FINE Gael’s manifesto has prioritised fairer taxes, a better deal for families and older people, a reformed health service and balanced prosperity for every part of Ireland.
And according to Limerick City General Election candidate Senator Kieran O’Donnell, some of the key commitments include a fairer tax package, increasing the point at which a single person pays the higher rate of tax to €50,000 and to €100,000 for a couple.
If returned to power, Fine Gael also promise to raise the USC income exemption threshold from €13,000 to €20,500; create 200,000 jobs across the economy; reform the health service and expand the Help to Buy Scheme to help more people buy their first home.
“Fine Gael is the only party who can be trusted to manage the economy steadily and bring Ireland through the next phase of Brexit so that these vital investments in public services can be made. We want to ensure that everyone feels the benefits of our strong economy in every town and village here in Limerick,” Senator O’Donnell declared.
“We have recruited over 3,000 Gardaí since we re-opened Templemore and we will fund up to 700 Garda recruits every year. We have Garda Support Units now in every Garda region and we are committed to ensuring they are properly resourced.
“Our plan has allowed for funding to drive the reform of the health services making care more affordable and delivering it closer to home.
“Our plan delivers an increase to current health funding of €5 billion over the next five years when we will recruit 3,840 primary care workers and 5,000 nurses. We will deliver free GP care for under 18s among other measures to reduce the cost of care,” he added.
In relation to Mental Health, he says that Fine Gael will fully implement and resource a refreshed Vision for Change and use a ‘stepped care’ approach, ensuring that each person can access a range of options of varying intensity to match their own needs.
A Fine Gael Government will also expand the Help to Buy scheme so that the maximum tax rebate that can be claimed from HTB will be €30,000 or ten per cent of the cost of purchasing or building a new house.
“This will help more first time buyers in Limerick buy their first home. We will also expand the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan for five more years and ensure that renters get a fair deal.
“Already Fine Gael is delivering the largest social housing programme in decades and if re-elected we will ensure that 60,000 social houses are provided over the next five years.
The Dáil hopeful went onto say that Fine Gael are committed to cutting the cost of insurance.
“Some of the measures we have committed to include extending the transparency of the claims database to cover public/employer liability insurance. We will also create an office tasked with encouraging international insurers to the market.”
