Bus, rail fare cuts and free school book expansion expected in budget
Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said the Government has to make "interventions" to help with inflation.
Cuts to bus and rail fares and the expansion of free school books are expected to be included in the upcoming Budget.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said the Government has to make "interventions" to help with inflation and said reducing the cost of public services such as health and education, which has been done in previous Budgets, will be looked at.
"We are conscious that cost of living is a huge issue and there's a lot of pressure on a lot of households arising out of increased prices.
Asked if public transport fares will be cut further, he said: "We await proposals from the Minister [for Transport], but I was a strong advocate, one of the earliest advocates for the cut in transport costs during the crisis when we put forward the idea of young people having the 50% cut, because I feel alone does it increase participation in public transport. But it also deals with the climate change agenda."
He described the introduction of free books at primary level from this year as "quite a radical move" and signalled that this will not be widened out to second level.
"We'll see what more we can do with that space. I wouldn't stress as I said before, there are limits to what we can do overall," he said.
Meanwhile, the Tánaiste said allowing for votes of no confidence in the garda commissioner or the heads of other organisations is "dangerous".
It comes after Garda rank-and-file members voted overwhelmingly that they have no confidence in Garda Commissioner Drew Harris by a margin of 98.7%, ballots from the Garda Representative Association (GRA).
Mr Martin said: "I'm not comfortable with the idea that we're moving into a space where there are ballots in relation to confidence in, for example, the Garda Commissioner or indeed, in other organisations, the chief executive officer. We've tried and trusted means of recruiting people to very significant and important positions in Irish life.
"It sets a dangerous precedent if we go down the road of saying that we can, every now and again, have a vote of confidence in not just in the gardaí but all organisations. "
Separately, Mr Martin again stated that a controversial EU decision around Ireland's nitrates derogation is not up for renegotiation.
However, he insisted that "there has been no undermining" of Fianna Fáil Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue by the Taoiseach who has directly intervened with the EU on the matter.
"The Commission has taken a decision on that, the Commission is not going to reverse it.," Mr Martin said, adding that Mr McConalogue is due to meet the Commissioner on Monday.
Speaking at the UN in New York, Mr Martin said a significant focus of the week ahead will be "turning the dial" on the way the world has been going in recent years with hunger, climate and war all being cited.
"I'm very alarmed at where the world is right now where it's crisis after crisis, mainly caused by conflict, by climate, and we do need to generate a renewed sense of urgency collectively, in terms of implementing the reforms in respect of sustainable development goals," he said.
Ireland will provide at least €284m this year in support for food, agriculture and nutrition programmes around the world.
The funding includes €2m to the ‘Grain from Ukraine’ initiative announced by President Zelenskyy to help counter the impact of the war in Ukraine on developing countries and the suspension of the Black Grain Sea Initiative.
Under this Initiative, Ukraine, partner countries and private sector donors have been delivering Ukrainian grain to countries in Africa and Asia that are facing malnutrition and extreme hunger problems.
Mr Martin said “Our history of famine has ensured that ending hunger is one of the core priorities at the heart of our international engagement. This year, Ireland will provide at least €284m in support for food, agriculture and nutrition around the world.
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