BUDGET 2016: We protected young and old: Howlin

Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin announced a suite of spending increases for health, justice, and education as he insisted the Coalition had made good on its promises to fix the public finances.

Unveiling his half-portion of the €1.5bn budget spend for 2016, the Labour minister argued that the Coalition had brought the country back from the brink since the 2008 financial crash.

A special childcare support package, along with extended free GP care for the under 12s and a 50c increase in the minimum wage next year, were all announced by the minister during his Dáil budget speech yesterday.

Mr Howlin claimed that, despite huge pressure during the recession, the Fine Gael-Labour government had “protected the young, old, and the vulnerable”.

Recounting how €1.5bn extra in funding for this year had been announced for departments last weekend, he stressed how this now meant even more resources were available for next year.

As part of the €750m spend on services, €300m will go towards public sector pay increases as was scheduled.

The next biggest spend is €93m towards social protection-related measures, while weekly pension payments will be increased by €3, a move which will benefit more than 676,000 recipients.

Child benefit will also increase by €5 per child, from €135 to €140 per month.

The respite care grant will be restored to €1,700 a year while the threshold for family income supplements will be increased by €5 for families with one child and €10 for those with two children.

Children will be eligible for free childcare from three years until they are aged five and a half.

He also announced a further €15m was being made available for children with disabilities, in free childcare schemes.

Two weeks of paid paternity leave will also be introduced, commencing next September.

While the public expenditure spend did not announce additional funds to help lone parents, Mr Howlin said the measures agreed would overall help working mothers.

He announced an extra 2,260 teachers were being provided for next year, including 600 resource teachers.

At primary level, class sizes will also be reduced by 28:1 to 27:1, while the ratio in secondary school sizes will drop from 19:1 to an average of 18.7:1.

On health, Mr Howlin said the Coalition had successfully introduced free GP care for the under 6s and the over 70s. This was benefiting 300,000 people.

“In 2016, subject to successful negotiation with doctors representatives, it is planned to extend GP care without fees to all those under 12,” he said. “This marks the next phase of the implementation of Universal GP care.”

The new extension of free GP care will cost €10m, according to figures released by the public expenditure department.

Funding will also be made available for speech and language therapy services.

Mr Howlin attempted to dismiss opposition criticism about housing costs and resources, reiterating that 500 modular housing units would be provided for homeless families.

In addition, €20m extra will be made available to help with providing homes for families.

The Wexford-based minister, who wants to continue in his current role if the Coalition is returned, said all the spending changes were “moderate” and “sensible”.

He said: “We promised we would fix the public finances and restore growth to our economy. We have made good on those promises.”

Amid opposition claims that the measures were “election bribing”, Mr Howlin pointed out spending had been ramped up by 25% between 2005 and 2007 during the boom.

By comparison, public expenditure would rise by 4% next year compared to 2014, he added.