Editorial: Big Budget giveaway may only paper over cracks - Kilkenny Live

Budget Day looms, and preceding it comes all the usual kites, leaks, feints and fanciful notions to which we have become accustomed.

Who knows exactly what we will get when all is revealed on October 1. If the dogs on the street are to be believed, it’s shaping up to be a giveaway bonanza with the looming general election very much in mind. Those in Government circles want to see a Budget geared toward winning enough votes to retain their current setup, or something closely resembling it.

The reason they tend to espouse this ‘giveaway’ mindset when approaching the end of their term is typically because it seems to work. Many’s the voter that can still be swayed by an energy credit and a few extra bob in their pocket, nevermind a chicken in every pot.

Unfortunately, those extra euros are pretty easily swallowed up by the cost of living increases that have hammered taxpayers in recent years, where everything from a cup of coffee to the price of parking keeps on going up.

A budget giveaway might win some favours, but it is ultimately fool’s gold if there is no meaningful effort to tackle Ireland’s very real, serious problems. Despite relative consistency in recent

Government parties and their annual budgets, here we still are — a wealthy, First World country, with a dire health and housing situation, and a pitiable public transport system.

Thousands are homeless or at-risk thereof. Since 2011, home ownership in Ireland for 30-34 year olds is down more than 50%. Prices continue to rise due to a lack of stock, and rents have spiralled totally out of control.

Our health service is all too often a horror show. It’s difficult to get a doctor’s appointment, children are waiting years for essential operations, and the new children’s hospital has been so poorly managed it is an national embarrassment. Our public transport services are years behind our European neighbours.

Any Budget that fails to meaningfully tackle these issues merely papers over the cracks.