The Front Pages
It looks set to be taxing times for Irish households, with today’s ‘Households face taxes on property and water’ headline in the Irish Independent. The Independent reports that householders can look forward to a ‘double whammy’ of property tax and water charges to be introduced next year.
Justice Minister Dermot Ahern has stated that both measures are firmly under consideration, as the government plans to raise €3bn in the forthcoming Budget. Speaking on the possible actions to reach this goal, Ahern said “that may include a property tax and charging for water – which are in every other European country.â€
Today’s Irish Times headline reads ‘Programme to relocate State services out of Dublin delayed’, with the Times reporting that the government is due to announce a ‘major rescheduling of decentralisation’, all as part of a six-year €39.43bn capital investment programme to be unveiled today.
Today’s unveiling is expected to include a cut on State spending on healthcare infrastructure, with plans to decentralise elements of the Department of Education to Mullingar, and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation to Carlow to be postponed.
