Page 24 - COBH EDITION 15th OCTOBER DIGITAL VERSION

Budget 2019 is responsible and affordable – Minister David Stanton

Budget 2019 has been hailed as fair, progressive and sustainable by Cork East Fine Gael TD
and Minister of State at the Department of Justice & Equality, David Stanton.

The financial package is designed specifically with the impending withdrawal of the UK from
the EU. It also marks the first time since the recession that there is no budget deficit thanks to
the prudent management of the country’s finances by Fine Gael in recent years.
Minister Stanton said: “I am confident that Budget 2019 will bring improvements to everyone’s
household income through key measures such as reductions in income tax and the Universal
Social Charge (USC), social welfare increases for all weekly recipients and pay increases.
“Firstly, we are increasing the entry point to the higher income tax rate for all earners by
€750, from €34,550 to €35,300 for a single worker. We are also reducing the third rate of USC
from 4.75% to 4.5% to give a further targeted benefit to low and middle level incomes.
“There is a €5 increase on all weekly social welfare payments for recipients such as pension-
ers, lone parents, jobseekers, carers, people with disabilities and widows. A 100 % Christmas
bonus will be paid in early December 2018. In addition to this, the self-employed will become
eligible for jobseeker’s benefit in the final quarter of 2018.
“For working parents a new paid parental leave scheme will be introduced later in 2019 to
provide two extra weeks’ leave to every parent of a child in their first year. Fine Gael intends
to increase this to seven extra weeks over time.

“Finally, the hourly minimum wage will be increased to €9.80 and the ceiling of the second
USC rate band will be increased from €19,372 to €19,874 in order to ensure that the salary of
a full-time worker on the minimum wage will remain outside the top rates of USC.

“The fight against crime continues and 800 extra Gardaí will be recruited next year while the
Garda overtime budget is fixed at €100m. The Garda fleet will also be expanded”, said Minister
Stanton.
“Our countryside is one of our best assets and €55m has been made available to invest in rural
towns and villages through the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund which will total €1
billion over the period 2019 to 2027.
He continued: “Brexit poses particular challenges for our agricultural industry. To support
disadvantaged farmers, an additional €57m of current expenditure is being allocated to the
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in 2019. €60m in current and capital Brexit-
related supports will be provided to improve resilience in the farm sector, as along with sup-
porting productivity improvements in the food sector.
“Fine Gael will next year invest more in housing than any previous Government has in a single
year - a total of €2.4 billion. For those who need social housing, Budget 2019 will help to de-
liver 10,000 new social homes through new builds, acquisition and leasing programmes. This
should house 5,000 adults and their children who are currently homeless or at risk of home-
lessness.

“We will invest an additional €1.2 billion in health, facilitating a range of additional services
including initiatives proposed under Sláintecare. These include a €25 increase in the weekly
income threshold for GP Visit cards; a 50 cent reduction in prescription charges from €2.00
to €1.50 for all medical card holders over the age of 70; and a €10 reduction in the monthly
Drugs Payment Scheme threshold from €134 to €124.