In the absence of government and coalition meetings and with the President away, it was nevertheless a charged Tuesday in the arena of Irish politics. Despite the absence of key players, the day was buzzing politically. Most of the activity unfolded in New York, making the scenario rather unusual from an Irish viewpoint.
Agendas in New York were dominated by the Israeli aggression in Lebanon. Legal costs for Collery, found guilty of perjury, have been paid by the Moriarty tribunal even after 17 years. The procedures for expenditure approval are set for reassessment by OPW following issues related to the Leinster House bike shed. The independence of the Troubles legacy body has been defended from baseless onslaughts by its chief.
The United Nations General Assembly’s meetings are being hosted in New York this week. Among those in attendance are President Michael D Higgins, Taoiseach Simon Harris, Tánaiste Micheál Martin, and Eamon Ryan, the former Green Party leader and current Minister for the Environment. Yesterday saw them all commenting on the escalating Israeli violence and the worsening crisis in Lebanon, as well as a controversial communication from Michael D Higgins to Iran’s recent President, and the predicament of Ireland’s national children’s hospital.
Our correspondent, Jennifer Bray, has been covering the developments in New York over the past two days. The predicament is dire, with nearly 500 fatalities resulting from Israel’s intense bombardment of Lebanon in an attempt to vanquish Hizbullah and its substantial stash of weapons and military supplies, largely sourced from Iran. Approximately 35 children were killed and an astonishing 1,650 individuals were injured in the deadliest day of violence Lebanon witnessed in almost 20 years.
During an eventful media meeting, the President affirmed his earlier disapproval of Israel and defended his correspondence with Iran. The media, he claims, suggested that the letter was leaked by the Israeli embassy in Dublin, a statement he had not made. During a previous interview with journalists, he had insinuated that the Israeli embassy had circulated the letter without explaining how they had gained access to it. This led to speculation of a leak.
Yesterday, he made a comment in New York sparking speculations that he was insinuating a leak from the Israeli embassy. The statement lead to conclusions about Mr Higgins’ belief in the incidence of the letter leak, despite clarifications from his spokesperson denying any indication of such. This high profile polemic has been dissected in detail in the ‘In the News’ podcast today.
Simultaneously, an Israeli disparagement was met with a significant rebuke from Harris during yesterday’s violent episode in Lebanon, claiming nearly 500 lives. Earlier that day, he met with the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, a rendezvous that marked their first congregation post Ireland’s recognition of Palestine statehood in May this year.
Amid the chaos, the Irish Prime Minister shared his intention to keep alive the prospects of an amicable two-state solution with Palestine and Israel. Later today, he is scheduled to engage in bilateral discussions with Jordan’s King Abdullah and the United Nation’s Secretary General, António Guterres.
Gradually drawing attention away from the letter issue posed by Israel, Harris reflected on his previous meeting with the Palestinian prime minister who expressed sorrow over the death of children in his country. He reinforced that the origin of the letter wasn’t as crucial as the immediate crisis at hand.
On a different note, famous Hollywood actress, Meryl Streep, graced a United Nations event focusing on the predicaments and societal exclusions faced by Afghan women. The event also witnessed Micheál Martin as a speaker, who had the opportunity to interact with the renowned actor. Additional light was shed on this event by Jennifer’s reporting.
Lastly mentioned was the ongoing national children’s hospital crisis.
Leo Varadkar’s forecast that the national children’s hospital would be ready by 2020 for €700 million has indeed proven to be a spectre that haunts him, barring the planet being hit by a meteorite.
This turned out to be a metaphor of what was to transpire.
The endeavour to erect a top-tier flagship hospital has devolved into a crushing tale marked by exorbitant costs.
Yet again, recklessly liberal spending of public resources by the State, devoid of any consideration for their value for money, is at the forefront.
In addition, it’s another case of a Government-sanctioned project that seems devoid of the understanding of staying “on schedule” and “within budget”.
According to Mark Hilliard, on Tuesday, the board accountable for overseeing the hospital’s construction will inform an Oireachtas committee that the estimated date of completion is now pushed to June 2025.
The introductory statement by the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board’s (NPHDB) top executive, David Gunning, is severely critical of the contractor Bam. Currently, Bam is expected to deliver the hospital over 2½ years later than originally promised.
According to the NPHDB, Bam guaranteed a workforce of 1,700 at its peak but only reached around 1,260 and decreased to 612 by August 2024.
As of the moment, no finished room in the hospital meets the agreed upon contractual quality or finish. There are a total of 5,678 medical spaces within the new hospital. Despite Bam declaring 3,128 spaces complete, none have met the essential standards. Still, excessive claims, including duplicate and triplicate accounts for time and value, are being regularly brought forward by Bam.
NPHDB holds the belief that Bam is attempting to manipulate the State to secure additional money over the signed contract through any means available.
Although this assessment is rather critical, Bam has refuted these assertions and insists that the hospital’s construction phase is now 93% complete, despite the extensive extra work required due to a significant amount of design modifications.
“Budget 2025” is the title under consideration.
With just a week remaining, it’s quite unusual that budget concerns are not prevalent. The wheels of the budgeting process appear to be turning at a slow pace, with a multitude of bilateral meetings yet to transpire between the Ministers in charge of financial matters and their colleagues. Our political correspondents have been informed that these discussions will persist through the weekend and likely extend into Monday.
In the meantime, the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) has presented quite an insightful pre-budget report. Although much discussion in the press has centred on corporate tax dependency, the PBO warned of potential risks surrounding income tax.
In a progressive system like Ireland’s, where those earning more are taxed a higher percentage of their income, it aids in lessening income disparity and provides funding for pivotal public services. However, the potential vulnerability lies in the heavy reliance on a minority group of high earners.
Revenue data from 2022 reveal that the top 8.5% of earners (income exceeding €100,000) constitute 55.6% of income tax and USC payments. Likewise, the Tax Strategy Group (TSG) denotes that an astonishing 79% of total income tax payments are contributed by the top 20% of earners.
Multinational employees have a considerable part in this, with multinational foreign employment equating to 55% of all corporate employment-related income tax and USC receipts in 2022, albeit they only represent 35% of corporate employment.
Dependence on this small taxpayer group could expose public finances to unforeseen pitfalls. Economic downturns, employment transitions, or international economic shifts could excessively burden these top contributors, leading to substantial tax revenue fluctuations.
Reportedly, tax credit proposals worth up to €1,000 for renters could be on the horizon in the upcoming budget, according to Cormac McQuinn.
In other news, Conor Gallagher has reported the potential for Irish troops in southern Lebanon to be directly involved in the existing conflict. In further news, following our Monday report, it has been revealed that an airline alleged to have transported military equipment to Israel over Irish air space is now redirecting its courses. Micheál Martin, in New York, suggested such companies be prohibited from utilising Irish airspace, a notion discussed in more detail by Conor Gallagher and Jennifer Bray.
Fintan O’Toole’s column was inspired by the Taoiseach’s previous week statement, which indicated a delay in the second child benefit for underprivileged families. Jack Horgan-Jones provides further understanding on the political context surrounding Higgins’s letter.
The weekly Cabinet meeting will take place on Thursday as opposed to the usual Tuesday, due to the absence of prominent Government members. The Opposition parties, coupled with civic society groups, are set to announce their alternative budgets this week. The budget proposal from Sinn Féin will likely be under the most intense scrutiny.
Debates around the budget are predicted to heavily focus on childcare, with Labour and Sinn Féin both proposing strong alternative plans.
In the Dáil
– At 2pm: Leaders’ will ask Questions
– At 3.05pm: Second Stage of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024
– At 6.45pm: Sinn Féin’s Private Members discuss Motion re Healthcare Services in the Midwest Region
– At 8.47pm: Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphrey will take Parliamentary Questions
– At 11.05pm: Dáil adjourns
In the Seanad
– At 3.15pm: Report and Final stages of Planning and Development Bill 2023
– At 9pm: Seanad adjourns
Committees
At 3pm: The Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage will deliberate on Electoral safeguards to uphold democratic practice and maintain the integrity of ballots.
– Representatives from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
– Members from An Coimisiún Toghcháin, The Electoral Commission
– Representatives from Dublin city Returning Officer
At 3.30pm: Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth will discuss the complexities of implementing Non-disclosure Agreements in the Maternity Protection (Amendment) & Miscellaneous Provisions Bill. In attendance will be Roderic O’Gorman, the Minister for Children.