Government remains 'steady and solid' despite budget tensions
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Taoiseach Simon Harris has insisted that the Government remains “steady and solid”, despite increased tensions between the three parties ahead of the upcoming budget.
It comes as coalition leaders met with the finance and public expenditure ministers on Monday, ahead of a series of showdowns between Jack Chambers and Paschal Donohoe and their Cabinet colleagues in the coming days.
“I can never recall a budget time where different political parties and different politicians and different ministers haven’t put their best foot forward and floated a variety of ideas,” Mr Harris said.
“But at the end of the day, this is a coalition Government that is steady and solid, with a clear majority in Dáil Éireann. We will deliver our fifth budget and we will do it on this day three weeks.
“We will do it in a collegiate manner and at the end of the day, Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Greens will agree a budget package, just like we have every other year.”
Mr Harris described the October 1 budget as being “crunch day”, but that speculation would continue in the run-up to then.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin described Monday's leaders meeting as “healthy”, with the coalition leaders agreeing to plan the budget with “coherence”.
Mr Martin said that the budget itself would be “broadly” within the parameters set out within the Summer Economic Statement, but that there may be some variance similar to Budget 2024.
He said that while the public does not get “convulsed” with budget speculation, Mr Martin added that ministers must be careful with anything “that’s market sensitive”.
It comes as Mr Martin on Monday rebuked junior minister Neale Richmond over his suggestion that stamp duty on vulture funds which purchase multiple homes be doubled. Mr Martin said it is not "sensible" to pre-empt a review of the current law.
There is frustration within Fianna Fáil over Mr Richmond’s decision to call for the stamp duty hike. Mr Martin said Mr Richmond had not "given a heads up" to his senior minister, Jack Chambers, who is set to deliver his first budget in three weeks.
A draft of the review is understood to not recommend any increase to stamp duty.
One Fianna Fáil source said the budget kite flying over recent days could be an indication of an election before Christmas.
“This is the stuff you expect to see in the mouth of an election,” the source said, questioning how the three parties would be able to sit around the Cabinet table together until March while constantly outbidding one another.
One Fianna Fáil backbencher described the move by Mr Richmond as a “bit rich”, while accusing Fine Gael of previously rolling out the “red carpet” for vulture funds.
Privately, Fine Gael sources have hit back and said that this is "how politics is done". They have accused Fianna Fáil of being "dramatic".
Taoiseach Simon Harris has also backed Mr Richmond, while denying the call for a hike is a u-turn, after the Government previously opposed a Sinn Féin motion to hike stamp duty on bulk buying to 17%.
He said that any changes to taxation should be made in the budget, while adding that he hoped to see “progress” on stamp duty come October 1.
The tensions between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil also come as the Green Party launched into calls for a one-off quadrupled child benefit payment for new parents upon the birth of a child.
Mr O’Gorman said that the €560 payment would be used to assist new parents with the high costs associated with a newborn baby.
He told RTÉ Radio that the proposal would have a tangible and meaningful impact for parents at a time where “bills are racking up”.
Both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have made a push for child benefit increases, with Fine Gael in particular seeking double payments as part of a cost-of-living package.
The Green Party leader also made a push for the State taking on an “even greater role in the delivery and provision of childcare” given the lack of community and private providers.
Mr O’Gorman said that, as part of the Green Party’s election manifesto, the party would press for the State to directly provide childcare services, as well as granting the legal right to two years of free preschool.
“We don’t have enough supply of early learning and care places,” he said, adding that the State needs to provide it directly in areas where there is a shortfall of childcare places.