Sinn Féin vows workers will be €2,000 better off after tax cuts in manifesto
by Louise Burne · Irish MirrorAll workers earning under €100,000 will be €2,000 better off under a Sinn Féin government, Pearse Doherty has suggested.
The party launched its near-200-page election manifesto in Dublin’s Smock Alley Theatre on Tuesday morning.
If in government, Mary Lou McDonald’s party says it would abolish USC on all earnings under €45,000 and increase the entry rate to the 40 per cent rate of tax by €4,000. From January, the entry point will be €44,000.
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Large parts of the party’s manifesto have already been published, with policies on housing, healthcare and childcare published over the summer months. The party pledged to cap childcare at €10 a day and build 300,000 homes over a five-year government term.
Mr Doherty and Ms McDonald denied that Sinn Féin in government would only focus on the lesser off in society, with the party insisting that all people would benefit from the party’s manifesto.
Mr Doherty said: “Our commitment is very clear. For every individual out there that's earning up to €100,000, you're going to be better off under Sinn Fein. You will pay less tax. Indeed, our tax package will benefit you over €2,000 of tax reductions between the USC, our bands and our credits.”
He also committed to having a mini-budget with 100 days of government. The party would “run a budgetary surplus every year, with an accumulated surplus of €14.8 billion by 2030”.
Other proposals in the manifesto include reducing a president’s term in office from seven to five years, putting a month’s rent back in renters’ pockets and opening a second Garda college. The party plans to recruit between 900 and 1,000 Gardaí a year, increasing to 1,500 when the new college opens. It will also increase the training allowance to €379 a year.
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