The Labour Party has proposed getting rid of tax credits for incomes over €100,000 and increasing all social welfare payments by €5.
Increasing the bank levy to raise an additional €250 million and a 10 cent levy on plastic packaging and disposable cups are also part of the party’s alternative budget, which was launched on Thursday.
The party has proposed a 2 per cent increase in stamp duty on non-residential property, reducing all public transport fares by 10 per cent and a €10 rise in carbon tax.
The party wants to make primary education “genuinely free of charge” by introducing a hot school meals programme, a uniform grant and free schoolbooks. Third-level fees should also be reduced by €1,000 per year, it says.
Labour finance spokeswoman Joan Burton said "we have the cappuccino kids in government" and older people were being "left behind again".
"The Government hasn't been able to manage spending properly whether that's the children's hospital or controlling rents. The Government has been the creator itself of quite a few crises and above all else ... it lacks competency," the Dublin West TD said.
Living wage
Other key policies are ensuring all civil and public servants are paid at least a living wage of €12.30 per hour, allocating €100 million to a programme to retrofit thousands of council homes and free GP care for children and young people under the age of 18.
The party has also called for the reduction of prescription charges to €1, additional funding for disability, dementia and carers and an extra €10 million to increase Defence Forces pay and allowances.
Labour leader Brendan Howlin said its budget was based on analysis of the economy under Fine Gael, which is "not working for everybody".
"The view that somehow things have gone into a good place is only partially true. The economy has recovered from the Fianna Fáil mismanagement that has led us to the crash in 2008. But recovery is not the same thing as prosperity for all. Unemployment is over 6 per cent in three of our regions," he said.
Budget 2020 will be announced in the Dáil on Tuesday by the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe.
