Public spending sustainability
Deputy Bacik warned that cost-of-living pressures and heavy corporation tax spending were not being matched by sustainable public investment. The Taoiseach defended the fiscal councils, acknowledged concerns about spending management, and pointed to the Future Ireland Fund, the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund, and a broadly stable spending ratio.
The cost-of-living perma-crisis is hurting all our communities, worst of all people on low and middle incomes. Spiralling costs in housing, health, energy and groceries are forcing people to spend more and more of their pay on bare necessities. This is causing real suffering. In this context, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council has again issued warnings about the Government's spending. Five out of every six euro collected in corporation tax is being spent, but not in a sustainable way and not to deliver quality public services. We, in the Labour Party, are for public spending. We know communities need investment and we backed our spending plans with revenue raising proposals - taxes on wealth and not work. We have called for investment in what matters, not just for sectoral interests that shout the loudest. The Government is leaving PAYE workers behind. There was nothing for them in the Finance Bill debated last night. Will the Government give working people a break and commit to indexing tax bands for PAYE workers now to protect against inflation, as we in the Labour Party have consistently sought?
Comment on this
I am not quite clear about what the Deputy articulated in that minute, in terms of whether it was more spending, more tax or whatever.
Comment on this
We appreciate the role of the fiscal council. Its reports are a valuable part of the budgetary process. We fully accept there are issues in terms of how we manage our public finances in the context of the revenue. However, the Future Ireland Fund and the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund have been a success and they have not been funded by borrowing to date.
Comment on this
It is interesting that if we look at Irish expenditure over the last number of years in terms of the argument around the sustainability of public expenditure, there is no doubt that there have been a lot of increases, but one metric to evaluate is to look at total gross voted expenditure as a ratio of national output. Basically, we are kind of tracking fairly consistently over the last years, at about 33% through the 2026 to 2030 period.
