The Labour Party is proposing a €100-per-child monthly groceries supplement for families over the winter to help deal with the cost of living.
Labour Finance Spokesperson Ged Nash put forward the proposal at the party’s annual think-in Galway, the first of the autumn series of political party autumn gatherings ahead of the Dáil’s return from its summer recess.
Deputy Nash said the payment could constitute a €100 supplement to child benefit for families for each of their eligible offspring for three consecutive months over the winter period.
“These are the kind of innovations we need. The situation is so dire for working families … if people though the situation around groceries prices over the last two or three years was difficult, they ain’t seen nothing yet once we hit January,” said the Louth TD ahead of the meeting.
“We are facing into a very difficult winter and this is going to be a winter dominated by the energy crisis and the need to support people with energy bills”, he said.
“This should not be viewed in isolation of other measures we will be announcing in our alternative budget.”
Deputy Nash also took a broadside at the Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers, saying it was “fiscally reckless” for him not to engage with unions over a new public sector pay deal after unions recently voted for strike action.
Separately, the Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik intimated to reporters at her party’s annual think-in her belief that a joint-left Government was still possible at the next election, despite the Social Democrats seemingly distancing themselves from a joint left alliance.
A common left platform was deemed beneficial to Catherine Connolly’s success in last year’s Presidential Election.
Ms Bacik said she wanted Labour to come together with the Social Democrats and the Green Party to negotiate a common programme for Government from a position of collective strength.
She said the “success of bringing people together behind Catherine (Connolly) has continued on” and that all parties will come around again to the idea of a left alliance.
Her comments were echoed by members of her parliamentary party.
“I’m the leader of the cross-party group in the Seanad of Labour, Social Democrats and the Green Party, and we work well together and there is a lot of commonality. But certainly the Labour Party is also a unique party,” said Senator Laura Harmon
“I think for me it’s about getting into Government and getting a Labour programme implemented on an area like housing. I’m a democrat, we’re democrats, we’ll talk to anyone within reason about getting our programme, our ideas implemented,” added Limerick City TD Conor Sheehan
Barry Lenihan reports from the Labour think-in in Galway
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Labour focused on ‘driving down bills’, says Bacik
Ms Bacik said Labour has a “strong record of delivery, a vision for the future, a vision for a social democratic republic”.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, she said: “What we saw from Government in last year’s budget, what we saw again this year, was floundering, failing to deliver for families in any real way.”
“People are crying out for change; that’s why I want to see a left-led government in the next election. I’ve been very clear on that, and Labour has a strong role as a leading progressive voice in Ireland to join with other parties that share our vision and our values.
“The Green Party and the Social Democrats in particular to really try and forge that new Ireland because that’s what people struggling in a housing crisis,” she said.
Ms Bacik said her party has put forward a series of targeted measures and has called for a reduction of back-to-school costs.
“We have been focused on how we can really bring down bills for households through targeted energy credits, through indexation of tax bands and through cutting of childcare costs through a new public childcare scheme,” she said.
Ms Bacik said there is a huge need to reduce energy costs, but she would not say if Labour wants to see the carbon tax increase as planned by the Government next month.
She said the party is “waiting to see” what the Government propose on carbon tax and whether it should be deferred.
“What we believe is that the Government needs to focus far more on reducing costs for people in energy and at the moment, nearly half of our electricity is generated by gas. That is simply not sustainable.
“When I knock on doors of people in A-rated homes with heat pumps, with solar, they aren’t exposed to the same rising energy costs that 500,000 pounds of energy,” Ms Bacik added.
