Greens’ moot fund for babies

Some €5,000 would be invested in every child born which would mature later in life to be used for education, work abroad, or help starting a business, under Green party election proposals.

Launching its general election manifesto, party leader Eamon Ryan outlined plans for a network of publicly owned banks as well as a community health organisation to replace the HSE.

While the Greens did not have any TDs in the last Dáil, the party is pinning its hopes on securing three or four seats, including one for Mr Ryan in Dublin Bay South, out of the 40 candidates running in all constituencies.

It hopes to also pick up a seat, most likely in Dublin-Rathdown, in Louth, and in Dublin-Fingal.

Mr Ryan’s party is proposing prudent spending measures, using €3.2bn over the next five years — in line with recommendations from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council.

In addition, it says an extra €1.1bn in revenue could be raised from new charges, including a sugar tax and a site valuation tax replacing the property tax. A site value tax would bring in an extra €100m above a property tax, taking in brown and unused sites for charges.

Mr Ryan said the election was not just about fiscal space, but about public space. The party’s citizen investment fund would cost at least €340m annually, according to 2014 birth figures.

The fund, maturing to €20,000 over the child’s life, could only be drawn down if the person chose one of the routes under the scheme. Routes could include working for a year with an NGO, studying abroad for a year, a further year’s study here or a special fund for young adults with special needs.

The manifesto says the party will set up regional, publicly owned banks, modelled on the Sparkasse system in Germany.

These would create 10,000 jobs and provide credit to SMEs. The party is also proposing abolishing the HSE and replacing it with a new ‘community health organisation’, which would be more focused on local care for patients.

The Greens would also increase direct state funding for third-level education by €300m a year to prevent increases in registration fees.

In line with its green policies, the party — in government — would want an extra €1.6bn invested over the next five years in promoting buses, cycling, and walking by removing funds from spending on roads.

The party wants to invest in housing, transport, energy, water, and communications infrastructure.

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