Budget 2027 is being announced on Tuesday and we are now in the “banging fists on the tables” phase – metaphorically at least – in talks between Ministers as they seek to carve out their share of the €7 billion kitty for new spending measures.
As Pat Leahy and Jack Horgan-Jones report in our lead today, most Ministers have not yet agreed their spending allocations for next year with Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers after a series of bruising budget meetings in recent days.
Talks are continuing, so perhaps some more Ministers will finalise the sums today.
But it seems to have been a tense process so far, with one source saying: “Everyone is getting a kicking”.
While in previous years there may have been a performative aspect to suggestions that Ministers are taking lumps out of each other behind closed doors as they seek to thrash out a deal, the talks for Budget 2027 do appear to be – to use Civil Service speak – particularly “robust”.
It comes as Chambers seeks to limit spending increases to 6 per cent across the board.
Out of that must come extra funding needed just to keep things on an even keel amid the demographic pressures of a growing and ageing population – and that’s before getting into any extra measures such as welfare payment increases or cuts to childcare costs.
In talks on Thursday, Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary was pushing for a €10 increase in core welfare rates, with an initially mooted €7.50 increase seen as risking political blowback.
Meanwhile, Horgan-Jones offered some insight into the complexity of talks around childcare, in this piece from this week, with a staggered introduction of childcare fee reductions being considered.
Departments have been asked to find savings in their own budgets to pay for proposed new spending measures.
Coalition figures blamed overspends in the HSE and Department of Education, along with spending on cost-of-living interventions, for the “tight” negotiations.
Some talks are to continue over the weekend, so do not be surprised should there be briefings about crunch issues going down to the wire.
Away from the actual budget negotiations, Opposition parties have been outlining what they would do if in power with their alternative budgets.
Managing Editor Cliff Taylor has had a look at the proposals put forward by Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats and Labour and found they had one thing in common: spend, spend, spend.
There will be coverage on Irishtimes.com this evening of the latest exchequer returns and the annual White Paper estimating receipts and expenditure for next year, further steps along the road of pre-budget choreography.
The return of the Brexit debate
A decade on from the UK’s vote to leave the European Union – and the ensuing years-long thumping headache for Irish governments as they sought to shield this country and the Northern Ireland peace process from the consequences – the Brexit debate is back.
Some would say it never went away, but the renewed focus is all down to new British prime minister Andy Burnham and the speech he gave at the Labour Party conference where he said Brexit had done “more harm than good”.
In subsequent media interviews, including one with BBC Radio on Wednesday morning, Burnham confirmed that rejoining the EU was one of the options Britain should consider. It “could go all the way”, he said.
Our London Correspondent Mark Paul has an explainer here setting it all out.
In fairness, despite all the hassle caused by Brexit, it seems likely that Dublin certainly, but also Brussels, would be prepared to welcome the UK back with open arms (and terms and conditions) should that be where the debate ultimately goes.
In her comment piece on Thursday, Finn McRedmond wrote that pressing the Brexit “I told you so” button is tempting for Ireland, but we should hold fire.
Drumcree stand-off continues
Another much more unwelcome shadow from the past was the stand-off over the Orange Order’s wish to march down the predominantly nationalist Garvaghy Road in Portadown, Co Armagh.
In her column today Justine McCarthy goes through the murder, violence and tragedy that occurred when the dispute over the parade was at its height in the 1990s.
She argues that Drumcree proves that unification of Ireland is the North’s best bet.
Meanwhile, the stand-off is set to continue over the weekend.
Seanín Graham and Marie O’Halloran report today how talks aimed at ending the parade dispute have broken up without agreement, while a legal appeal over the contentious march is scheduled for Monday.
Anything else?
Mayor of Limerick John Moran has accused the Government of underfunding councils, meaning they must increase local property taxes to maintain services. Jack Horgan-Jones reports that Moran, Ireland’s only directly elected mayor, saw a proposal to increase local property tax (LPT) in Limerick by 25 per cent for three years voted down by Limerick County and City Council this week; it instead chose to increase the levies by 15 per cent for next year.
Industrial action up to and including strikes remain in prosect as unions reject Chambers’ call to enter talks. Emmet Malone reports.
Killian Woods has done a deep dive on the ownership of buildings on Galway’s Eyre Square and found a diverse cast of investors, families and public bodies.
Meanwhile, Conor Gallagher reports that Aughinish Alumina has significantly stepped up its lobbying of Irish politicians and officials as the European Commission contemplates sanctions targeting the Co Limerick plant’s output. Aughinish’s exports of alumina to Russia have been in the spotlight after reporting by The Irish Times last March traced the shipments to Russian smelters, which make it into aluminium that is sold to a company supplying more than 100 Russian weapons manufacturers.