People Before Profit’s Budget 2024 outlines that enough resources and wealth exist in the country to deal with the multiple crises facing our society. We reject government claims that increasing spending to fully protect ordinary people from the cost of living and housing crises, and properly resourcing our public services, would lead to further inflation.
Profiteering and wealth inequality are the real reasons for the cost of living, housing, and other crises facing our society but the political will to address these issues does not exist within the political establishment.
The cost-of-living crisis, the housing and homelessness crisis, childcare, disability, and social welfare are among the main issues, along with the ongoing climate crisis and the health service.
People Before Profit say that further taxes on wealth and profits could provide ample resources to fund cost of living measures, homes for all, and to properly resource public services and climate action – without causing inflation.
Some of the priority areas in the Alternative Budget Document include:
Ending homelessness and the housing crisis
- Double the delivery of social and affordable homes to 20,000 (social), 4,000 (affordable) and 7,200 (cost rental).
- Introduce more punitive “use it or lose it” taxes on vacant and derelict buildings and sites.
- Establish a state construction company.
- Increase the renter’s tax credit to €2,000 & HAP limits (pending introduction of real rent controls).
Tackling the cost-of-living crisis, increasing workers’ incomes, and making poverty history
- Increase headline social welfare and pension rates to €300 per week, plus a €50 additional “cost of disability” premium.
- Abolish the USC for those earning under €100,000 and index link tax allowances.
- Increase public sector pay by 10% for all those earning below €100,000 and legislate for a minimum living wage of at least €15 per hour.
- Increase Child Benefit by 20% and abolish means test for carers.
- Restore the pension age to 65.
- Cap energy prices to average EU levels, reducing energy bills for each household by on average €1,000.
Childcare
- Free childcare for all as a step to a fully public National Childcare Service.
- Increase wages for all childcare workers by €2 an hour.
- Extend paid maternity leave to a full year and paid paternity leave to 28 weeks.
Just Transition
- Make public transport free and frequent.
- Retrofit 10,000 social homes and double investment in retrofitting grants.
- €1 billion investment in renewables.
- Abolish the Carbon Tax – replace with commercial aviation tax.
- Provide substantial funding to expand the ACRES Cooperation scheme and establish a scheme to expand organic, agroecological and regenerative farming.
- Triple the funding for broad leaf afforestation, mixed native woodland and rewilding programmes.
- Double investment and staffing of National Parks and Wildlife Service.
- Abolish the M50 and Eastlink tolls to reduce costs of living, city centre traffic and air pollution.
- Abolish charges for waste collection and take the service back into public ownership.
Fairly taxing wealth and profits – revenue-raising measures include:
- Raise Corporation Tax to 20% for large corporations and close loopholes – €20 billion.
- Wealth tax on the Top 5% of households – €5.9 billion.
- Four new tax bands for top earners – €3 billion .
- 4% levy on profits of pharmaceutical companies and private health companies – €1 billion.
- Windfall tax on energy companies – €1 billion.
- Tech taxes to fund RTE and public service media – €1 billion.
- Higher PRSI rates for employers – €2.56 billion.
