In advance of next Wednesday's Budget, the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed launched a briefing paper yesterday examining the options for tax reform for those who are unemployed or on low pay.
The paper, entitled "Unemployment, Poverty and Tax Reform", argues that increases in personal allowances are the most effective way to target tax cuts at the low-paid. It suggests that the standard rating of increases in tax-free allowances is the fairest and most effective method of increasing personal tax-free allowances.
In another pre-Budget submission, Dublin Inner City Partnership has called for a £300 million capital investment programme in designated areas of greatest need over the next two years.
The funding should be provided for infrastructural investment and to provide 500 full-time jobs for long-term unemployed residents in those areas, it says.
The Society of St Vincent De Paul has called for a major assault on the causes of long-term social disadvantage.
Additional income tax relief should be concentrated at the lower end of the income scale to benefit all taxpayers, it argues, while favouring those on low incomes and increasing the incentive to work.
An income tax exemption of £4,500 p.a. for a single person, a basic personal tax-free allowance for a single person of £3,500, and a reduction in the basic rate of income tax should be introduced, it submits.
The Union of Students in Ireland has called for budgetary change to make third-level education more accessible. USI is concerned that less than 3 per cent of third-level students come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Its submission stresses the importance of student financial support, health care, the Student Summer Job Scheme, access for students with disabilities, and Junior and Leaving Certificate fees.