THE GOVERNMENT UNVEILED details of Budget 2022 yesterday and outlined its plan for how it will spend the €4.7 billion package.

Although the new measures primarily deal with what will happen next year, a number of changes have already kicked in – since the Budget was announced, there have been increases in the price of fuel and cigarettes.

Immediate changes were voted in last night but votes on some of the more substantive issues take place over subsequent days.

So if you’re wondering how yesterday’s Budget will impact your pocket right away, here’s what measures come into effect today.

Carbon Tax/Fuel prices

The carbon tax rose by another €7.50 this year to €41 per tonne, which will increase the cost of petrol, diesel and home heating fuels.

In last year’s budget, Donohoe said that the rate of the tax will continue to rise over the decade until it reaches €100 per tonne. So you can expect the carbon tax to increase by the same amount in every budget until 2029.

Petrol and diesel costs went up after midnight due to the increase in carbon tax. The price of a litre of diesel and petrol has risen by 2.5c and 2.1c respectively.

It means a 60-litre tank of petrol will cost approx €1.28 extra while the same amount of diesel will be €1.48 more. The increase is to hit all home heating fuels from 1 May 2022. 

Fuel allowance

A €5 increase to the Fuel Allowance comes into effect today in a bid to protect the vulnerable from energy price hikes.

This increase accompanies a €5 increase in other weekly payments for pensioners, job seekers and other welfare recipients from January 2022, as well as €3 extra for the living alone allowance.

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The income limit to qualify for the Fuel Allowance is rising to €120 above the maximum State pension contributory rate. The qualifying period on Jobseekers Allowance and Supplementary Welfare Allowance will fall from 15 to 12 months.

Cigarettes and tobacco

The price of cigarettes increases by 50c from today.

A packet of cigarettes in the most popular price category now costs €15. There will also be a pro-rata increase on other tobacco products.

This is the sixth year in a row the excise duty on a packet of 20 cigarettes has been increased by that amount. The increase is expected to be worth €56 million to the exchequer.

For another year, no excise duty on alcohol was announced.

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