The Workers’ Party has described Budget 2015 as an exercise of mass deception which will increase the gap between rich and poor and merely seeks to hide austerity rather than reverse it. 
Responding to the budget measures announced to-date, Workers’ Party President Michael Donnelly said that what had been trumpeted as a budget to end austerity was in reality a mechanism to copper-fasten it.
On specific budget measures Mr. Donnelly said that those on social welfare will be deeply disappointed with the paltry 25% Christmas bonus payment and the failure to restore rates to their pre-austerity levels. He said the tax reliefs for some householders in relation to water charges were merely a diversion. “Water charges are unacceptable in any form as they constitute double taxation and are only being introduced with one agenda, that of privatisation of the precious public resource of water. If anything can be seen in this move it is merely a signal of the government’s profound fear of the public anger on this issue”, said the Workers Party President.
“Health, education and jobs all merely receive lip service in this budget and will not be improved by the measures introduced today or those likely to emerge in the subsequent details”, he said. “The allocation for social housing will not come near solving what is a national emergency.
The Workers’ Party said it was also deeply concerned that the emphasis on private funding was a further erosion of the fundamental principle that the state had the responsibility to provide social housing. Today’s move amounted to the bankrolling of private developers who were unreformed since the economic crisis of 2008 which their class had played such a major role in creating.”
Mr. Donnelly said the moves to end the so-called Double Irish tax scam were merely a bow to the inevitable but had been considerably softened by a continued commitment to further tax breaks for multinationals companies and their well-paid executives, while the overall tax regime continues to make Ireland a virtual tax haven for corporates.
“In short”, said Michael Donnelly, “this budget increases the yawning gap between top earners and those on low pay or social welfare. This is a class based budget which attacks working class families while wearing the sheep’s clothing of good tidings”.