It is quite a gamble, as there is none so fickle as folk. But once a year, a government gets a chance to show it is on the side of the people.
Get it right and the people reward them; if they don’t, they pay the price. This could be the Coalition’s last pitch before going to the polls next year.
Voters will probably judge it in terms of the cost of living, housing and health.
And all have been addressed to one degree or another, with €1.9bn allotted for housing.
For renters there’s a credit up to €750, and there’s temporary mortgage tax relief worth up to €1,250.
The health service will get an extra €500m next year in a €22.5bn package.
But has the Government gone far enough to shore up the support it has been shedding and possibly even boost its popularity? The electorate will examine what’s on offer. A prerogative of power sees governments spend other people’s money, hoping they can also find favour as the cash is flashed. So is this a “cash and dash Budget? Time will tell.
What matters is whether the expenditure is effective in helping society and protecting the economy.
Most workers will be €800 better off after cuts to the Universal Social Charge (USC) and income tax tweaks.
Families feeling the pain of the biting cost of living crisis and 10 successive interest hikes needed such help. The mooted “mini-sterile zone” touted around the Dáil speaks to some tension.
A €12 a week rise for welfare recipients may be welcome, but according to Vincent de Paul, it would have taken a rise of €27 to keep in line with rising costs.
Meanwhile, the Simon Communities said: “There’s nothing in the Budget today that would suggest we are going to see ourselves get ahead of the homelessness crisis.”
Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty argued that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil had caused the housing crisis and the Budget was “further confirmation that they are not the ones to fix it”.
However, looking ahead, Mr McGrath spoke of a Future Ireland Fund that could have up to €100bn in the next decade. A €14bn Nature and Climate Fund is also in place to address environmental challenges. Both have the potential to be transformative.
Andrew Carnegie said: “Surplus wealth is a sacred trust which its possessor is bound to administer in his lifetime for the good of the community.”
Both the ESRI and Fiscal Advisory Council have warned the days of golden windfalls may be numbered.
The country needs to get the best return possible, but as to whether this is the last roll of the golden dice for the Government, that is now in the hands of the voters.
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