FF’s Martin has raft of demands ready for Leo
Budget list awaits as Varadkar relies on Fianna Fáil to be taoiseach
FIANNA Fáil leader Micheál Martin has a prepared raft of budget demands for new Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar. When they meet this week, he will warn the taoiseach-in-waiting that investment in public services must be prioritised over plans to cut taxes.
The two are due to meet tomorrow or the day after as Mr Varadkar attempts to smoothe his transition to becoming taoiseach.
He will need the tacit support of Fianna Fáil in order to be elected taoiseach this day next week, June 13. The Independent Alliance is also expected to meet today as it prepares a list of priorities for its grouping in return for its support in government. It comes as the Irish Daily Mail has learned that key Varadkar supporters are urging him to do a clear-out of the so-called Cabinet old guard.
But he will face his first obstacle when he meets Mr Martin, who is set to tell him that as part of the Confidence and Supply Agreement, any budget plans must have a split of 2:1 in favour of investment in services. A source said Mr Martin will discuss the ‘execution and delivery of the Confidence and Supply Agreement’ to date and will attempt to secure commitments the Dáil will become more productive in the next year.
He will then say that there must be a 2:1 ratio on public-service investment to tax cuts.
This is likely to present a problem for Mr Varadkar who wants to merge the USC and PRSI into a single social insurance payment, thereby bringing down the amount of tax that the average worker is forced to hand over every month.
There is only €200million extra available in the next budget for overall spending, and Mr Martin is to warn that this money must be put into the health services – and into the mental-health budget.
Mr Martin will also make the case for increased staff in hospitals amid ongoing shortages.
He is also set to look for the full establishment of a new budget office in order to cost plans for the spending of public monies.
Mr Varadkar promised that he would be representing the ‘people who get up early in the morning’ as Fine Gael leader. It comes after outgoing finance minister Michael Noonan last week took what many saw as a parting shot at Mr Varadkar, warning him not to drop the pace of debt reduction in order to pay for his campaign promises to invest in roads, rail and hospitals.
In a speech last week, Mr Noonan pointed out that Ireland’s debt was still the second highest in the world per head of population and remains a serious risk.
He gave his speech to the Institute of International and European Affairs on Friday, saying: ‘There’s €200billion in debt – per capita there’s €42,000 for every man, woman and child in the country – and we’re second only to Japan if you measure it on the basis of per-capita debt. So the risk is out there with that huge bulk of money. If you look at it historically, at the top of the Celtic Tiger, the debt was €25billion.
‘It is now €200billion, so you can see by historic measurements, that it has changed dramatically and it is a risk.’
Meanwhile, the Mail has learned that key supporters of the soonto-be taoiseach are strongly advising him to drop Frances Fitzgerald and Simon Harris from Cabinet. Some aides believe that the current Cabinet is ‘ineffective’. ‘For every member of the old guard that remains on that cabinet, that represents many more votes lost at the last election. Noone knows exactly what the arrangement was between Leo and Frances except Leo and Frances, but there is of course some kind of agreement,’ said a source. ‘However, her record as a justice minister is not exemplary,.’
Mr Varadkar is expected to promote chief whip Regina Doherty and his campaign director Eoghan Murphy, the current junior finance minister. It is also believed the leader will keep Independent ministers in their current portfolios.
‘Two-to-one spend and tax ratio’