Cash payments of between €100 and €500 depending on an individual's income have been proposed.
Cash payments to assist the payment of energy bills and a Christmas bonus for social welfare recipients are amongst the headline topics in Sinn Féin’s alternative 2023 Budget, published on Friday.
Under Sinn Féin’s proposals, in a Budget package worth €9.4 billion, adults would receive cost of living payments between €100-€500, made through Revenue and the Department of Social Protection and based on an individual’s income.
The lower an individual’s income, the bigger the cash payment, as categorised by examples provided using the income brackets below:
- Income less than €21,300: €500
- Income of €40,000: €300
- Income of over €70,000: No payment
The party has also proposed doubling child benefit payments and a Christmas bonus for social welfare recipients of double the normal payment of a recipient depending on what scheme they are on and how many dependents they have.
In Budget 2023 there must be one clear priority,” the Sinn Féin publication reads.
“We must give workers and families a break in the face of an unprecedented cost of living crisis. No one should be heading into this winter concerned about whether they will be able to heat their homes or feed their children. Families should not be falling into debt to pay energy bills.”
https://twitter.com/sinnfeinireland/status/1573253046745927680
“The government has been too slow to act,” it adds.
“Their response has been inadequate and piecemeal. The crisis which we are now facing is compounded by the government’s failure to tackle housing costs, rents and childcare costs.”
Elsewhere in the alternative budget, Sinn Féin proposes to cut household electricity bills and cap them at 2021 levels, put one month’s rent back into renters’ pockets and reduce childcare fees by two-thirds.
The budget also proposes delivering 20,000 social and affordable homes, cutting the Universal Social Charge (USC) to increase workers’ take-home pay and guaranteeing the right to retire on a pension at age 65.
“Sinn Féin’s budget is a budget for change,” said Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald.
“Our proposals are about giving people help and certainty to get through the winter months while building for the future and delivering the housing and healthcare that is needed.
“Our fully costed proposals are about making different political choices to this government. We are prioritising those on middle and low incomes and a younger generation locked out of opportunity.
“We cannot continue to see a rehashing of old tired policies that have failed for 20 years. We need fresh ideas and a change of direction. That is what Sinn Féin’s budget is about.”
You can see full details of Sinn Féin’s alternative 2023 Budget
here.
Main image via Twitter / Sinn Féin
