{"id":442108,"date":"2026-05-10T18:37:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T18:37:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/442108\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T18:37:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T18:37:10","slug":"ocallaghan-calls-for-a-cut-in-the-52-marginal-rate-of-tax-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/442108\/","title":{"rendered":"O\u2019Callaghan calls for a cut in the 52% marginal rate of tax \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Workers should not have to pay more than half their income above a certain threshold in taxes to the State except in \u201cexceptional circumstances\u201d, the Minister for Justice Jim O\u2019Callaghan<\/a> has said. <\/p>\n

Workers who earn more than \u20ac44,000 a year typically pay a marginal rate of 52 per cent for any income earned over that amount when income tax, the universal social charge and PRSI are taken into account. <\/p>\n

Speaking at the annual Se\u00e1n Lemass commemoration in Deansgrange Cemetery, O\u2019Callaghan said the marginal rate of tax in the State is \u201cimprudent, demoralising and contrary to the public good. <\/p>\n

\"CianCian Bermingham, Eamon De Valera (great great grandson of Eamon De Valera) and Lily Cummins of \u00d3gra Fianna F\u00e1il at Deansgrange Cemetery where Fianna\u00a0F\u00e1il held its annual Se\u00e1n Lemass Commemoration on Sunday at the graveside of the former Taoiseach.Photo: Bryan O\u2019Brien \/ The Irish Times
\n \"Fianna FáilFianna\u00a0F\u00e1il held its annual Se\u00e1n Lemass Commemoration on Sunday at the graveside of the former Taoiseach in Deansgrange\u00a0Cemetery. Photo: Bryan O\u2019Brien \/ The Irish Times<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is particularly the case where ordinary middle-income workers find themselves taxed at the highest levels by simply working over and above their usual hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to make sure that we as a Government<\/a> and a state do not penalise work, that we do not overtax success and that it should always pay to work.\u201d <\/p>\n

O\u2019Callaghan delivered the oration beside the graveside of Lemass, one of the founders of Fianna F\u00e1il<\/a> and taoiseach for seven years, who died 55 years ago this week. <\/p>\n

The exceptional circumstances would be a \u201cfiscal emergency\u201d where the State needed to increase the marginal rate of taxation to bridge a funding gap. <\/p>\n

O\u2019Callaghan suggested that Lemass\u2019s legacy was \u201cmore than survival for the Irish worker\u201d. <\/p>\n

He added: \u201cHe pioneered the \u2018National Wage Agreements\u2019 seeking a social partnership where labour and capital moved in tandem. He believed that if the economy grew, the workers\u2019 pocket must feel it first. <\/p>\n

\"MinisterMinister for Justice Jim O\u2019Callaghan delivers an address at the graveside of former taoiseach Se\u00e1n Lemass. Photograph: Bryan O\u2019Brien <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Bertie Ahern tells canvasser he once voted Aont\u00fa as he \u2018didn\u2019t fancy\u2019 the Fianna F\u00e1il candidateOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cHe believed in the idea that the first duty of a government is to ensure the economic conditions support the population in a reasonable standard of comfort.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo Lemass, a patriot was anyone who provided a job, and a successful state was one where a man or woman could raise a family with dignity on Irish soil. There are lessons from this approach in how we govern today.\u201d <\/p>\n

Afterwards O\u2019Callaghan said he was not the Minister for Finance nor the Minister for Public Expenditure, but he, along with many other Government colleagues, \u201cwould like to see proposals coming forward in the budget that would benefit the working people in the country. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd rather than identify specifics, I am going to leave that to Minister (for Finance) Simon Harris and the Minister (for Public Expenditure) Jack Chambers to come forward with proposals. <\/p>\n

\u201cFortunately, we are also providing opportunities for backbench TDs, certainly in Fianna F\u00e1il. I know very many backbench TDs who want to have their say in terms of the budgetary process and that\u2019s going to start in the next week or so.\u201d <\/p>\n

When asked if he was prepared to co-operate with the stipulation by Chambers that all government departments should cut their funding by 0.5 per cent, he said he hoped that his department would not get squeezed. <\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, there will be budgetary discussions coming up in the next few months as well. And I will try to ensure that I can get as much money as possible for the Department of Justice,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m obviously constrained by the budgetary process as well. I obviously can\u2019t get as much resources as I would want, but I would ensure that I fight to get as much as I need\u201d. <\/p>\n

O\u2019Callaghan also praised Lemass for his approach to Northern Ireland, stating that his historic meeting with the Northern premier Terence O\u2019Neill was a \u201cgesture that broke decades of icy silence. <\/p>\n

\u201cLemass believed that if the two parts of the island worked together on trade, electricity, and tourism, the political barriers would eventually become secondary to common interest. He sought a \u201cunity of hearts\u201d rather than just a unity of territory.” <\/p>\n

He said the fact that meetings between the Government of Ireland and the North-South Ministerial Council were now commonplace was a testament to Lemass\u2019s vision. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0What the Dublin and Galway byelections could tell us about the future of Irish politicsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Workers should not have to pay more than half their income above a certain threshold in taxes to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":442109,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,895,1523,61,60,18573],"class_list":["post-442108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-fianna-fail","tag-government","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-jim-ocallaghan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=442108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442108\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/442109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=442108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=442108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=442108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}