‘Granny Grant’ smacks of electioneering – and it’s not where need is greatest’
OOPS. Not such a cracking idea after all. Shane Ross’s ‘granny grant’ must have seemed like a guaranteed vote-winner when the Independent Alliance dreamed it up. Who could object? Everyone likes silver-haired old ladies.
In fact, resistance flooded in at once. Largely because the electorate has matured since the financial crash. I hesitate to say we can never be bribed again – that’s a stretch too far. But public outcry at the sheer nonsense of introducing a universal benefit without proper cost-benefit analysis shows we have grown wary of handouts.
Previously we simply shrugged at giveaways. Now we grasp that the money isn’t conjured up from nowhere – the pot of gold in the Exchequer’s vaults doesn’t automatically self-replenish.
So, at a time when homelessness and health are highlighted as two priority areas for targeted expenditure, suspicion arises about the motives underpinning this unsolicited gift to grandma and granddad. Tellingly, there was no demand for the grant. Where were the protests from grandparents complaining about the expense of looking after grandchildren? Where were the marches?
Transport Minister Shane Ross wants to give €1,000 a year to each grandparent who looks after their working children’s offspring for 10-plus hours a week. He calls it a “novel” idea and suggests the grant would cost around €71m a year. Who knew novel was a synonym for unrealistic?
His proposal breaks down as just under €20 a week per applicant, not a gamechanging figure but handy, I imagine. However, is it a sensible use of State funds?
The first problem is that Mr Ross’s sums smack of guesstimates and appear to be highly speculative. The granny grant is not properly costed – where is the methodology? Cost-benefit analysis is used when assessing whether a new measure is worth introducing, with two deceptively simple questions asked: what are the costs and what are the benefits? In this case, it’s not clear there’s a convincing answer to either.
The Independent Alliance has been pushing this scheme for the past three budgets (to no avail) so there’s no excuse for its failure to do full costings to date. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has committed now to costing the proposal, although he doesn’t sound wildly enthusiastic about it.
The second problem is that Mr Ross says the grant won’t be means-tested, but will be self-assessed and unvouched. So the estimate of 70,000 applicants could be a considerable underestimate.
Universal benefits are problematic. They help the rich who don’t need it, in addition to the less well-off who do. Once allocated, universal benefits are difficult to withdraw because expectations develop – if removed, recipients feel penalised.
Mr Ross suggests grandparents are out of pocket because of travel and other expenses. But grandparents have free travel. However, they probably do keep the house warmer for little ones, increasing heating bills.
I remember how much joy my parents received from their grandchildren – never once complaining about a financial burden. For some years, they used to mind two grandsons for several hours after school every day. What they spent on sandwiches, glasses of milk and treats was repaid exponentially by a sense of usefulness, not to mention their pleasure at the regular interaction.
It must be acknowledged that grandparents perform an important function in society. Many parents rely on them, both those in the workplace and those who stay at home. Undeniably, childcare is expensive and Irish people pay some of the highest costs in Europe; couples I know compare it to servicing a second mortgage.
On the plus side, people’s reservations about the granny grant show the population realises there are consequences to politicians handing out goodies willy-nilly. Also, people are considering the correct question: does this fix the problem? Indications are that it fails on that count because it doesn’t reduce childcare costs.
Increasingly, both parents are compelled to work whether they like it or not, although crèche fees are prohibitive. Figures last year from independent agency Pobal found weekly childcare costs run to €228 per child each week in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area, €188 in Dublin city, €204 in Fingal, €154 in Kerry, €152 in Donegal and €155 in Wexford. Some parents take a deep breath and pay so they don’t fall off the career ladder, although they are scarcely better off than if they stayed at home.
Grandparents willing to be involved in childcare are badly needed by families. But all four grandparents might apply for the grant. That would impact on the €71m estimate. And how about aunts and uncles or older siblings who pick up the childcare slack? Are they included? Some people are saying parents ought to be entitled to a grant for minding their kids if grandparents are due something, although parents already receive the children’s allowance.
Regardless of income, senior citizens receive pensions, free travel, TV licences and free GP visits after the age of 70. Now Mr Ross has decided they deserve more. Apart from anything else, he’s Transport Minister rather than Social Protection or Children’s Minister, and this has a whiff of electioneering.
Money ought to be spent where the greatest need exists and the best return for the State can be delivered, such as housing, healthcare and education. That €70m would pay for 280 apartments at €250,000 each, which might
Previously we simply shrugged at giveaways. Now we grasp that the money isn’t conjured up from nowhere – the pot of gold in the Exchequer’s vaults doesn’t automatically self-replenish
accommodate three people per property – that’s 840 off the homeless list. CT scanners for assessing cardiac risk cost around €1m, so every fair-sized hospital could have one and funds to staff it. Costs for building schools run to €1,000 per square metre, according the Department of Education – the money could be put to good use there.
CURRENT investment in childcare, including infrastructure, is up €485m this year but Children’s Minister Katherine Zappone calls it “significantly short of the European average” and notes “families are struggling to meet the cost of childcare”.
Even those who work in the industry insist cash payments are not the answer. Frances Byrne, of Early Childhood Ireland, says: “We need very serious evidence-based investment and a cash payment to grandparents is not that.”
It’s the kind of populist politics which increased our difficulties during the financial collapse. Only one-third of Ireland’s €200bn debt was due to bailing out the banks. The remaining two-thirds was down to spending beyond our means, with tax revenues and State expenditure out of kilter.
The fact of the matter is that universal benefits hive away money from those who need it most. And grannies aren’t where the case is most pressing, no matter how winsome they are.