JOANNA TUFFY TD
BUDGET NEWS Winter 2013 This is the Budget that will take us out of the bailout. It will underpin recovery and help to create more jobs. And this Budget does everything possible for hard pressed families – pointing the way to a better future. When this Government came into office, 31 months ago, our Country was faced with the worst economic crisis in its history. Our economic sovereignty had been surrendered, and without the bailout loans, there was five months money left to pay for all public services, and no-means to borrow any more. Today, that situation has been transformed. Financial Stability has been restored. The State can again borrow at affordable rates, and we are in a strong position to exit the programme at the end of the year. This budget copper-fastens the stability that has been so hard won. There have been some difficult choices. After five years of cuts, there are no easy options left. But we have now come through the worst economic crisis in the history of this State. The people of Ireland have endured much, but we are now, at last, on the threshold of recovery. If you have any questions on any of the measures introduced in the Budget, or on any other issues, please do not hesitate to contact me.
PROTECTING EDUCATION CLASS SIZES PROTECTED – 1,400 NEW TEACHERS IN 2014 Education has always been a core priority for the Labour Party, and this budget demonstrates our commitment to protecting frontline education services. This is the third budget from this government, and for the third year in a row, there have been no increases in class sizes. The standard pupilteacher ratio in both primary and post-primary schools has been protected. The €1.3 billion provided each year to support children with special needs has also been protected for 2014. We will be recruiting an additional 1,400 teachers to our schools next year – two-thirds as mainstream teachers, and one-third as resource teachers to support children with special needs. This brings the total number of new teachers recruited in our schools to 2,800 between this year and next year.
REDUCING THE COST OF GOING TO SCHOOL
INVESTING IN SCHOOLS
■ BOOK RENTAL SCHEME - €5 million will be provided for each of the next 3 years to invest in book rental schemes in every primary school in Ireland. These schemes can save parents as much as 80% of the cost of school books, bringing the average cost down from €100 per child to €20 per child. ■ SCHOOL UNIFORMS – Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn is working on a policy that will require all schools to give parents control over the cost of uniforms.
www.labour.ie
■ SCHOOL BUILDING PROGRAMME – Since taking office, the Government’s School Building programme has seen 2,700 new classrooms built, for over 66,000 children, at a cost of €600m. The 2014 building programme will continue this momentum, with a further €400m to be spent upgrading our schools. ■ BROADBAND – All second level schools will have access to high-speed broadband, at no cost to them, by September 2014. ■ LITERACY & NUMERACY – A further €9m will be invested in literacy and numeracy programmes to ensure no child leaves school without high levels of literacy and numeracy.
Budget 2014
Joanna Tuffy TD
FREE GP CARE FOR CHILDREN AGED 5 AND UNDER
CHANGES TO MEDICAL CARDS CRITERIA The income threshold for qualification for a medical card for the over 70’s has been reduced. A single person, aged over 70, with an income in excess of €500 per week, or a couple with income in excess of €900 per week, will now qualify for a GP card, rather than a full medical card. This measure will require legislation. It is intended that this legislation will be in place by early 2014, with reassessments taking place at that stage. It is estimated that this change will affect 35,000 people. 93% of people aged over 70 will still qualify for free GP care.
In this budget, we are taking the first step on the way to achieving universal access to GP services without fees, with the introduction of free GP care for children aged 5 and under. Universal access to GP care is a key policy objective of the Labour Party, and it forms an essential element of our primary care strategy – ensuring that more people have their health managed in the community, rather than in more expensive hospital settings not only saves money in the short term, it also means that people live healthier lives, reducing costs to the health service in the long term. We are starting with children as there is extensive evidence that young children and the elderly constitute public health priority groups. 93% of people aged over 70 already have access to free GP care, and this will not change under this budget. If your child is aged 5 or under, they will be able to access GP care at absolutely no cost to you. This measure requires the introduction of legislation, which is currently being drafted by the Department of Health.
PRESCRIPTION CHARGES From 1st December 2013, the cost per prescribed item for people with medical cards will be €2.50, with a cap of €25 per month per individual or family. There has been no change to prescription costs under the Drugs Payment Scheme for those without medical cards.
SOCIAL PROTECTION The Department of Social Protection will spend €19.6 billion in 2014 on a wide variety of payments and programmes. Budget 2014 has protected the core welfare rates for all 1.45 million current beneficiaries. Child Benefit, the Fuel Allowance, Free Travel and Carer’s Allowance are being maintained in full.
JOBSEEKER’S ALLOWANCE
TELEPHONE ALLOWANCE
Reduced rates of Jobseeker’s Allowance will apply to new claimants under the age of 26 from January 2014. New claimants under 26 who qualify for Jobseeker’s Benefit through their PRSI contributions will not be affected by this measure.
From January 2014, the Telephone Allowance of €9.50 per month will be abolished for new and existing recipients.
Jobseekers aged 18-25 who participate in education or training programmes can receive up to €160 per week. The Department of Social Protection will be spending an extra €85 million on these programmes next year, bringing the total spend to €1.08 billion. Current Rates
The Government is currently examining the Senior Alert Scheme, which provides grant assistance for monitored personal alarms for older people, to see if it will require additional resources in the absence of the telephone allowance.
Rates from January 2014
Maximum personal rate 25 years or older
€188
Maximum personal rate 26 years or older
€188
Maximum personal rate 22-24 years
€144
Maximum personal rate aged 25
€144
Maximum personal rate 18-21 years
€100
Maximum personal rate aged 18-24
€100
CREATING LOCAL JOBS ENCOURAGING ENTREPRENEURSHIP We want to encourage and help people who are long-term unemployed to start their own businesses. That is why we have introduced the ‘Start Your Own Business’ scheme, which will provide for a two year exemption from income tax, up to a maximum of €40,000 per annum, for people who had been unemployed for at least 15 months prior to starting their own business. This will help people to get their enterprise ideas up and running, encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation. The Budget also provides other supports to new businesses, such as the provision of training programmes, an increase in the threshold for cash VAT receipts, an increase in the threshold for applications to the Credit Review Office, and an initiative to ensure there is greater awareness among Small and Medium Enterprises of available State supports.
HOME RENOVATION INITIATIVE Tax relief of up to 13.5% will be available for families who invest in their homes in 2014 and 2015. The Home Renovation Initiative is designed to incentivise renovations and increase demand for small construction jobs. The relief will be given as a tax credit over two years on spending of €5,000 up to a maximum of €30,000. The work must take place in your principal private residence. The scheme will only apply to registered builders with tax clearance certificates, in order to help tackle the shadow economy. Work covered under the scheme includes extensions, renovations, window fitting, plumbing, tiling and plastering. The scheme will be active from October 2013.
LIVING CITY INITIATIVE The Living City Initiative is intended to encourage people back to living in the centres of Irish cities and to encourage the refurbishment of the retail heartland of central business districts. The initiative was launched in 2012 in Waterford and Limerick for Georgian buildings alone, but has been extended to all residences built prior to 1915 in Cork, Galway, Kilkenny and Dublin as part of this year’s budget. Residents will be able to claim tax relief over a ten year period for the cost of refurbishment works. The extension of the initiative to Dublin will include all parts of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown. It will make a significant contribution to the regeneration and renewal of the older areas of the county and will provide for added employment in the local construction industry.
EXTRA FUNDING FOR HOME HEATING GRANTS A further €30m has been secured under the Government’s Stimulus Package increasing investment in the Better Energy and Warmer Home energy efficiency schemes to a total of €57m. These schemes fund energy efficiency improvements by householders and local authorities, as well as upgrades in the homes of the elderly and vulnerable, making homes more comfortable, healthier and more cost effective to run. The schemes also benefit the economy by creating jobs in the construction sector. 32,000 homes are expected to benefit from upgrades under these schemes in 2014, bringing the total number of homes to benefit to 290,000 since they were launched in 2011. If you are a homeowner in receipt of fuel allowance, contact 1800 250 204 or warmerhomes@seai.ie for further details. If you are a homeowner, residing in a house built prior to 2006, contact 1850 927 000 or info@betterenergyhomes.ie for further details.
JOBSEEKERS- DID YOU KNOW? ■ FAS has been dissolved and its functions transferred to the Department of Social Protection and SOLAS the new further education authority. The website www.fas.ie will continue as a source of information about training courses. A variety of options are available to jobseekers including day courses and evening courses. These are provided in local training centres. Ballyfermot and Tallaght Training Centres offer courses that may be of interest to you, many of them short evening courses starting in January. Evening Courses are free to those on jobseekers payments. For more information phone 4275400 (Tallaght Training Centre) and 6055900 (Ballyfermot). ■ €1.08 Billion will be spent by the Government in 2014 on measures to assist jobseekers getting work including Jobbridge, TUS and Community Employment Schemes. If you are interested in these schemes you should contact your local Employment Services Office to check your eligibity and the availability of places. The local one for Lucan is the Clondalkin Employment Services Office, Main Street, Clondalkin, Dublin 22 phone 4591766 ■ 2,000 training places will be ring-fenced in 2014 for under-25s at a cost of €6 million as part of a €46 million Youth Guarantee being implemented across Government Departments. These places will be provided under a follow-up to the successful Momentum programme that operated in 2013. For further information contact your local Employment Services Office and the website for Momentum Skills is www.momentumskills.ie ■ The Government has announced an exemption from Income Tax up to a maximum of €40,000 per annum for a period of two years, to individuals who set up a qualifying, un-incorporated business, having been unemployed for a period of at least 15 months prior to establishing the business.
Please feel free to contact me for further information on the above options. This leaflet is intended as a guide only and you must check with the relevant agencies as to whether you are eligible for any particular scheme or benefit.
Contact me: Joanna Tuffy TD Dáil Eireann, Leinster House, Dublin 2 Dáil Office: 01 6183822 Constituency Office: 01 6218400 Email: joanna.tuffy@oireachtas.ie Web: www.joannatuffy.ie
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WORKING WITH YOUR LOCAL LABOUR TEAM
Robert Dowds TD 01 618 3446 robert.dowds@oir.ie
Cllr. Eamon Tuffy 086 386 3173 etuffy@sdublincoco.ie
Cllr. Caitríona Jones 087 203 4427 cjones@sdublincoco.ie
Emer Costello MEP 01 874 6109 emer.costello@europarl.europa.eu
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