Pringle: No long-term change or improved access to services in Budget 2025

By Thomas Pringle
Updated: 2nd October 2024

Independent TD for Donegal, Thomas Pringle, said Budget 2025 throws “a couple of euros to everyone in the audience”, but offers nothing in the way of long-term change or improved access to services.

Addressing the Dáil on Tuesday evening, Deputy Pringle said: “That is all that this budget amounts to, not the systematic change that is so desperately needed in this country, just a lacklustre repeat of the previous years’ budgets, with very little for the public to be truly hopeful about.

“This budget offers absolutely nothing in the way of long-term change or improved access to services. It merely throws out a couple of euros to everyone in the audience, including those who don’t require it, in a desperate attempt to keep as many people as possible happy in an election year.

“When this government took this approach three years ago, they argued that a targeted approach would take time to figure out and ensure, yet this excuse falls flat when they continue to throw money at those who won’t even notice its presence while refusing to ensure targeted measures and funding are aimed at those struggling to get by.”

He said: “This is far from the equitable society the Minister has promised.”

From his remarks:

Housing

Deputy Pringle said: “This document does nothing to actively address the worst housing and homelessness crisis in the history of the State. We have recorded over 14,000 people homeless in this country and the Simon Community, in their recent hidden homelessness report, have revealed that hidden homelessness impacts a further 30,000 households across the island of Ireland.

“There is no affordable housing available for those looking to buy a home – any TD who spends time in their constituency office will know this. And house prices will only continue to rise. In Donegal, prices in the third quarter of 2024 were 12% higher than a year previously.

“The average price of a home in Donegal is now 65% above the level seen at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The government’s response is to increase the threshold so that fewer people will have to pay inheritance tax and to extend the Help to Buy scheme. The Help to Buy scheme does nothing but push up house prices and very few people are even eligible for the scheme, given that it’s only for houses built after 2017.

“You will find very few houses built after 2017 in rural Ireland and so the government’s claim that they are helping all first-time buyers with this scheme is just not true. It’s builders that are being helped with this scheme.” He said the First Home Shared Equity scheme is just as ineffective.

The deputy said: “Yet the Budget 2025 expenditure report details that a further €80 million will be spent on the scheme, while shockingly only a meagre €21 million will be spent on Traveller-specific accommodation, while just €70 million is set aside for the remediation of homes affected by defective concrete blocks and apartment defects.

“€210 million is needed to ensure 100% redress for homeowners affected by defective blocks alone, and yet there isn’t a single mention of the defective blocks scheme in the budget. This is an absolute disgrace and shows that the government has no compassion or care for affected homeowners.”

Health & Mental Health

Deputy Pringle said: “Mental health was not a priority in last year’s budget and barely got a mention, even though just one euro spent on mental health returns €18 to the State.

“I am disappointed, but not surprised, to see that this year’s budget isn’t much better. Again, allocated funding for mental health is far below any other health funding and it’s clear that this government does not take mental health seriously enough.

“I welcome the intended funding of Traveller mental health initiatives, but we have to ensure that this funding goes directly to the National Traveller Mental Health Network and is drawn down and used for its intended purpose, unlike Traveller-specific accommodation funding.

“We need to ensure a more equitable health care system and move away from the two-tier system that’s currently in place and encouraged by these government policies,” he said.

Disability

Deputy Pringle said: “Our disabled community has also, once again, been let down by this budget.

“We know that there are significant additional costs faced by people with a disability which are currently not met by existing social welfare payments and yet this government continues to contribute to a national savings account, instead of increasing payments sufficiently or establishing a permanent cost of disability payment which I and many DPOs have been calling for for years.

“It should not be the case that thousands of disabled children and adults are unable to access basic support, services and equipment and yet this is accepted and left unaddressed. We need to establish a permanent cost of disability payment of at least €50 per week for disabled people and we need to abolish the Carer’s Allowance means test entirely,” he said.

Education/Childcare

Deputy Pringle said: “The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation has advised that we need to invest in smaller class sizes, given that reducing class sizes by two points has shown an improvement in student outcomes and allows teachers to deliver quality education.

They have also emphasised the need to restore the 1,700 assistant principal roles that were cut during the austerity period over 12 years ago to improve school management and teacher retention and to ensure a 20% increase in core grants such as the capitation and minor works grants, alongside increased ancillary services funding, to meet the growing costs schools face.

“We also need to invest heavily in childcare to support working families. This budget has provided a 24% increase in funding for childcare, but this extra allocation is to account for the growing number of children in the system and will not bring down the extortionate fees that parents face,” he said.

The deputy said: “I was glad to see additional allocation for foster care, but I think more funding should be targeted at the children, as well as the carers. Carers are supporting the needs of children they are supporting from their own funds and TUSLA are happy to have that continue.

“Significant investment is needed to ensure the rights of every child in care are upheld and that they have equal opportunities to thrive and achieve the best possible outcomes,” he said.

The deputy said: “The public is not interested in yet another piecemeal budget. They want a roof over their head, access to services and to live in a country that is fair and equitable, where child poverty is eradicated and everyone can have a place to sleep that they can call home.

“Citizens know that Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael are not interested in delivering that so they will look to see what they personally can gain from a budget, as the government attempts to buy their support.”