Labour wants families and welfare protected in Budget

Labour has called on the Minister for Finance to protect families, social welfare recipients and infrastructure in Wednesday'…

Labour has called on the Minister for Finance to protect families, social welfare recipients and infrastructure in Wednesday's Budget.

Schools and hospitals must be the first priority in a Budget that will protect public services, bring fairness to the tax and welfare systems and invest in the future of the economy, the party's spokeswoman on finance, Ms Joan Burton, said yesterday.

She called for a postponement of the planned cut in Corporation Tax and the closing off of loopholes for property investors and the bloodstock industry.

"We are also proposing that capital gains be taxed on the same basis as other income rather than at 20 per cent as at present. The cut in employers' PRSI in last year's Budget should also be reversed," she said.

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She called for a restoration of the cuts in the capital budget allocation for education to ensure adequate accommodation for every school within five years.

There should also be a national school meals programme as there was no more cost-effective way to tackle ill health and educational disadvantage at source.

She said the Government must also honour its commitment to provide an additional 200,000 medical cards. The cost of this measure, at €150 million, is less than a third of the cost of the SSIA scheme.

She said contributions to the Special Savings Investment Accounts should be capped.

Investors should no longer allowed to increase their monthly contributions which attract a Government top-up of 25 per cent.