SF calls for €3.2bn stimulus package

Sinn Féin has published its pre-Budget submission, which calls for the raising and saving of €7.5bn and the spending of €3.2bn in a stimulus package to encourage economic recovery.

Among its proposals, the party is calling for a third rate of tax on incomes over €100,000, the abolition of the PRSI ceiling and a 1% wealth tax on all assets worth more than €1m.

It is also proposing the standardisation of discretionary tax reliefs and a cap on public sector pay to €100,000.

In its proposed stimulus package, the party is suggesting a €600m jobs retention fund for small and medium enterprises and a price freeze on State-controlled services.

Sinn Féin is also proposing an extra €2bn on increasing community employment schemes and a new National Development Scheme involving labour-intensive infrastructure work.

It is suggesting a 20% cut in excise duty on alcohol for the four-week period from Budget Day to after Christmas.

There is also a household stimulus package, involving the reintroduction of the Christmas bonus, the protection of child benefit and social welfare rates, and the freezing of everyday expenses like public transport and TV licences.

Groups present alternative Budget submissions

Fr Sean Healy of Social Justice Ireland has said the 17 organisations of the Community and Voluntary Pillar have put forward a very strong case for an alternative Budget to Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan.

The organisations put forward the case that Mr Lenihan should not proceed with €4bn in cuts in the Budget, but instead make €4bn in adjustments.

Fr Healy was speaking on behalf of the groups following a meeting this morning, saying their proposals would protect the vulnerable and promote the economy.

He said the groups proposed that €1.75bn of those adjustments be in tax increases which they outlined to Mr Lenihan.

Fr Healy said they also proposed possible cuts in both capital and current expenditure.

He said they had a very positive response to their proposals from the minister and he had committed to further engagement on a number of issues.

IBEC meeting

IBEC also met with the minister to present its Budget submission. The group stressed that preserving and creating employment, along with stabilising the public finances, must be the priority.

The submission said that Government should use money it is already spending, largely on social welfare, to protect those in vulnerable employment and to help support new employment.

A reduced rate of employers' PRSI should be introduced for new jobs in 2010.

IBEC welcomed the recent announcement that an expanded second round of the employment subsidy scheme will be rolled out shortly and said the scheme must be broadened to include those companies that already availed of short-time working.

'If we make the right decisions now, the economy will emerge stronger from this recession. If we postpone these choices Ireland's economic malaise could continue for many years,' said IBEC Director General Danny McCoy.