Lack of income tax measures in budget ‘irked’ Fine Gael voters – Simon Harris

By Bairbre Holmes, Press Association

A lack of personal income tax measures in the last budget “irked a hell of a lot of people” who vote for Fine Gael, Simon Harris has said.

The Tánaiste was speaking on The Claire Byrne Show on Wednesday morning.

Asked if it was a mistake not to include a personal income tax package in last October’s budget, Harris said: “Being blunt it certainly irked a hell of a lot of people who vote for my party.”

But he said: “On balance, it was the right thing to do at that moment in time.”

The Finance Minister also told the Newstalk radio programme an election promise to reduce the cost of childcare to 200 euro a month is “something that we can do reasonably quickly and I do think it is something we can make progress on in the next budget”.

Pressed on when parents would actually pay €200 a month, he said the commitment would be reached “within the lifetime of the Government”.

However, he clarified “it will only work if we have the places”.

Harris said there are “as many people in my constituency who contact me about trying to get their child into a childcare place, as there is about the cost”.

In order to tackle that issue, he said the government has put in capital funding to invest in public buildings and said “we can’t leave this to the market alone”.

He said the Government put money in the budget towards the pay of childcare workers and had expanded back-to-school and free school meals schemes.

Asked if he envisages a time childcare workers would be fully paid by the state on similar rates or scales to teachers, Mr Harris said he has an “open mind” on the issue but is “not sure” parents want a model where everybody in the sector is employed by the state.

He said there is a need to be “flexible” and not “over-regulate”, and he would not like to see a system that does not “understand the variety of childcare options families go by”.

He said he would rather see the state work with childcare providers, adding “I don’t think there is going to be just one size fits all.”