THE Limerick Post spoke to community leaders, organisers, activists, and organisations from a cross-section of society after this week’s Budget announcement.
Here’s what they had to say….
John Moran | Mayor of Limerick
THIS is a good news budget for Limerick. Money has been allocated to all the areas where Limerick needs funding so that we can create jobs and build houses. We need our water infrastructure fixed. We need €200million spent in the Colbert Quarter so that we can build the housing that we need there. We have been running up against barriers to progress because the infrastructure isn’t there. Now that money has been allocated, we need to have projects at the point of being funding ready to apply for that funding. We have some work to do, but it’s good news”.
Melanie Sheehan Cleary | Mid West Hospital Campaign
NO provision to immediately tackle the ongoing health crisis in the Mid West region. 495 beds for hospital and community services?This does not touch beds shortages and no indication of where beds are going. No increase in staffing levels within the HSE? The mental health budget going up by 10 per cent does not touch the surface of the mental health crisis in Ireland. The €17billion Apple tax and AIB share proceeds? Our government would rather wait until 2025 for the HIQA report than invest this money immediately into our A&Es to end the trolley crisis.
Seán Golden | Limerick Chamber
LIMERICK Chamber welcomes the infrastructure focus of Budget 2025. The government outlining their priorities and spending for water, electricity, and housing will be critical. However, the key will be in the implementation and delivery, while previous year’s budgets have been underscored by economic prosperity, we have had issues with delivery on key infrastructural projects so it is important to outline that funding is just one aspect of delivering these large capital projects. The impact this budget will have on smaller businesses is less clear at this stage, especially those businesses in challenging sectors, but unlocking the National Training Fund for upskilling will be a help for many businesses.
Teresa Ryan | SVP Mid West
THERE has been annual double-digit inflation, and this is even greater in basic food products and services. This has hit the poorest in our society hardest and is why we recommended a €20 increase in our pre-budget submission. €12 per week doesn’t go far enough and many people will be worse off than they were a few years ago. While the increases in child benefit and once-off payments are welcome, more targeted and permanent supports are needed to provide a more dignified and secure quality of life for these people. Temporary supports that are universal are not an efficient way to support the more vulnerable and don’t offer them any long-term security”
Elaine Houlihan | Macra president and Limerick native
TO say that our members are disappointed is an understatement. With so much money washing around government coffers, we had hoped that for once the right course of action would be followed in relation to young farmers and farming succession. We were foolish to think that. In reality, this budget provides sops to our agricultural industry. Our members are tired of the platitudes and a lack of structural change. Clearly no government party sees any future for rural Ireland except as a commuter belt for Dublin, Cork, or Limerick. Macra have looked for a seismic shift in how we do business, how we rejuvenate our industry, how we get more young people into the industry, yet we are met with more of the same, a tweak here and an increase there.
Paddy Hyland | Limerick Older Persons Executive
A PERSON on the full pension will get €600 extra a year. Don’t forget, that’s only €12 a week, which is €1.70 a day, which is the equivalent of a carton of milk, one litre of milk a day. Would you give a child €12 for their Holy Communion or for their Confirmation? You wouldn’t. We’re getting a double payment again of the pension. We’re getting it in October, and we’re also getting a double at Christmas time, which is very, very generous … but for the ordinary person on the old age pension, they have reservations about it.
