Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, and Minister for Public Expenditure, Brendan Howlin, this afternoon laid bare the facts and figures which will compose the Coalition's 'family-friendly' budget for 2016 during a particularly rowdy Dáil address.
Particular emphasis was placed on remedying issues which affect families across Ireland, including childcare costs and early education - unresolved matters which have resulted in a loss of trust between Irish families and government members.
Childcare and Early Education
With the introduction of free pre-school childcare to all children from 3-years-old until they begin primary education, and the plan to increase ECCE to two free years, these reforms will signal welcome news for thousands of families in Ireland.
Commenting on the new reforms which Brendan Howlin asserts "will be of particular help to working mothers", MummyPages Mum-in-Residence, Laura Haugh, said: "Today's Budget announcements mark an important first step in tackling our country's long-standing national childcare crisis."
"Our mums deserve to be treated as equal members of society and up until now, the lack of investment in childcare and the limited investment in early education has left nearly 8 in 10 mums surveyed as part of our pre-Budget research trapped in the home because of high childcare costs."
Speaking on behalf of Ireland's largest parenting community, Laura continued: "Today we rejoice at the commitment by this Government to invest in a second year of early education childcare provision for children aged between 3 and 5 years, and the introduction of 13,000 new childcare places for lower-income families."
Parental Leave and Lone Parents
While plans have been in place which will allow fathers to secure two weeks paid parental leave - a reform which is due to come into effect in the summer of 2016, the news falls a little short in the eyes of many parents around the country.
"The introduction of shared parental leave for the first year of a child's life is missing from this year's Budget announcements and is vital if we are to create an equitable society where both parents are given the opportunity to care for their children at home," asserted Laura.
Highlighting the significance of such a measure, she continued: "This opportunity would go a long way to balancing society's view of the caregiver role in the home and in turn help employers to implement more flexible working conditions if it affected the total workforce instead of the minority as it stands today
Commending the Government's decision to assist lone-parent families by offering reforms to the One Parent Family Payment, Laura said: "The reforms announced for lone parents will ease the increased stress and worry placed upon them by poor decisions arrived at earlier this year which saw parents lose their benefits when their child reached 7-years-old and were deemed able to care for themselves while their parent sought work."
"Thankfully this anomaly has now been rectified up to age 14 and up to 6,000 lone parents may continue to be supported to take up employment or education if they wish. Low-income families have not been forgotten and increases in the Family Income Supplement thresholds will benefit up to 60,000 of these families who struggle to make ends meet on a daily basis," she finished.
Extension of free GP care
Commenting on the extension of free GP care to children under the age of 12, Laura asserted: "The new measure is welcomed by our MummyPages mums, however the patchy uptake and availability of 'free' appointments by GP's who only offer a daily quota will mean that many parents will still have to pay if they need urgent attention."
"As part of this investment in one of our most vulnerable sectors of society, we need to tackle the rising epidemic of childhood obesity and regular Body Mass Index monitoring needs to be factored in as part of the provision of this care."
"If this issue is not tackled now, the pressure placed on our health system in years to come when a quarter of our society are projected to be overweight or obese will be far more expensive for the Government," she continued.
Child Benefit, USC and Income tax changes
Further to this, it has been confirmed that child benefit will increase by €5 a month, resulting in a figure of €140 per month - an increase of €60 per annum.
This reform is, however, unlikely garner much praise from the vast majority of parents around the country, with Laura asserting: "The Government would be wiser to increase investment in pre-school Childcare (for those under 3-years) and after-school enrichment programmes for parents who work than to increase the Child benefit by such an insignificant amount at just €5 per month - the equivalent of one-hour childcare in rural locations and half-an our in our cities."
Highlighting the reform's shortcoming, she continued: "The Child Benefit while relied on by so many low and middle income families is not the method by which to increase a families quality of life, what we need is a clear strategy to tackle the issues that are facing these families the most and for those looking to improve their standard of living by working outside the home - what they need is access to quality, affordable childcare."
"This budget confirms our commitment to helping the low paid," insisted Mr. Howlin while announcing an increase to Christmas bonuses to those in receipt of social welfare payments.
Commenting on this very welcome news, our Mum-in-Residence asserted: "Many of our mums who are in receipt of social welfare support will breathe a sigh of relief today with the almost-full restoration of the Christmas Bonus. For the first time in years these families may not have to resort to borrowing from unsavoury moneylenders and enjoy their family at this special time of year."
Following the announcement that the USC threshold has been changed from €12,012 to €13,000, Laura explains the impact this will have on thousands of families across Ireland.
"The reduction in the USC announced today and the widening of the income bands for this and income tax will provide welcome relief for the squeezed middle income families who have suffered the most with the austerity measures brought in since the recession and continue to feel the effects even as the economy recovers."
Honing in on specifics, she continues: "The increase in the minimum wage to €9.15 an hour from €8.65 will also go a long way to making a real difference to families, particularly those mums who find it hard to re-enter the workforce, particularly in a part-time capacity on anything other than the minimum wage."
"The tweaks to the tax brackets will mean a single-income family on €35,000 will take home an extra €57 a month, while those working full-time on minimum wage will have an extra €708 per year."
"While the inheritance tax thresholds increases may be the answer to the prayers of many middle-income families trapped in negative equity mortgages following the boom and bust property market," she explains.
What are your thoughts on today's announcements?
