A €300 refundable tax credit for workers and an emergency hardship fund are among the calls made at the Social Democrats annual conference.
Speaking at the party event this evening, co-leader Catherine Murphy said the public now want genuine change – not a repackaging of stale parties, or policies, as something new.
“Even Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, who have shared power for 100 years, claim to lead a change agenda.
“We believe the potential, and desire, for change in Ireland is huge,” she told the gathering in Dublin’s Gresham hotel.
The conference heard that the Social Democrats is a party for a new era - not defined by old loyalties, old politics, old policies, cosy business connections or jobs for the boys.
Calling for an anti-corruption agency, with the remit and the resources to provide meaningful regulation, Ms Murphy said: “We need accountability in every facet of Irish public life – the government, public service and the corporate world.
“We will only get change if we properly protect whistleblowers and make legal accountability a term and condition of employment in the public and civil service.”
Outlining the measures the Social Democrats believe are now required, fellow co-leader Róisín Shortall called on the Government to deliver an emergency budget.
She said the Social Democrats would:
- Put €300 into the pockets of workers, earning up to €50,000, using a refundable tax credit.
- Create a hardship fund so those at risk of fuel or food poverty can access emergency payments quickly.
- Increase core social welfare rates, like pensions – which have only increased by €5 in the last three years - by €10.
“In our alternative budget in October, we will be proposing other measures. Childcare must be transformed so that it is publicly funded – the only way costs will come down," Ms Shortall said.
“Primary and secondary education must be made genuinely free – and university fees, which are the highest in the EU, must be cut.
“Crucially, workers should not have to struggle just to get by. They need a living wage,” Ms Shortall told the party conference.
The party is also arguing for a windfall tax for energy companies that members say have been profiteering on the backs of ordinary people.
The Social Democrats has stressed the need for secure and affordable housing.
Ms Murphy said: “In previous decades, single-income families with one worker on an average wage could aspire to lead a decent life.
“They may not have been rich – but many owned their own home; they could educate their children; and they had secure jobs.
"Today, single people are forced to continue to live at home; house share or rent tiny apartments at exorbitant costs until they are in their 30s, 40s and even older.”
She asked: “What kind of society are we building – when affordability is now defined by the government as being €450,000 in Dublin and €400,000 in Cork and Galway?”
