contents...1 contents introduction – survival and revival .....2 where we are – the fiscal...

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Contents

Introduction – Survival and Revival ........................................................................................... 2

Where we are – the fiscal challenge .......................................................................................... 5

Investing to address the economic challenges of Covid-19 and Brexit ..................................... 7

Universal healthcare .................................................................................................................. 9

A right to housing ..................................................................................................................... 11

A new deal for families ............................................................................................................ 14

Funding disability services ....................................................................................................... 16

A green recovery ...................................................................................................................... 18

Equal opportunities in education ............................................................................................ 20

Protecting Workers .................................................................................................................. 22

Agriculture and our Rural Communities .................................................................................. 23

Additional Priorities ................................................................................................................. 25

Enhancing Social Protections: .............................................................................................. 25

Valuing the Arts .................................................................................................................... 25

Reviving Communities .......................................................................................................... 25

Supporting Local Government ............................................................................................. 26

Overseas Development Aid .................................................................................................. 27

Revenue Raising ....................................................................................................................... 28

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Introduction – Survival and Revival

Budget 2021 arrives at an important moment for our country. It arrives in the middle of a

global pandemic that has placed immense strain on our society, both in human and

economic terms. Lives have been lost, families have been separated, people have lost jobs,

and Ireland is still grappling with the challenge of Brexit.

Budget 2021 does not have to be an attempt to return us to where we have been. It can and

should be the start of a better economy and better society.

It will not be enough to weather the storm and return to the Ireland that was.

That pre-covid Ireland was dealing with the consequences of a decade of underinvestment,

lack of access to housing, economic inequalities, and lack of opportunities. All these

challenges remain and many have been worsened by the effects of the current crisis. The

old normal will still be as difficult and divisive if we do not improve our society at the same

time as we try to protect it.

Ireland must invest in itself. Ireland must invest in survival and revival.

We must invest in surviving the worst effects of the Covid pandemic while keeping our

people healthy and safe. We need to provide economic security, protect both mortgage

holders and renters, and keep our businesses alive.

Budget 2021 should commit to the funding necessary to ensure the people of Ireland can

get through the pandemic with the right healthcare, and it support incomes and

communities. We need to invest in those sectors that are being decimated by the pandemic,

ensuring that they survive and that we offer hope of a social and economic revival.

A revival as we come out of the pandemic must be to an economy that is job rich, with a

priority on investing in public services and social goods that will benefit all. We must invest

in a fairer future.

This pandemic is a 1-in-100 year event. Budget 2021 must respond accordingly. We must be

ambitious in responding, borrowing sufficiently to ensure we survive the pandemic until a

vaccine or treatment emerges and the sectors and businesses impacted can be revived –

they were in the main all viable businesses pre-Covid. A rapid return to deficit reduction will

spell ‘austerity’ again for Ireland, and is advised against by the IMF and other international

institutions.

Budget 2021 can be the start of building a state that places people and their wellbeing first.

A thriving society starts with decent public services, providing affordable homes, improving

infrastructure and empowering new and bold ideas focused on our most important

resource: ourselves and our families.

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Invest in a fairer future

The pandemic has made us realise that we are all part of the same society. The failure of

one part of our society threatens the well-being of us all. Continued support for business,

workers, and our communities is essential. We must not undermine our attempts at

containing Covid and restarting a just recovery by reducing supports when they are still

needed.

The state has the opportunity now to borrow money at long duration with rates close to

zero, meaning we can choose to invest strategically to build up our public services now to

ensure that the people of Ireland have quality services for generations to come. This

includes fully implementing Sláintecare, providing social and affordable housing, ensuring

public provision of childcare, and investing further in chronically underfunded sectors like

education and disability.

Thrive in place

It is possible for our citizens to thrive not only in our cities but across our country. Far too

often, to make a decent life, many must leave the places that matter most to them. By

supporting people to live and work in the place that matters most to them, we can share

opportunity across the island of Ireland. The role of the Local Enterprise Offices and other

community-based initiatives should be expanded and the opportunity for remote working

should be further supported to provide good jobs across the country and improve the local

economies across Ireland.

Job-rich recovery

We have learned that some of the least well-paid jobs are the most essential. Pay and

conditions in these roles remain poor, and the supports available to employees are lacking.

Paying a living wage and ensuring statutory employment protections supports Families have

been separated the health and safety of employees and creates good jobs for our society –

not just for employers. We must also fairly compensate the workers that make our society a

more rewarding place to be part of, and those who work in caring roles.

Certainty

At this moment of deep uncertainty and fear, Budget 2021 must provide hope. It must

provide certainty to those most impacted by the pandemic. This includes certainty around

what income supports will be available should people lose their job and the protections for

renters and homeowners. There must be an moratorium on evictions, and no one should be

penalised for having to take a mortgage break.

There needs to be certainty as to what supports are available to businesses to help them

cope with lockdowns and starting up again.

Community organisations are struggling to cope, in particular with their fundraising

capacities wiped out. These organisations need support, including the certainty of

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multiannual funding streams to enable them to cope with, in many cases, hugely increased

costs to deliver services and increased demand for their services.

Budget 2020 was overshadowed by Brexit uncertainty. Budget 2021 needs to rise to the

challenge of today and correct the policy mistakes of the past. We start that process by

investing in a fairer future, providing good jobs and affordable housing,. A better Ireland

starts with long-term investments financed with long-term and cheap borrowing. It uses

that money to fund not just a recovery but a new economic and social model. It is an Ireland

which acts boldly to invest rather than hoping it can avoid the risk of trying something new.

It is an Ireland which values the contributions we all make to our society. It is an Ireland

better than before.

Budget 2021 provides the opportunity to reprioritise. The failings of the state in providing

appropriate public services became abundantly clear with Covid. The priority now must

ensure that the recovery is fair and progressive.

The following principles should underpin all decisions in Budget 2021:

1) Prioritising the needs of the most vulnerable

2) Funding should be planned and targeted to achieve reform: emergency funding

should not be layered on top of dysfunctional systems. Budget 2021 provides the

opportunity to begin to correct fundamental flaws in how we provide key public

services, e.g. health, housing, childcare.

3) Investing in public services to strengthen our society and our economy. There should

be no tax cuts.

4) Investing in the social contract to drive down the cost of living for everyone.

5) Ensuring a job rich recovery by concentrating on generating quality jobs, investing in

job-rich capital projects and in upskilling and education.

6) Prioritising capital investment in targeted areas.

7) Prioritising quality of life in every budgetary decision.

Starting with Budget 2021, the key priorities, based on the above principles, that the Social

Democrats identify are:

• Properly fund mental health services

• Maintain PUP payments

• Establish a national sick pay scheme

• Fund 150 ICU beds

• Establish a commission on the introduction of a statutory right to flexible work,

including a 4-day week

• Targeted supports for business sectors most impacted by Covid-19

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Where we are – the fiscal challenge

The economic picture has changed dramatically in the year since the last Budget. In response to the pandemic the deficit has widened due to an expansion in government expenditures and a reduction in tax revenues. This section evaluates the current economic landscape, the uncertainty facing economic analysis at this time, and the policy responses required to help Ireland prepare for the future. The Department of Finance’s April Update modelled a yearly tax revenue decline of 16.4% to €49.6 billion based on income tax decline of €4.7 billion, VAT decrease of €2.8 billion, a shrink in excise of €0.8 billion, a collapse in corporate tax receipts of €0.7 billion as well as smaller amounts of declines in the smaller tax measures. The September Fiscal Monitor shows that tax revenues have held up well despite the challenging conditions. In short, Ireland has thus far avoided the worst-case scenario modelled in April Update. Tax revenue has performed better than expected largely due to the strong performance of Income Tax (€2.1 billion), Corporation Tax (€1.9 billion), VAT and Excise Duty (€1.2 billion), and better performance in some smaller tax heads. This has resulted in a tax revenue outturn of €7.0 billion ahead of the profile for September. On the Expenditure side, there has been a total increase of €7.7 billion over expectations with the largest increases in Social Protection (€6.2 billion) and Health (€1.2 billion). This is largely the result of the stabilisers deployed by Irish state early during the Covid-19 pandemic. While Ireland’s international trade focused sectors have held up well, the domestic Irish economy has experienced a sharp contraction of 20% year-on-year reduction in exports (excluding chemical and pharmaceutical products). As a result of the pandemic at the end of August, some 700,000 people relied on the state for their income or had their employment subsidised by the state (Jobseekers, PUP, and the Wage Subsidy Schemes). This level is unlikely to reduce in the short term as the Department of Finance estimates that the unemployment rate will remain above 10% in 2021 and this may worsen in the event of further restrictions This leads to a total deficit of €9.4 billion at the end of September in contrast to the €8.8 billion originally forecast. While tax revenues have held up, expenditures have increased beyond the expectations of April (largely owing to the July Stimulus measures) and so the net position is largely the same as baseline expectations. The projected deficit for 2020 is now in the region of €23 billion to €30 billion with the Government expecting to run a reduced deficit of between €15 billion and €19 billion in 2021. It is from this base that Budget 2021 must continue the fight against Covid-19 and prepare for the possibility of a no-deal Brexit. Both of these challenges are sources of deep uncertainty. A no-deal Brexit is expected to cause a long-run decline in Irish output of 1.3%. A no-deal Brexit is likely to impact sectors which have thus far weathered the storm of Covid-19

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It has become more important that Ireland is able to provide the stimulus and support which is economically and socially necessary. The state needs to take the lead and invest. This starts with a long-term strategic deficit of 2% per annum directed at projects which will boost economic growth and improve quality of life. This deficit, funded by long-term borrowing at the low rates available on international markets (Ireland sold a 30 year bond in September 2020 at 0.52% with a cover ratio of 1.9) can help undo the decade of underinvestment in infrastructure while producing good, well-paying jobs. The sectors which need investment are clear. Housing, health, childcare and community development all require funding to fully meet the needs of the Irish people. This investment can be structured in a number of ways including a national investment fund in line with recent measures in the Netherlands or it can be a set of bespoke debt raising targeting specific sectors. Regardless of the approach, providing a stable and reliable stimulus shelter businesses and households from some of the economic uncertainty. While the level of debt facing Ireland is a concern, there are two approaches to debt. The first is to assume that economic growth is not possible and to cut public expenditures to avoid increasing the deficit and then to go into surplus in order to pay down debt. This approach has been succinctly described as austerity. The other is to grow the economy by investing prudently and in areas where there are long-term economic benefits from doing so. The latter approach of investment-led growth has the advantage of blunting the worst effects of our economic challenges while fixing the social and political failings of the last decade. This approach is being supported by central banks globally, who are committed to keeping the cost of borrowing low in the near term. In the case of the European Central Bank, they have also committed to a bond purchasing scheme to help improve the access of states to credit. Global central banks encouraged fiscal stimulus before the pandemic started. With the pandemic this has become essential. Our European colleagues are taking this advice seriously. They are expanding spending programmes and preparing to invest in improving their economies in the long term. Proactivity is the order of the day. Budget 2021 is being developed under deep uncertainty. 2021 can be the start of the state investing in our economic and social wellbeing, and offer people hope. It can help our economy and society survive the impact of Covid 19, and look towards revival.

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Investing to address the economic challenges

of Covid-19 and Brexit

Budget 2021 can and must be the investment budget. This means fully embracing the potential role of the state in driving economic recovery. The response to Covid-19 showed how the state can be mobilised to protect people in the time of an emergency. This should continue in the area of economic development. Only a socially democratic state, working in close partnership across society, can meet the economic challenges of the day. This means promoting balanced economic development, which works for all. Our principles:

1. Economic growth, and investment in jobs, will bring stability to our public finances. 2. We need to make the resources available for economic investment 3. Economic investment and development is a priority over deficit reduction

Principles in practise:

• Interest rates at below 1%. This means it makes sense to borrow for productive investment.

• Economic investment must be environmentally and socially sustainable.

• Budget 2021 should set Ireland on a path which leads to economic development and growth, rather than deficit reduction and austerity.

Three examples of the investment required in Budget 2021: 1. Drive balanced economic development

There needs to a sustained focus in Budget 2021 on sustainable, regional development. In the first instance, this can be done by greater support for the Leader programme, and the local development boards. The 16 areas identified by the Department of Enterprise in their Focus on 2020 reports provide a starting point for national economic strategy. There should be active task forces set up across these areas to drive economic development, with representatives from all stakeholders. 2. Targeted investment

Budget 2021 must be the budget to help address structural deficits in the economy. Longstanding problems in Ireland, such as lack of investment in broadband, must now be addressed. The state should lead out on the roll out of national retrofitting programme. In addition, a series of targeted investments in appropriate public transport projects should be launched. The state should consider taking equity in key economic projects where they require investment to survive. There needs to be targeted supports for sectors under particular pressure resulting from Covid-19, such as transport and travel, the arts and entertainment, and hospitality.

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3. Training and upskilling Budget 2021 should be the budget which ensures appropriate levels of investment in education, training and upskilling. New resources need to deployed across the country to ensure that people are adequately prepared for the development of a new green economy. Workers in sectors which have been particularly hit by the impact of Covid-19 must have adequate and appropriate training resources available to them. Ensuring decency in the economy Budget 2021 requires the appropriate intervention from the Irish state to ensure that there is a job rich recovery. We need massive investment in jobs, to offset the impact of Covid 19. But we need to ensure that work pays, and that work is decent and fair throughout the economy. Now is not the time for a conservative state. Now, more than ever, we need an active social democratic state to intervene in the economy. Our priorities in Budget 2021 to support incomes are: ➢ Maintain PUP payments: Much of the

cost of the temporary wage subsidy

scheme can be recouped from the SURE

initiative. With rising uncertainty due to

Covid-19, we must ensure that there is

certainty in incomes for workers

throughout the economy. This is critical

for the domestic economy to ensure the

maintenance of purchasing power.

➢ Introduce a national sick pay scheme.

The failure to provide a proper sick pay

scheme is both a massive economic and

social risk. It leads to a lack of safety and

security. It must be rectified by the State

and employers, and the Social Democrats

are calling for Budget 2021 to ensure that

an adequate sick pay scheme is

introduced.

➢ Targeted supports for businesses most

impacted by Covid-19. Some business

sectors, including tourism, hospitality, arts

and entertainment, have been particularly

severely impacted by the lockdowns and

restrictions of dealing with the pandemic.

These need targeted supports to help

revive these businesses, and sector

specific measures to stimulate demand

and adapt to changing business models.

➢ Work must pay and be of value. We must

ensure that work is adequately paid, and

this means moving Ireland away from

being a low wage economy. As a first step,

we should, in Budget 2021 move towards

the introduction of a national living wage

which can support a decent standard of

living for all workers.

➢ Make work better in Budget 2021.

Budget 2021 should ensure that work is

high quality and secure. With huge

numbers of people now working from

home, there is a need to introduce polices

which make home working better. We

would establish a Commission on the

introduction of a statutory right to

flexible work, including a 4-day working

week.

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Universal healthcare

The year 2020 brought unprecedented challenges to Ireland’s health service after the

outbreak of Covid-19. The pandemic graphically exposed our public health service as totally

inadequate, forcing a system already operating over capacity to radically change how

services are provided, to recruit additional temporary staff, and to source additional

emergency beds from the private sector at significant cost.

Sláintecare

It is vital to ensure that the additional funding now being allocated to the Department of

Health not only caters for future surges of Covid-19, but is also invested in a way that brings

about the much-needed system of reform set out in the Sláintecare plan. On taking office,

the current Government promised to accelerate the implementation of Sláintecare, but no

timelines or hard commitments have been guaranteed and there is still no plan for financing

the reform programme.

The Social Democrats are calling on the Government to lay out a 10-year funding

programme for Sláíntecare and to include this cost in the pre-committed element of the

annual Budget process, as already happens with the National Development plan and public

pay agreements. Only then will we believe the Government is genuinely committed to

reforming our public health service. In this Budget, a figure of €1 billion should be

ringfenced for 2021 to invest in staffing as well as capital expenditure, including additional

hospital beds, e-health, and diagnostics.

Mental health

Mental health services continue to suffer from chronic underinvestment. In addition, the

severe adverse impact of Covid-19 on the nation’s physical and mental wellbeing has put

serious additional strain on service providers. Budget 2021 needs to invest €80 million to

support new service development and to address the historic shortfall in funding for

services over recent years.

Biggest learnings from Covid-19:

• Long-term underinvestment in bed capacity and critical care capacity necessitated

significant emergency spending on additional capacity to prepare for future surges.

• New demands on service delivery, infection prevention and control, and social

distancing has put extreme pressure on a system with historic capacity and

infrastructure issues.

• Chronic underfunding of social care, lack of statutory entitlement to homecare, and

light touch regulation of the nursing home sector have failed older people in this

crisis and put them in danger.

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• Historic underinvestment in mental health services has left providers overwhelmed

by surge in demand following Covid-19’s impact on people’s physical and mental

wellbeing.

• The failure to address the serious under-provision of intensive care beds has

threatened the ability of services to respond adequately to patients who are

seriously ill.

• The neglect and underfunding of public health services has significantly hampered

the country’s response to Covid-19.

Our priorities in Budget 2021 are:

€1 billion ringfenced in 2021 for Sláintecare,

to include:

➢ Funding extra posts across GPs, child and

adolescent mental health services,

psychology services, speech therapy, and

occupational therapy in order to build

capacity at primary care level

➢ Additional hospital beds to increase

capacity

➢ Expand e-health

➢ Increase diagnostics in the community

➢ Clear homecare waiting lists

➢ Additional funding for dementia and

Alzheimer’s services

➢ Enhance funding for palliative care

➢ Invest in neurological services

➢ Implement the National Maternity

Strategy

€80 million investment in mental health

services, to include:

➢ A minimum of €10m to implement the

short-term recommendations of Sharing

the Vision in 2021

➢ €30m to ensure existing services can cope

with increased pressure during 2021

➢ Increase staffing levels

➢ Develop out-of-hour crisis services

➢ As above, investment in staff to address

the chronic waiting lists in child health

services, in particular CAMHS

€200m to fund 150 new ICU Beds

➢ Commission 150 new ICU beds in 2021

and a further 150 in 2022 to bring us to

the 600 ICU beds recommended 10 years

ago in the Prospectus report on Adult

Critical Care Services.

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A right to housing

Alongside the Covid-19 pandemic, a second crisis rages on. Housing is simply unaffordable.

Rents are at a record high, homelessness persists, and too many people are being left

behind. A long-term focus is needed to massively increase the supply of affordable housing

and protect tenants in rental accommodation.

The Social Democrats believe housing is a fundamental right, and our aim is to deliver good

quality housing at the lowest possible cost to purchasers and renters, rather than the

highest possible profit to developers and land speculators.

Many of the issues in Ireland’s housing market can be traced back to policy and legislative

failings, but successive budgets, underinvestment and misdirected investment have also had

a significant impact on the current crisis.

Our priorities in Budget 2021 are threefold:

1. Making housing affordable

2. Ending homelessness

3. Introducing fairness for renters

Make housing affordable: Land speculation is a key reason why housing is unaffordable.

This needs to be tackled head-on with a new approach to housing. We would:

➢ End the housing crisis by increasing the

number of social homes built by local

authorities and approved housing bodies

and by introducing a national affordable

cost rental option for renters and an

affordable purchase option for first-time

buyers. In total, we would build 20,000 of

these homes per year.

➢ Over time, this significant investment in

social housing, affordable purchase

housing and cost rental housing will

produce savings and reduce the reliance

on the Housing Assistance Payment.

➢ End tax breaks for institutional investors

such as so-called ‘cuckoo’ funds and

invest instead in our ambitious housing

plans.

➢ Introduce a new land-hoarding tax that

replaces the loophole-ridden vacant site

levy. The new land-hoarding tax will be

set at a rate that encourages the efficient

use of sites.

➢ Ringfence funding for much stronger

enforcement of the derelict sites

legislation.

End homelessness: Homelessness is not inevitable. It is a direct result of the choices made

by the Government. We can end homelessness. We would:

➢ Increase funding and support for

homeless prevention services to stop

more people becoming homeless.

➢ Increase investment in Housing First so

that secure, permanent housing, with

wrap-around supports, is provided to all

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rough sleepers and long-term users of

emergency hostels and shelters.

➢ Create a ‘Housing First for Families’ to

meet the needs of homeless families with

complex needs.

➢ Ensure that those who have exited

homelessness by being provided with

homes during the Covid-19 pandemic will

continue to be housed through the

purchase of former short term lets.

➢ Develop and implement a new Youth

Homelessness Strategy to eliminate

youth homelessness, including a strong

focus on those exiting care, LGBTQ+

young people, Travellers, and other ethnic

minorities.

➢ Restore funding for homeless mental

health services.

➢ Provide funding to ensure that children

who are homeless have access to child

and youth support workers

Introduce fairness for renters: Renters in Ireland deserve to be treated fairly. We will

introduce measures to strengthen renters’ rights and reduce the burden of Covid-19 related

rent arrears. We would:

➢ Introduce a nationwide ban on rent

increases until the Covid-19 pandemic has

passed.

➢ Establish a Rent Register to create

transparency for renters and prevent

breaches of rent caps.

➢ Improve access to Rent Supplement to

help stop people falling into rent arrears.

➢ Introduce a Debt Resolution and

Mediation Scheme for rent arrears,

including state-guaranteed, long term,

zero-interest loans similar to the measure

already introduced in Spain.

➢ Introduce a Deposit Protection Scheme to

safeguard against unfair treatment.

Build sustainable communities: We believe in building diverse communities that are socially

and environmentally sustainable – communities where no one is excluded or left behind. To

achieve this, targeted measures must be taken to enhance living conditions, tackle

disadvantage and end discrimination. We would:

➢ Expand downsizing and sheltered

housing schemes for older people.

➢ Resource additional refuge spaces for

victims of domestic violence.

➢ Ringfence funding for accommodation for

people moving out of congregated

settings.

➢ Ensure funding allocated to Traveller

housing is spent.

➢ End direct provision and provide ‘own

door’ accommodation for those seeking

asylum.

➢ Reintroduce a windfall tax and ringfence

the money collected to build community

infrastructure such as new pocket parks.

➢ Provide a redress scheme to fix Celtic

Tiger era construction and fire safety

defects.

➢ Expand existing retrofitting grant

schemes and introduce a pay-as-you- save

home insulation loan scheme.

➢ Improve the minimum standards so that

every household has a garden or balcony

of their own and that all new houses are

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suitable for a future where more of us will

be working from home.

There are additional measures that need to accompany these financial measures, including

the establishment of a land price and ownership register and publication of information on

land price inflation to enable action against land-hoarding and land speculation;

strengthening of laws on compulsory purchase; banning the sales of properties to vulture

funds; reserving at least 7% of all new social housing for people with disabilities; and the

holding of a referendum on the right to housing.

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A new deal for families

Covid-19 laid bare serious issues in Ireland’s childcare sector which were long ignored.

Ireland lags far behind other countries in terms of childcare, parental leave, supports for

new parents, and basic public services for children. A governmental hands-off approach has

led to spiralling costs in recent years.

The pandemic has forced the state to take a more direct role in childcare that must not be

rolled back. The state must take responsibility for the public provision of childcare, so that

our children can get the best possible start in life.

It is unacceptable that more than 90,000 children grow up in consistent poverty in Ireland.

Budget 2021 needs to set a target to end consistent child poverty in the lifetime of this Dáil

and establish a mechanism to coordinate initiatives that will directly impact on this target.


Early days

➢ Agree a new national target to eliminate

consistent child poverty in the lifetime of

this Dáil

➢ Adequately fund the implementation of

the National Breastfeeding Action PIan

This would pay for more lactation

consultants in hospitals, lactation training,

hospital and community level support for

women; investment in breastfeeding

training and skills development for

healthcare staff; additional lactation

specialist posts; and a partnership that

works to promote a culture that accepts

and supports breastfeeding.

➢ Establish Milk Banks and a milk donation

campaign.

➢ Establish the Child Anti-Poverty Unit

(€2.5m)

➢ Progress to truly free Primary Education

by restoring capitation rates and funding

free school books so that parents no

longer have to pay voluntary

contributions

➢ Roll out the School Meals Programme

nationally to 500,000 children in primary

schools and 330,000 in early-years

settings

➢ Provide post-natal supports through the

HSE, including workshops as part of

Community Mother Groups.

Early years

➢ Being increasing investment in the Early

Years sector to 0.5% of GDP by 2023 and

to 1% by 2025.

➢ Reduce the number of hours required for

parents to access the Working Family

Income Support

➢ Improve the professional pay and working

conditions of Early Years Educators by

introducing a Living Wage guarantee

(€30m)

➢ Grant all educators a minimum of 5 days

annual sick leave (€6m)

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Future years

➢ Establish an Online Safety Commissioner

to protect children from aggressive

marketing and to provide parents with

better information on how to deal with

online bullying issues, social media

concerns, and overuse of computer

games.

➢ Create a Covid-19 Transition Taskforce

for children to measure the impact of the

pandemic on our youth and to protect

children's wellbeing in the future.

➢ Increase investment in youth work

services (€4.7m)

➢ Support youth participation in climate

action and social justice

Making it work for working families:

Budget 2021 must focus on improving flexible work options for parents, particularly during

Covid-19. For many working families, the current pandemic has placed additional demand

on caring roles and financial pressures. In other European countries paid parental leave has

been a huge support for families navigating the current pandemic. Unfortunately, Ireland

lags far behind most other EU countries in terms of both paid and unpaid parental leave.

Our goal is to see the extension of paid parental leave in conjunction with paid maternity

leave, paternity leave and existing paid parental leave, so that the first 12 months of a

child’s life can be covered by paid leave.

In Budget 2021 we would:

➢ Extend paid parents leave by an extra 2 weeks

4-day working week

Covid-19 has presented real and challenging times for families trying to adjust to family and

work life under a pandemic. In combination with a strong uptake of existing limited flexible

work options, there is clearly a high demand for these options. The Social Democrats have a

strong commitment to extending and vastly improving entitlement to parental leave and

flexible work options in Ireland.

Under the current pandemic, there are increased demands on family life which would make

a 4-day working week helpful for families. It would cater to the need to care for children

when and if they get sick or taking over increased caring roles due to the disruption caused

by the pandemic. The 4-day working week is already available and promoted in many other

countries and with generally positive outcomes. The demand for more flexible working is

especially strong from parents of young children, those caring for an older person or a

family member with a disability, and generally where people are seeking a better work/life

balance.

In Budget 2021 we would:

➢ Establish a Commission on the introduction of a statutory right to flexible work, including a 4-day

working week.

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Funding disability services

The Covid-19 pandemic has presented challenges across all of our society, but people with

disabilities, carers and the organisations that provide social care and other disability services

have felt its affects particularly severely.

Lockdown meant that most day-care services and many other disability services were

severely curtailed. This put enormous pressures on the people affected, particularly family

carers, and left many people isolated. While some services reopened on a limited basis in

August, it is imperative that there is a return to services as close to normal as is possible.

Budget 2021 must ensure that these challenges are met head-on and that people with

disabilities do not fall even further behind. It must also ensure that long-standing

underfunding and unmet need are finally addressed. Finally, it must start to deal with the

huge disadvantages and social exclusion faced by many people with disabilities.

It is imperative that the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is used to

develop a right-based approach that addresses policy deficits of previous Governments

which failed to put in place systems that guarantee the entitlements of people with

disabilities.


➢ Provide an extra €100m to allow for the reopening of day services to the greatest extent possible.

➢ Provide an additional €10m in funding for ICT equipment specifically for people with disabilities to address the “digital divide”, so that all persons with disabilities can access training and social care remotely where this is their only option.

➢ Fund new residential supports that are in line with Article 19 of the UNCRPD to support 500 individuals with intellectual disabilities in 2021 – this will give respite to some of the 1,250 people over 70 years of age who are currently primary carers.

➢ Introduce a Carer’s Guarantee, a basket of services and supports for all carers including the right to 20 days respite per year and a carer needs assessment.

➢ Address the underlying deficits in disability services by providing an additional €30m in Budget 2021. This would be a strong first step in implementing all of the recommendations

of the Catherine Day report on the role of voluntary providers and would put disability services on a much more sustainable footing.

➢ Set aside €20m so that a “cost of disability” payment can be commenced in 2021. Ireland has one of the worst records in Europe in terms of social exclusion for people with disabilities, with 2 in 5 people with disabilities experiencing deprivation. Research on this issue is expected to be concluded early next year, and it is important that the Government is in a position to act.

➢ Provide €6m in funding for the Decision Support Service to become operational in 2021.

➢ Reinstate the Mobility Allowance for new applicants at cost of €5m.

➢ Provide €5m to improve the rate of support under the Wage Subsidy Scheme for people with disabilities in order to encourage more employers to take on people with disabilities. Ireland currently

17

has the worst employment rate in Europe for people with disabilities.

➢ Improve personal assistance hours (€12m) and increase housing adaptation grants (€20m).

➢ Introduce an assistive technology passport at cost of €1.5m.

➢ Increase the number of psychologists under the NEPs at cost of €1m.

➢ Set aside €15m to start to address pay inequality for Section 39 workers.

➢ Commit to reserve 7% of all social housing stock for people with disabilities.

See also the Health, Housing and Community sections.

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A green recovery

A just transition is central to the Social Democrats’ approach to the climate and biodiversity

emergency, which the impact of Covid-19 has only made more important to face up to.

Reviving our economy as we come out of the pandemic provides a vital opportunity to

prioritise investment in a just green recovery. It carries significant opportunities for new

businesses and for reskilling and retraining into good quality jobs. We would prioritise a

range of climate and biodiversity initiatives that are job-rich and make a significant

contribution to tackling the emergency we face.

It has become clearer through Covid-19 that those people on lower incomes are

disproportionately affected by economic shocks like Covid-19. A we fight the climate and

biodiversity crisis, we cannot allow the cost to fall disproportionately on their shoulders.

Measures implemented to fight climate change and generate a green recovery must be

disability-proofed and poverty-proofed by a Just Transition Task Force.


➢ Establish a national frontloaded ‘pay-as-you-save’ retrofitting programme which would allow people to insulate their homes and pay the cost as they save on their energy bills over time.

➢ We would invest in training and re-training options to build a skilled workforce, including energy advisors to guide home and business retro-fitting.

➢ Begin implementation of a Circular Economy Package concentrating on areas such as sustainable agriculture, bio-economy, and recognition of the interconnectivity between the economy, environment and society - €10m

➢ Increase funding for the Exceptional Needs Scheme so that low income households with significant Covid-19 related energy debt are not pushed into energy poverty or additional hardship

➢ Establish a debt relief mechanism for households in significant energy debt because of Covid-19.

➢ Develop renewable energy sources to support the move to a low-carbon power system by 2050 ( €75m

➢ Invest in a deposit and return scheme for sealed beverage containers (€5m) and

introduce a 15c levy on single use coffee cups generates €96m p/a (in normal circumstances)

➢ Double the funding for the National Parks and Wildlife Service and invest in the National Biodiversity Centre to scale up policies to support biodiversity and mainstream biodiversity into economic decision-making.

➢ Fund National Rewilding programmes:

➢ Establish a new Wildlife Crime Unit in An Garda Siochana.

➢ Begin a river barrier remediation programme

➢ Grant funding to Local Authorities to employ a Biodiversity Officer, to establish council-level Air-Monitoring programmes and to enhance allotment spaces in each council area

➢ Provide the certainty of multi-annual budgets for environmental organisations including the Biodiversity Data Centre

➢ Extend the remit of the bike to work scheme to include those who are students, jobseekers, on disability allowance, or are doing unpaid work at home to include a wider range of bikes and similar modes of transport.

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➢ Increase connectivity between and within different modes of transport by funding more Park and Ride facilities and Bike and Ride facilities adjacent to large towns and cities

➢ Increase funding to Local Link to provide further local and circular routes servicing towns and villages.

➢ Develop a Green Procurement programme for Businesses – A Green Audit for Businesses and supports to encourage transition to greener practices.

➢ Establish a fund for co-working spaces and fund the Councils to manage them (similar to libraries but with hot desks, meeting rooms and creche spaces)

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Equal opportunities in education

Education is the single greatest driver of opportunity, quality of life, social equality and

economic growth. Ireland should be a republic in which every child has the opportunity to

achieve their potential – that can only happen with a well-funded and modern education

system. Resources should be carefully targeted to where they are most needed, and every

effort must be taken to ensure access across all socio-economic backgrounds.

However, in the last months we have seen some of the greatest inequalities in our society

reflected in our education system. The pandemic revealed a system of education that is

antiquated both in infrastructure and design. Oversized classrooms that are detrimental not

only to the learning experience of the child, but now to the health of the community.

Inequalities that range from digital to the very basic provisions of school books and a school

environment that is blighted by pay inequalities and poor employment conditions.

The learnings from Covid-19, which will now require significant investment to resolve

include:

• Importance of education to children’s mental health and personal wellbeing

• Need to reform Leaving Certificate system and university admissions

• All children should have equal access to education technology and tools

• Need to provide teachers with training in e-learning technologies

• Reduction class sizes so that teachers can have more time with each child and ensure

greater flexibility in the event of remote teaching

• Resourcing of schools to deal with remote teaching and infection control and

outbreak

The pandemic has also exposed how fragile our higher and further education system is,

including its over-reliance on overseas students to make up huge shortfalls in government

funding.

It is now clear that our education system needs a very significant overhaul from early years

right up to third level.


Primary and Secondary Education:

➢ Strive as a matter of urgency to reduce

class sizes in primary schools to the EU

average of 20.

➢ Invest in digital resources to ensure every

student in Deis schools has access to a

laptop.

➢ Make primary education entirely free by

funding schoolbooks, school transport and

eradicate voluntary contributions.

➢ Restore the basic capitation fee to pre-

2010 levels and retain the Covid-19

capitation payment

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➢ Professionalise Special Needs Assistants

to ensure their vital position in the

classroom is respected alongside all other

school staff.

➢ Ensure that no school will lose a teacher

during the pandemic due to a loss of

student numbers. This results in further

increases to classroom sizes and is

detrimental to the health of students and

teachers alike.

➢ Ensure all schools have a full career

guidance teacher to meet the needs of

students in senior cycle who have faced

major disruptions in their learning

experience.

➢ Provide more resources to NEPS and

CAMHS to address the high levels of

trauma and poor mental health that is

being experienced by students

throughout Ireland during the pandemic.

➢ Lift the moratorium on the recruitment of

Special Duties posts to allow principals

who have worked continuously

throughout the pandemic to focus once

more on school leadership.

➢ Support students with SEN by listening to

experts and providing the resources to

match their recommendations.

➢ Ensure that all schools have as a

minimum, access to hot water.

Further and Higher Education:

➢ Start to reduce third level fees, beginning with a €500 reduction in college fees

➢ Extend the laptop scheme to all students through a basic means test

➢ Increase the student maintenance grant (SUSI) rates by 10% (€17m)

➢ Increase the income threshold for student maintenance grant by 10% (€20m)

➢ Reform the back to education allowance, include real life costs such as childcare and mortgage payments in means testing

➢ Increase funding for apprenticeship programme with the addition of 1,000 additional places under NAA – widen the scope of apprenticeship

➢ Increased allocation to the Fund for Students with a Disability

➢ Transition Skills Fund. Young people not engaged in education or training and people employed in sectors whose jobs are at high risk of automation should be key target groups (€10m)

➢ A publicly financed student accommodation building strategy and a charter for student tenant rights

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Protecting Workers

The vulnerability of workers was sharply highlighted during the pandemic. This was even

more acutely so in particular sectors, where basic rights like sick pay are not available. We

also learned that some of the least well-paid jobs are the most essential.

Every worker deserves a decent wage, a sense of security and fair representation.


➢ Prioritise the creation of good quality jobs

by legislating for a Living Wage

➢ Provide the right to collective bargaining

and ensure all employees have access to

enhanced protections in relation to

minimum hours and conditions

➢ Improve the pay and working conditions

of early years educators by introducing a

Living Wage guarantee.

➢ Introduce a national sick pay scheme.

➢ Reinstate the tax relief for trade union

subscriptions.

➢ Close loopholes in the tax codes which

promote bogus self-employment

➢ Prevent the use of temporary and fixed-

term contracts to evade employment

laws.

➢ Provide targeted supports and measures

to tackle youth unemployment

23

Agriculture and our Rural Communities

Agriculture is critical to our economy and is the lifeblood of rural communities across the country. With the looming threat of a no-deal Brexit and the consequent threats to food exports and food security, this sector is under significant pressure, adding to the pressures already faced by the impacts of the pandemic. Without sustainable and robust support from the state, the agricultural sector will suffer greatly, taking with it many rural communities and the heart of Irish society. Our priorities in Budget 2021 are:

Agriculture and Fishing

➢ Increasing the funding allocation is

required for all environmental and locally

led schemes, including GLAS, the Burren,

Hen Harrier and Organic Schemes,

including the Organic Farm Scheme.

➢ Support increased participation by

farmers in KT programmes across all

sectors, including forestry. This would

allow an extension of the KT programme

for 2021 and allow additional participants

into the scheme.

➢ Provide an additional payment on the first

3ha of organic horticulture. There is a

clear growing market and demand for

organic fruit and vegetables that will

return a margin.

➢ Additional funding to assist farmers with

the establishment and ongoing running

costs of POs. (c.€2m increase)

➢ Maintain the Government’s Brexit

contingency fund announced of €110m

for Agriculture.

➢ Funding of €84m is required to expand

and develop the Smart Farming

Programme, as recommended in the Joint

Oireachtas Climate Action Committee

Report Climate Change

➢ Develop and expand the Scheme of

Investment Aid for the Development of

the Commercial Horticulture

➢ Fund a programme offering free advice

and guidance to farmers in Carbon

Sequestration

➢ Extend the Student Assistance Fund to all

Agricultural College Students

➢ Increase funding to farmers in Areas of

Natural Constraint and Special Areas of

Conservation

➢ Implement an emergency Covid19

support package for the fishing industry

Bolstering rural economies

➢ Provide small grants for rural

communities to assist them getting

broadband access through small service

providers (€1m)

➢ Extend the budget for the Walks Scheme

to build sustainable tourism. (€3.5m)

➢ Payments on the Rural Social Scheme,

Community Employment (CE) and Tús

schemes/programmes should be

increased in line with minimum wage in

the short term with a goal of transitioning

to a living wage.

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➢ Rollout and fund a Farm Safety

Programme with a goal of reaching zero

agricultural deaths

➢ Increase the number of places on the

Rural Social Scheme by 500 and reverse

the 2016 changes to the length of time a

person can remain on the scheme

➢ Continue to fund ‘Getting Citizens Online’

and ‘IT Skills for Farmers’ basic computer

courses and develop a follow on course

for those who completed this. Extend the

course also to those in low skilled

employment.

➢ Additional funding for Fáilte Ireland to

promote local and regional tourism

initiatives

➢ Support REDZ and LEO’s to develop

remote working hubs and Smart Villages

and our Digital Agenda for Europe targets

➢ Restore the distance coding and

increasing Rural Practice Allowances to

pre-2009 levels.

➢ Reintroduce the Nursing Home Support

Scheme (Amendment) Bill 2019 and

provide for the inclusion of farm land

leased to third parties, in line with other

Government policy on inheritance under

Agricultural Relief20.

➢ Management of the deposit fund to be

carried out by regulated co-ops and

Agrimerchants that trade with the farmer.

Rural transport

➢ Increase funding to Local Link to provide

further local and circular routes servicing

towns and villages.

➢ Invest in rural transport programme to

increase availability and ensure the fleet is

in line with climate commitments - €50m

➢ Investment to return and upgrade bus-

stops along rural routes including

investment in modernisation and bus

tracking for user interface (accessibility).

➢ Funding of transport for those receiving

addiction counselling or other services.

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Additional Priorities

Enhancing Social Protections:

The very essence of a Republic is found in how it protects its citizens during a crisis. When

the pandemic hit and so many people found their livelihoods lost over night, the State

finally seemed to accept that previous social welfare rates were entirely unsuited to live a

life of dignity and comfort. We cannot unsee that reality and must now reform our system

of social protection to ensure it provides a true safety net for those who need to avail of it.


➢ Link social welfare rates to the Minimum

Essential Standards of Living.

➢ Ensure those sectors which cannot return

to work (such as our artists and tourism

sector) as a result of Covid-19 have

adequate income supports

➢ Prioritise the creation of good quality jobs

by legislating for a Living Wage

➢ Provide the right to collective bargaining

and ensure all employees have access to

enhanced protections in relation to

minimum hours and conditions.

➢ We would improve further education,

training and apprenticeship options and

offer better basic literacy and jobhunting

skills programmes.

Valuing the Arts

When we emerge from this crisis, we will need our artists more than we ever have. We shall

need them so we can laugh again, to connect with our friends and to grieve for the people

and the moments we have lost. Until that time however, we must support our artists and all

of those in the wider industry who make their art possible.


➢ Provide adequate income supports for

artists and those professionals in the

wider entertainment industry.

➢ Develop a roadmap for progressive

increases in total arts funding to bring it

in line with average EU spending over 5

years, with a focus on current expenditure

to practicing artists through the Arts

Council and Culture Ireland.

➢ Establishment of special commercial rates

for creative/arts spaces as well as “rates

holidays” for new projects.

➢ Fluctuating nature of income for artists to

be taken in consideration when assessing

welfare supports.

Reviving Communities

Communities provided the backbone of support during Covid-19. Communities pulled

together to keep services running and to protect each other and were and are essential in

providing support to vulnerable people. The pandemic showed how extensively we rely on

26

our community and voluntary organisations and how important these organisations are to

thriving communities.

Across areas including health and well-being, education, arts, sports, disability, volunteering,

emergency supports, environmental, community development and community enterprises,

the community and voluntary sector needs support to survive the current funding and

fundraising crisis. If we do not invest in the sector now, there may not be much to revive

after the pandemic.

The sector now need certainty: in funding measures to address the significant shortfalls, and

in commitments to multi-annual funding so that organisations can plan securely.


➢ Provide additional funding to community

and voluntary sector organisations,

recognising the current fundraising crisis,

especially to those organisations

providing much needed services to people

vulnerable due to the pandemic

➢ Introduce sustainable funding models

that factor in the full cost of service

delivery

➢ Implement 3-year multi-annual funding

as the default approach for community

and voluntary organisations

➢ Incrementally increase the VAT

compensation scheme for charities

➢ Implement a process to determine

essential services under HSE Section 39

and Tusla Section 56, followed by a

commitment to fund these organisations

adequately and ensure sustainable pay

and working conditions for staff.

Specific sectors have been especially impacted by the pandemic and need additional

measures:

➢ Domestic Violence: Increase the number of domestic refuge spaces to meet the commitments of Ireland under the Istanbul Convention (€35m)

➢ Youth work: Youth work has supported young people throughout the pandemic, and is a crucial community-based service

provider working with young people. This sector continues to operate at a deficit, having been disproportionately cut in post 2008 budgets. In 2019, youth work received just 4% of the overall DCYA funding allocations. We would increase the allocations from the DCYA.

Supporting Local Government

Local Authorities have crucial roles to play in coping with the pandemic - delivering a wide

range of services and supporting local communities and local businesses. New challenges

have arisen with new demands for funding, precisely at the time that vital income has been

lost. The reliance of Local Authorities on income streams such as car parking demonstrates

the failures in sustainable funding. A new plan is needed to transition away from such

income streams to more sustainable ones.

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Priorities for Budget 2021 are:

➢ Increased funding from Government

to replace the lost income of Local

Authorities to ensure that local and

community services are maintained,

including ensuring that the entirety of

the commercial rates waiver is

returned

➢ Reimbursement of essential Covid19

related costs to Local Authorities

➢ Direct investment in the planning

department for every local authority

to:

• Ensure minimum standards on

housing and planning,

• Create a covid19 needs analysis for

each Local Authority

• Establish a taskforce to oversee

changes in land use to adapt for

changes in work and living habits

as a result of Covid-19, and

planning for more resilient

sustainable cities, towns and

villages.

• Tackle poor planning and build

sustainable communities

Overseas Development Aid

➢ We would spend 0.7% of GNI in

Overseas Development Aid.

28

Revenue Raising

The Social Democrats are proposing the following revenue raising measures for Budget

2021:

• End favourable Tax Treatment of REITS/Cuckoo Funds, €20m

Eliminate tax benefits on cuckoo funds which we have estimated having a €20m yield in

2021

• Alcohol and Cigarettes, €229m

We would raise €229m from a series of taxation increases on alcohol and cigarettes.

An extra 10c excise duty on alcohol would yield €148m. €24m would be raised through a

ban of below-cost selling of alcohol as there is a VAT loss to the state with current below-

cost selling. We would raise excise on the standard packet of 20 cigarettes by 50c, yielding

approximately €57m.

• Pension tax relief, €120m

Reducing the maximum allowable pension fund (the Standard Fund Threshold, SFT) to

€1.7m would, in most cases, fund an annual pension in excess of €60,000. We would set

€1.7m as the new threshold.

• Scrap the Special Assignee Relief Programme (SARP), €18m

The SARP tax relief is aimed at reducing the cost to employers of so-called special “high-

end” staff by providing special tax benefits. The employee must be on a salary of €75,000 or

more to qualify. It was introduced in 2012 and was due to expire at the end of 2017 but was

later extended. The Government should not be subsidising very significant salaries when

there are so many other priorities for taxpayers’ money. It is simply outrageous that

ordinary tax-payers are funding a scheme where people need a minimum salary of €75,000

to qualify. We would scrap this relief.

• Levy on Single Use Plastics & Unrecyclable Packaging, €25m

The extent of over-packaging in our supermarkets is fuelling a throw-away culture, and

contributing to waste and emissions. The public have lost patience with producers of such

material. The response of the European Union, while welcome, is far too cautious and slow.

It is also frustrating that EU law restricts national Governments’ actions in terms of bans. In

Budget 2021, the Social Democrats are calling for a new levy on single use plastics and

packaging that cannot be readily recycled in Ireland. This should start low in 2021 but

gradually increase in future years so that producers have every incentive to switch to

29

sustainable packaging. It should also encourage the development of far more refill options

for the public.

• Environmental Tax on Aggregates, €20m

We would set down a new environmental levy on each tonne of sand, gravel, crushed stone

and other aggregates extracted from the ground or lifted from the surface and used in

construction. The rate would be comparable to the rate applied in the UK. Such a levy would

encourage the recycling of aggregates and the much more sustainable use of our natural

resources. It would also help reduce carbon emissions. When introduced in the UK the

measure had a positive impact on the rate of recycling. This measure is primarily aimed at

environmental protection. Some estimates put this yield as €80m a year but we have

estimated a €20m yield in 2021.

• Betting Tax, €100m

We would raise betting tax on both in-shop and online betting by two percentage points.

According to Revenue, this would yield €100m.

• Banking Levy, €250m

The banking system was rescued by the taxpayer over the past decade. Now that they have

returned to profitability, and continue to avail of significant tax write-downs on previous

losses, the Social Democrats believe it is not unreasonable for tax-payers to expect some

dividends. We would increase the Banking Levy to raise an additional €250m.

• Other, €1,468m

• Increase the minimum effective tax rate of persons earning more than €400k per

annum by one percentage point (€40m approx)

• Reform Corporation Tax to set a minimum effective rate at 6%, as recommended by

Social Justice Ireland, yielding €1bn per year.

• Remove refundable element for unused R&D tax credits as recommended by Social

Justice Ireland (€150m) Cost at last count was €400m.

• Increase Employers’ PRSI on the balance of incomes over €100,000 to give a yield of

€175m in 2021

• Reduce funding to the Irish Greyhound racing industry by €8m.

• Scrapping the Help to Buy scheme would yield an estimated €75m.

• As per our Housing, section we would introduce a proper land-hoarding tax, yielding

€20m in 2021

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Revenue Increases Revenue Raised €m

Target extra revenue from REITS/Cuckoo Funds 20

Alcohol and cigarette excise duty increase & banning below cost selling 229

Reduce maximum allowable pension that qualifies for tax relief 120

Increase in sugar-sweetened drinks and introduce snack tax 20

Increase shop and online betting tax by 2% points 100

Abolish the Special Assignee Relief Programme 25

Environmental Levy: packaging, single use plastics, aggregates 45

Increase Bank Levy 250

Increase Minimum Effective Tax Rate on high end individuals 40

Reduce research and development tax credits 150

Reform Corporation Tax to sent minimum effective rate of 6% 1,000

Increase Employers PRSI on balance of salaries over €100k 175

Reduce funding to Irish Greyhound industry 8

Scrap the Help to Buy scheme and invest in house building 75

Implement an effective land hoarding tax 20

Increase Stamp Duty on Shares 37

Total €2,314

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