Courtney McGrailSocial Justice Ireland (SJI) is calling on the Government to commit to a €1 billion spend on infrastructure in Budget 2017.
Arguing that investment in infrastructure is “crucial to addressing Ireland’s infrastructure deficits”, SJI also points out that such an allocation of funds “would be a far better use of resources than giving tax cuts as incentives to attract ‘Brexit refugees’ from the City of London to Dublin”. The group’s pre-Budget briefing also calls for €600 million of the package to go towards “the social housing crisis” and €400 million to deliver broadband.
Both these elements, SJI argues, “will have a positive impact on social inclusion, quality of life and living standards as well as improving Ireland’s productivity and competitiveness”.
SJI’s full Budget briefing can be downloaded at https://www.socialjustice.ie/content/budget/2017/government-should-spend-eu1bn-fiscal-space-infrastructure