They’re coming thick and fast now. With the budget just three weeks away and a general election likely not too long afterwards, Ministers are increasingly making their pitches for budget measures in the media, filling the sky above Government Buildings with metaphorical kites.
Many relate to housing – expected to be a central issue in the election campaign and political battleground for many debates.
In recent days, the junior minister at the Department of Finance, Neale Richmond, suggested that bulk buying of housing units should see the stamp duty rate – already raised to 10 per cent in 2021 to deter the practice – doubled to 20 per cent. Having tabled a motion to increase the rate earlier this year, which the Government (including Richmond) voted against, Sinn Féin were entitled to a hollow laugh when they heard this.
It was Fianna Fáil, however, which seemed more exercised about it. Speaking on Monday, Tánaiste Micheál Martin ticked off Richmond, saying he was “surprised” by the intervention and suggested it might have been wiser to wait for a review of the stamp duty rates to be completed. He noted too that there had been no “heads up” for the (Fianna Fáil) Minister for Finance Jack Chambers about Richmond’s bright idea. Translated, Martin was calling out a violation of the “no surprises” rule of Coalition management.
And yet, Fianna Fáilers were not exactly behind the door when it came to launching a few kites of their own. Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien, The Irish Times reported, will seek to expand eligibility for the maximum grant of €30,000 under the Help to Buy scheme. About 2,400 renters who have applied for the scheme and are due to be assisted in 2025 could see their grants increased at a total cost of about €40 million.
Elsewhere, it was reported over the weekend that Fine Gael wants to extend income disregards for carers, with a push under way for double lump-sum once-off payments – including for child benefit, fuel allowance, disability grants and the working family payment – possibly all before Christmas. The party is also expected to seek another hike in the rent tax credit to at least €1,000.
The Greens are also not sitting on their hands. On Monday, party leader Roderic O’Gorman floated the idea for a payment of €560 for everyone who has a baby.
“The idea is that alongside the initial child benefit payment of €140, there’d be a boost for that first payment, and we’re talking about quadrupling it and bringing it up to €560 for that first payment,” he told Claire Byrne on RTÉ radio.
At least Chambers won’t be in for any nasty surprises when he sits down with his colleagues for those budget negotiations. All he has to do is read the newspapers and he’ll know what they’re going to ask for.
What are we to make of all this? There is a newfound edginess in relations within Government, with all parties privately accusing each other of one-upmanship and trying to claim credit for each other’s initiatives. Fine Gael was annoyed that Chambers last month announced he was delaying a zoned land tax – and the Greens were furious. The Greens also think Fine Gael is trying to muscle in on their childcare initiatives. And Fianna Fáil thinks Simon Harris routinely tries to hog the credit for, well, everything.
These tensions, of course, were to be expected as the Government reaches the last phase of its existence and the parties face up to the reality that they will soon be electoral rivals. But it will make the budget harder to do – and threaten a more serious breach in the Coalition. It will be a bumpy few weeks.
