The fear and loathing of Budget 2013

Tonight on The Frontline

Cuts, taxes and apparently coalition tensions - as more details are emerge of the pain we are all due in Wednesday's budget we ask will it, and can it, be fair?

Is everything really on the table? Have the government considered all the options open to them or are some "Sacred Cows" untouchable? And in terms of complaining about that kind of budget - isn't that what you get with coalition government?

Tonight we'll be discussing all that and more with Minsiter of State Brian Hayes, Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty, Professor Brian Lucey ...

What's wrong with our college grants system?

This week we heard of lengthy delays in the student grant process with just 15 per cent of third-level students who applied for a grant for the first time this year having so far received a payment. So with incomes falling and more people qualifying for college grants, is the college grants system fair?

There are currently 75,000 students in receipt of grants (at a cost of €326 million), up from 55,000 just four years ago. Farmers and the self-employed are more than twice as likely to get college grants for their children as PAYE workers. Also, according ...

Shutting up shop

Over a quarter of a million people are employed directly in retail and wholesale sectors and are doubtless hoping the next two months will be their busiest of the year. But with consumer confidence still on the floor, and details of another austerity budget yet to be revealed at the start of December, could this be the most challenging Christmas yet for retailers?

Do you the shopper have a role to play? A survey last year by Amárach on the impact of the ‘Guaranteed Irish’ campaign found that the average household spend per week on Irish products and services ...

What are the banks costing us?

Four years on from the bailout that brought us down what is going on with our banks?

On Monday the head of the Credit Review Office criticised the pillar banks for turning down loans to small and medium businesses. Since the office was created in April 2010 it has overturned 96 cases where the main banks refused credit, reversals which secured 813 full-time and 46 part-time jobs and saw an additional €9.6m lent by the banks. John Trethowan also voiced concerns about the length of time it is taking to process loans and reiterated his call for more enterprise ...

Useful Numbers

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised on tonight’s programme here are some contact details which you might find useful.

Console 24 hour Helpline is 1800 201 890 for anyone bereaved or affected by suicide (www.console.ie).

The 1Life Helpline is 1800 247 100 which is a suicide prevention and intervention helpline for anyone at risk of suicide or worried about a loved one (www.1life.ie)
Also available through text – text the word HELP to 51444 (standard message rates apply). Both helplines are free and available 24/7, manned by qualified and accredited ...

Taxing Matters

Tonight on the programme we’ll be talking tax. Can the property tax be designed in a way which is fair? Various groups were excluded from paying the Household charge; will they similarly escape the property tax? What about pensioners or those currently unemployed? How do you reflect an inability to pay? Will a value based tax mean higher bills for those in urban areas? In 2009 The Commission on Taxation recommended that those who paid stamp duty when they bought a home should have an exemption from the tax for seven years from the year they bought. Is that ...

Join the Frontline

We’re back on September 17th for a new season of lively debate. Do let us know what topics and guests you would like to see on the programme over the next few months and we will try and make it happen.

If you'd like to join Pat Kenny and guests in the studio, please email thefrontlineaudience@rte.ie or phone (01) 2082941 for audience tickets.

The "F" Word

Next Monday 21st May, The Frontline will hold a debate on the Fiscal Treaty in advance of the referendum on May 31st.

Stability or austerity? Good housekeeping or an unacceptable erosion of sovereignty? There is dispute even about what to call the Treaty we will be voting on, never mind what it will mean if it is passed.

The Referendum Commission say the Treaty is “about strengthening the rules designed to make governments keep a balance between their income and their spending.” While the proponents of the Treaty claim that it will foster budgetary discipline and therefore encourage investment, opponents ...

Back to Work?

On Monday’s programme, Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton joined us to discuss her Pathways To Work initiative, with which she hopes to overhaul our social welfare system and reduce the numbers on the live register. With internal reports suggesting that up to €700 million is being wasted every year on training schemes, the Minister is hoping that the new approach outlined in her plan will prove more successful in helping the unemployed to get back into the workforce.

The plan provides for the establishment of a National Employment and Entitlements Service, which will amalgamate staff from FÁS ...

Where's the Justice?

Tonight – a legal special. Relations between the various branches of the legal profession and the Government are, shall we say, somewhat strained at present. Mostly that’s because of the Legal Services bill published last week which promises reform and regulation of the sector. Minister for Justice Alan Shatter is with us to explain how his legislation will mean lower legal bills. And then barristers and solicitors will explain how it will mean higher legal bills. So who is right?

And it’s not just lawyers at odds with the Minister – but judges too. Next week when you decide who ...

Principles and Principals

Principles and Principals.

Did you know that this year and every year the State give private fee-paying schools a 100 million euro subsidy?In this age of austerity could that money be better better spent elsewhere in the education system? Should those who opt for private education be asked to pay the full economic cost of that education with all the advantages, not only academic but social, that it brings? Or would the withdrawal of the subvention simply bankrupt many of those schools and lead then to unbearable demands on the public school system? Is it a matter of choice ...

The Race For The Park

To think that only a short few weeks ago some people were bemoaning a dull presidential campaign, well no more. Each day seems to bring fresh news and some not so fresh candidates. Certainly though the entry of Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness into the race has totally transformed the contest and begs questions of the Fianna Fáil strategy and Michéal Martin’s leadership. And what does it mean for the other candidates and for the chances of Senator Norris? We will be hearing from a very interesting guest on all of this - find out more at ...