The Social Democrats today launched their cost of living policy – Affordable Lives – which proposes a series of measures aimed at putting actual money back in people’s pockets in a very real way. The party says that while other parties promise tax cuts, any benefit of that is cancelled out by the ever-increasing cost of living which means that it is effectively given with one hand and taken back with the other. The party says things such as the cost of rents and mortgages, childcare, commuting, insurance, and energy costs are all crushing ordinary households and eating into family budgets.
Cllr Cian O’Callaghan, the party’s GE candidate for Dublin Bay North said:
“People are struggling. There’s a sense that no matter how early you get up in the morning or how hard you work, really when it comes down to it, you’re still barely making ends meet. Basic public services are so bad that people feel like they have to fork out for private health insurance – so they can have security in case of family illness, they’re paying exorbitant childcare fees because there is no public system of childcare, and home and motor insurance costs continue to spiral as do energy bills. People feel like they just can’t catch a break.
“Promising tax cuts might sound attractive, but the reality is all you are doing is starving vital public service of much needed investment and thereby driving up the costs of every day living. People are not fools and they can see they are being lied to when it comes to politicians telling them they can have tax cuts and proper investment in services. The two just don’t balance. By providing quality public services you stop the need for households to have to fork out for everyday basic necessities from what is supposed to be their discretionary income. This is how you put real money back in people’s pockets.
6th Feb 2020
[ENDS]
Notes: The SocDems Cost of Living Policy is available at www.socialdemocrats.ie/AffordableLives