Ireland budget: Republic braced for high taxes and lower welfare payments

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: The Guardian

Ireland reluctantly began four years of tax rises and brutal cuts to social welfare after its parliament narrowly passed the harshest budget in the Republic's history.

As angry protests raged outside the Dáil, the country's finance minister Brian Lenihan announced that child benefit would be slashed, more workers taken into the tax bracket and petrol prices raised to save €6bn (£5bn) in the forthcoming year.

The country's opposition, trade unions and poverty campaign groups all lined up to condemn the budget, branding the swingeing cuts as the last act of a "puppet government" and a "frontal attack" on the poorest strands of society.

But Lenihan, whose government has come close to collapse during weeks of tumultuous events, said the measures necessary to save the Irish economy needed to be passed to meet the terms of Ireland's €85bn bailout agreed two weeks ago with the IMF and the EU.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/dec/07/ireland-budget-cuts-bailout

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The first stage of votes on it has been won by the government: http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/1207/budget4.html

[Possumpoint]

1. Just Who Won?

Was it the government, bankers or people? I vote bankers. They aren't going to lose, they don't take a haircut. Just which bankers were saved Irish or foreign? I vote foreign. The big banks of various European countries are heavily invested in government bonds of various other countries. The governments are worried that if a country folds that things are so thin it will pull down the house of cards. So the Irish people have to take it in the hind parts to save the bankers. The bankers feel good so they continue to pay themselves the big bonuses. Money wins till the people have enough and say FU.

IMHO Ireland would be better off declaring bankruptcy and telling the bankers and IMF to get bent. So they would have to get out of the Euro and accept some austerity programs. They won't have had to sell their soul to save the bankers.

[pattmarty]

2. Didn't I just read something last week about Sinn Fein (IRA) gaining........

..........seats in Parliament or running against some of these "austerity" incumbents?

[DJ13]

3. That should rescue an economy that needs more consumer spending

:eyes:

[defendandprotect]

4. This is simply more perverted and predatory capitalism to cure caitalism's crimes...!!!

[PSPS]

5. "more workers taken into the tax bracket"

As angry protests raged outside the Dáil, the country's finance minister Brian Lenihan announced that child benefit would be slashed, more workers taken into the tax bracket and petrol prices raised to save €6bn (£5bn) in the forthcoming year.

More taxes on the working class while the wealthy elite get more tax breaks.

From an earlier article (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/nov/24/ireland-bailout-plan-unveiled)

The plan includes tens of thousands of public sector job cuts, phased increases in the VAT rate from 2013 and social welfare savings of €2.8bn (£2.37bn) by 2014. But there will be no change to Ireland's low corporate tax rate.

More of the "trickle down" nonsense.