Basic income is knocking on the door in Ireland too. Fianna Fáil, an Irish republican party, will pledge to introduce a basic income in their new election manifesto, as reported by John Downing in the Irish Independent:
“Fianna Fáil will promise every citizen of the country – from the richest to the poorest – a minimum welfare income in excess of current basic welfare rates which average €188 per week.”
They plan to establish “an expert group to report within six months on matters like how much the minimum payment would be and what kind of taxation changes would be needed to fund it.” Their main argument for the inclusion of the basic income pledge is that it would be “major protection against poverty in an era where few will be guaranteed work throughout their lives.”
Additionally, Fianna Fáil “will also argue that many sections of the population already receive considerable welfare payments, such as pensions or child benefit, which would be factored into the minimum income – making the final cost not vastly greater than current welfare spending. ”
For the full article, click here.
Credit picture: CC Lee Jordan
The Fianna Fail election manifesto was published on 11 February 2016. This is what it says about basic income. It is far from a commitment to the ‘promise’ reported in the Irish Independent, but it isn’t exactly nothing. It will only be after the election on 26 February that it will become clear whether Fianna Fail will form part of the new government, which will only be the case if it joins a coalition with another party or parties. All Irish coalitions are based on an agreed Programme for Government, so in the event of FF being in government, the issue for basic income supporters will be whether this BI Commission proposal makes it into the Programme. The text below occurs under the heading ‘Create a fairer welfare system’.
“(iv) Establish a Basic Income Commission
“This government introduced a series of regressive budgets that have inflicted profound damage on the basic social fabric of the country. In the midst of economic crisis Fine Gael and Labour chose to place the burden of adjustment on those least able to bear it. In contrast Fianna Fáil implemented tough but progressive budgets that asked the most of the wealthy in Ireland. Addressing the unfairness of government policy that neglected low income households and empowering people from all strands of Irish life to get ahead will be a priority for our party in government.
“– We will establish a commission to further investigate the feasibility of establishing a basic income system as part of an overall effort to create a fairer 21st century welfare system. The commission will report within 12 months with specific recommendations and proposals.”
Thank you for the update John.
Update: The Irish Independent (31/12/2018) reported a renewed commitment to a commission on basic income in this article: https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/fianna-fil-says-basic-income-model-could-help-counter-rise-of-the-robots-37668652.html