LAST UPDATE | 1 Oct 2024

BUDGET 2025 IS in the books after being read out in the Dáil this afternoon, with Finance Minister Jack Chambers being free to spend after last week’s confirmation of a €25 billion Exchequer surplus. 

Government TDs pushing for good news ahead of a general election will be happy to see the purse strings well and truly loosened. 

Our liveblog of the latest is here, but below is the list of all the main things to know:

Income Tax

• The Standard Rate Cut Off point for PAYE workers has been increased by €2,000 to €44,000, with proportionate increases for married couples and civil partners.
• The middle rate of USC has been cut from 4% to 3%, with the entry level increasing by €1,622 to €27,382.
• The amount of tax-free money an employer can give employees as bonus payment will increase to €1,500. 

Other taxes and credits

• The Inheritance Tax threshold has been increased from €335,000 to €400,000 for children, with other threshold increases for other Capital Acquisitions Taxes. 
• The Home Care Tax Credit has been increased by €150, with the same increase for the Single Person Child Carer Credit. 
• VAT rate for the hospitality sector to stay at 13.5%, despite calls from the industry to reduce it. 

Cost-of-living

• Households to receive, two €125 energy credits, one this year and one next year. 
• As of 1 January 2025, the minimum wage is increasing to €13.50 per hour.
• The Rent Tax Credit is set to increase by €250 to €1,000 per person next year.
• The 9% reduced VAT rate for gas and electricity will be extended until 30 April 2025. 
• Student contribution fees will reduce by €1,000, and there will be once-off reduction of 30% in the contribution fee for apprenticeships and higher education

Social Welfare

• Across-the-board €12 to all weekly social welfare payments.
• Long-term welfare recipients to receive a double payment in October as well as the Christmas bonus.
• On the means-tested Carer’s Allowance, the means test disregard will increase to €625 for a single person and €1,250 for a couple.
• Maternity, paternity, adoptive and parents’ payments increasing by €15.
• In November, a €400 payment will be made to those who receive the Carers Support Grant, Disability Allowance, the Blind Pension, Invalidity Pension and the Domiciliary Care Allowance.

Old reliables

• Cigarettes to jump by €1 to €18.05 from midnight tonight.
• E-cigarettes to face Excise Duty 50c for every ml of liquid from the middle of next year. 
• Carbon Tax to increase from €56.00 to €63.50 per tonne of carbon dioxide emitted for petrol and diesel, adding at least 2c increase to the price of fuel.

Children

• A €420 ‘baby boost’ payment for the birth of a child.
• Two double payments of Child Benefit in November and December.
• Free access to public transport will be available for children aged five to eight.
• Free IVF scheme to be expanded to allow access to couples who already have a child.
• National Childcare Scheme to increase by 44%, with government saying this will result in a reduction in full-time childcare costs by €1,100.
• Free Schoolbooks initiative is being extended to all senior-cycle pupils.
• Hot School Meals to all remaining primary schools in 2025 and a school meals holiday hunger pilot project next summer.

Housing

• Stamp duty on bulk buying of houses is up from 10% to 15%.
• Stamp Duty for homes worth more than €1.5 million is rising to 6%.
• A further €1.25 billion will be made available to the Land Development Agency, bringing the total amount of funding to the LDA to €6.25 billion.
• Over €2 billion to deliver 10,000 new social homes next year. 
• An additional 400 staff have been allocated to the International Protection Office.
• Landlord letting relief extended to the end of 2027. 

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Health

• 495 new beds across hospitals, bringing total to over 18,000. 

Defence and Justice

• Funding for 1,000 extra gardaí, 400 more soldiers and 350 more prison officers. 
• An allocation of €469 million for the Permanent Defence Forces pay, including €13 million for the recruitment of the extra troops.
• Public Order Unit to get an extra €5 million for two new water cannons, crowd control barriers, expansion of the dog unit and more body armour.
• Capital projects will get €100m for ICT to equip gardaí with tech such as body-worn cameras. 

Climate

• €3 billion allocated to an Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund between 2026 and 2030.
• €469 million for home energy upgrades like retrofitting and installing solar PV panels.
• Reduced VAT rate on heat pumps set at the lower rate of 9%.
• €51.7 million towards a just transition programme to support counties in the Midlands

Transport and infrastructure

• Extra €1.7 billion for homes, schools and hospital funding, to bring total capital investment in 2025 close to €15 billion.
• €99 million for development of the Port of Cork. 
• Over-70s with a free travel pass entitled to a companion with them free of charge.
• An overall allocation of €2.7 billion for Uisce Éireann.

Apple Tax

• Plan to use €14.1 billion to invest in infrastructure, specifically in “water, electricity, transport, and housing”.