Two Major Challenges, Climate Change and Sláinte Care, Not Costed by the Government - Tóibín
Speaking at the Finance Committee today Aontú Leader and Meath West TD Peadar Tóibín expressed significant concern over the claim by the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC) that the government had not costed the impacts of Climate Change or Sláinte Care. An Teachta Tóibín stated;
“It is incredible that dealing with two of the largest challenges facing the state in terms of finance over the next tens years have not been costed by the government. The impact of both challenges on citizens will be massive. Lives and livelihoods will be dependent on how the government deal with them. In many ways they are the elephants in the room and given the economic pressures already bearing down on families it reckless beyond belief that the government are not factoring the funding needed to deal with them.
“If you want to know a government’s priorities follow the funding they set aside for the issue. Its been clear for a long time that Sláinte Care is a project that the government want to be associated with but do not want to pay for. Deadlines and timescales are being ignored, top officials and experts have resigned the advisory council and now we find out that the governments financial blue print is a blank sheet. We are dealing with record Health waiting lists and record A&E overcrowding and there is no light at the end of the tunnel for their resolutions”.
“The cost of Climate change is already starting to bite on families through higher energy and transport costs. It is also hitting the agricultural sector in an increasingly painful way. The government have a responsibility to ameliorate the pain and also to offer incentives and carrots to people to change. The government also has to be real about the just transition. If its all pain and no gain the government are going to lose society in dealing with Climate Change. And that would be a disaster for everyone”.
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