Universal Social Charge should be reduced on a phased basis, says Fianna Fáil TDs

The Universal Social Charge (USC) should be reduced on a phased basis, a meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party has heard.

A special pre-budget meeting of TDs and Senators, convened on Wednesday afternoon, also heard calls for the renters tax break – currently worth €500 per year – be doubled.

Deputies calling for a phased reduction in the Universal Social Charge included Dun Laoighaire TD Cormac Devlin and Tipperary’s Jackie Cahill. Dublin Bay South TD Jim O’Callaghan backed calls for the renters tax credit to be doubled, with sources saying and Galway West TD Éamon Ó Cuív also supported the call.

There were also calls to roll out free schoolbooks for secondary school kids and budgetary support to get first time buyers on the property ladder, including allowing first time buyer grants for second-hand houses, sources present said.

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James Lawless, the Kildare North TD and chair of the Oireachtas Justice Committee, flagged that he intended to introduce a private members bill granting Gardaí relevant exemptions from prosecutions when “in hot pursuit”. It comes after a garda was charged following a high-speed chase which resulted in the death of three men who were driving the wrong way on the N7.

He told TDs and Senators that the bill would allow for a defence to be brought in the event of a prosecution that emergency personnel were engaged in actions necessary to enforce the law and to maintain public safety.

In what may be seen as an oblique criticism of Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, Mr Lawless said more broadly, the Department of Justice needed to focus on “bread and butter” issues such as policing the streets, public safety, areas like Dublin city centre and crime on trains and trams.

The meeting had a presentation from Minister for Finance Michael McGrath, who will be the first Fianna Fáil finance minister to present a budget for more than a decade this October. He indicated the budget would focus on housing, public investment, the cost of living and reducing costs for people. He said there would be a “decent” welfare package this year, with one off cost of living measures finalised in September.

There were also calls for child benefit to be extended to those in full-time education. Mr Devlin called for energy credits to support households next winter, and there were calls for an increase in the state pension and carers allowance.

Lisa Chambers spoke about increasing income threshold for carers allowance and increasing the living alone allowance, as well as continued reductions in childcare costs.

Meanwhile at a meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the ongoing RTÉ controversy is “extremely disappointing”.

The Fine Gael leader said it’s the Government’s mission now to fix RTÉ, to reform it and make it strong again.

Regarding the budget, he said there will be a “good tax package” with €1.1 billion set aside and that all workers would benefit – while the emphasis should be on the squeezed middle. He said there would be one-off measures in the budget but decisions cannot be made until October.