Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the main objective behind the 2024 Budget was to help people cope with the cost-of-living crisis.
The โฌ14 billion budget package released on Tuesday included a range of once-off payments.
These include, three electricity credits worth โฌ450; a winter fuel allowance lump sum of โฌ300; a โฌ200 winter living alone allowance; a Christmas bonus for welfare recipients; and โฌ250 million in once-off business supports.
The one-off payments were criticised by opposition parties for lacking โvisionโ and โambitionโ.
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Mr Varadkar responded to the idea that the budget was spread too thinly, and said these measures aimed to increase peopleโs standards of living in a climate of rising inflation.
โThe real thinking behind this budget was that, this is a budget that was about helping people with the cost of living, helping people to have more money in their pockets,โ he told RTร.
โThe objective, really of any government, is that peopleโs living standard should rise every year that their income should rise faster than inflation, than the cost of living.
โThat didnโt happen last year, because inflation was so high, it was 10 per cent. I think this year, weโll probably see incomes and inflation match.
โNext year, we want that to be the year where peopleโs incomes rise faster than prices again, and thatโs how you secure a real improvement in living standards.โ
Reform
The budget also set up two new funds that will use the State's multibillion-euro windfall from corporation tax receipts, mostly derived from multinational companies, to invest in future priorities, including support for the response to climate change.
Mr Varadkar said the funds will be what people remember from Budget 2024.
โI think when people look back on this budget in 10 or 20 years time, that will be the reform that I think will be the most significant,โ he said.
An overspend in the Department of Health was flagged as a pinch point ahead of Budget 2024, but Mr Varadkar said next year's allocation for health was โhugeโ.
โSince this Government came to office we have 1,000 more hospital beds, 20,000 more staff in our health service,โ he said.
He added: โLook at how our health service is outperforming the NHS for example, better outcomes in stroke and cancer, longer life expectancy now in Ireland than almost anywhere in Europe and also, healthcare is more affordable than it was before.โ
Mr Varadkar also stated that Ireland had proved that challenges in healthcare were not solely caused by lack of funding.
โWe do accept that there is going to be a challenge when it comes to the health budget, particularly when it comes to hospitals,โ he said.
โSome of that is down to financial control and financial management, but a lot of it is down to something else.โ
He added: โThe demand for health services increases every year with an ageing and growing population but something else is happening.
โThereโs definitely a snapback in demand post-Covid thatโs putting a lot of pressure on hospitals in particular.
โWe understand that, and we will be working with Minister [for Health Stephen] Donnelly and the HSE to make sure that the health service is adequately funded for next year. But it isnโt all about money, and I think weโve proven that in Ireland.โ
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Mr Varadkar said the budget would facilitate the building of new affordable homes in efforts to tackle the housing crisis and rising homelessness in which it has resulted.
โWe exceeded our target for new home construction last year, and we will again this year. Iโm very confident of that,โ he said.
โAnd we will increase our targets, weโre going to do that in the new year and (the housing Minister) Minister OโBrien is working on that at the moment.
โWhatโs in the budget when it comes to housing, confirmation that the budget for the Department of Housing next year will be more than โฌ5 billion, the biggest ever.
โAnd thatโs going to allow us to break all records when it comes to the provision of new public housing. Thatโs social housing, itโs affordable rental, itโs also affordable for purchase.โ
Mr Varadkar also described homelessness as โone of the biggest problems we faceโ.
Claudia Savage, PA
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