AN UNPRECEDENTED package of expanded benefits and tax cuts set out by the Irish government to tackle the cost-of-living crisis puts “Westminster to shame” and demonstrates why Scotland should be independent, the SNP have said.
Ireland unveiled an £11 billion budget last week which included hikes in welfare and pension payments and increased subsidies on energy bills and childcare, which add up to the equivalent of €2200 for every person in the country.
Much of the spend is being funded thanks to rising tax collection from thousands of foreign multinational companies based in the country, which means Ireland still expects a budget surplus this year and next.
The measures include every household receiving €600 in total off their next three energy bills, while most small and medium size businesses will be able to claim up to €10,000 a month towards their energy costs until spring 2023.
Personal tax credits have increased by €75, while welfare payment have increased by €12 a week.
The country’s independent fiscal watchdog, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, reacted positively to the announcement and said the government had struck “a balance between providing support and avoiding adding excessively to higher inflation” while describing the package as “exceptionally large”.
SNP MSP Rona Mackay said it was in contrast to the UK’s “economic catastrophe” and also pointed to a recent survey which has placed Ireland as the fourth best country in the world in which to retire.
It is ranked behind Norway in first place, followed by Switzerland and Iceland, according to the 2022 Global Retirement Index, while the UK fails to make the top 10.
Mackay said: “Ireland is flourishing and demonstrating exactly why Scotland needs to escape Brexit and re-join the EU as an independent country equipped to support all of its five million people through the cost-of-living crisis. If Ireland can do it, Scotland can too.
“These measures put the Westminster Tories to shame. Truss and Kwarteng have created an economic catastrophe and Scotland is being dragged down with them, putting at risk crucial public services like our NHS.
“And while pensioners in Ireland get one of the best deals in Europe, Scottish pensioners get one of the worst. Ireland is again showing that independent European nations the same size as Scotland have everything it takes to flourish.”
