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By the end of 2018 there were 6,252 applicants for International Protection living in Direct Provision centres across the State, with centres reaching almost full capacity by December 2018. Since 2002, occupancy has consistently been over 70 per cent of capacity in Ireland’s reception centres. Numerous reports have called for an end to the current system of Direct Provision in Ireland. This must begin with Budget 2021.

As the first Budget of the Government of the 33rd Dáil approaches in October, it is interesting and instructive to analyse the distributional impact of tax and benefit changes that were implemented by the government of the last Dáil in the government's annual budget. Herein, we analyse the effects of the four budgets on households across Irish society.

One of the objectives of Budget 2021 must be to support demand through Government capital expenditure.  In order to support investment and recovery, it is important that this capital spending is sustainable.  

People should be assured of the required treatment and healthcare in their times of illness and vulnerability. The standard of care available is dependent to a great degree on the resources made available, which in turn are dependent on the expectations of society. Covid-19 put an unprecedented strain on our healthcare system, however the systemic issues and overreliance on acute services which dominated the Irish healthcare infrastructure pre-Covid only served to exacerbate the problem.