flour mills need to be located in Leash. That needs to happen. We need to boost organic production. In terms of haulage we have to recognise the reality that there is an absence of an alternative there but we do have, we do have biofuels and for some reason we're charging very high VAT on HVO. That's been used in trucks and that should be looked at. I know there's a European problem in your European directive there. We need to go back to him with that and the last thing I would say on government procurement we need to get better value for money. We can't keep spending 236,000 on bike sheds, two and a half, heading for two and a half children's hospital and 1.4 million on a security order. We need to spend money better. Thank you.
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