€90m budget package to help restore routes at Irish airports
Passengers at an almost-empty Cork Airport earlier this year. Picture: Jim Coughlan
A €90m financial aid package to help restore air routes into Cork, Shannon, and Dublin airports will be a key part of Tuesday’s budget, the can reveal.
Senior Government sources have confirmed there is a “big move” to ensure tourist traffic returns to the country’s main airports, and that the sector will be prioritised.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said there is a need to get international tourists back into Ireland.
"You will see a big move on aviation supports to get those routes back into Knock, back in Shannon, back into Cork and Dublin," he said.
Other measures likely to feature in Tuesday's budget include:
- Increases to all core welfare payments and the State pension of €5;
- Increases to the fuel allowance to offset the rise in energy costs;
- 50c increase on a pack of 20 cigarettes;
- €28m to provide free contraception for women;
- An increase in income tax and USC bands at a cost of more than €400m, to prevent thousands of workers paying the higher rate of tax;
- About €30m to fund the Help to Buy scheme.
Reducing childcare costs for parents and addressing staff retention issues in the sector will also be a central plank of the budget.
Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman and Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath have agreed a “significant childcare package” to address the crisis in staffing and places for parents, as well as the costs of accessing services.
The sector is facing significant difficulties in attracting staff, and a senior Cabinet source confirmed it will require "some extra funding to go into the sector" to ensure workers are paid enough.
"The priority has to be stabilising the sector and improving conditions for workers,” the source said.
However, given the limited funds available overall this year, Mr O'Gorman will have to balance investment in improving terms and conditions for staff with bringing down fees for parents.
While core funding will be increased, it is understood that Mr O'Gorman still has to work out the finer details as to how he can ensure this increased investment is passed on to childcare staff as well as parents.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said the cost of childcare will be examined in the context of Tuesday's budget.
"It's still the case that for many people childcare is like paying two mortgages or like having to pay the rent twice every week, and it's also, from an enterprise and employment point of view, a barrier to people returning to the workplace," he said.
On the energy costs issue, sources have said retro-fitting and fuel poverty measures are also being looked at. However, a one-off payment to acknowledge the rising cost of energy has been all but ruled out.
"We should be conscious that a pensioner living alone would be paying close to the same costs as two people living together," one source said.
Social protection minister Heather Humphreys is "looking at eligibility, but it's not cheap to change it."
Meanwhile, the OECD has announced that 136 countries including Ireland have signed up to a new international agreement on corporate tax rules.
Major reform of the international tax system will ensure that multinationals will be subject to a minimum 15% tax rate from 2023, the OECD said.
Ireland was joined by Estonia and by Hungary, and as a result, all EU member states are now part of the deal.
