MOST PEOPLE WANT the cost of cigarettes to be increased by €5 in Budget 2019 and for the extra money to be ring-fenced to fund cancer treatments.

Seven in 10 people (71%) are in favour of such a move, according to an opinion poll carried out by Amarách Research for Claire Byrne Live.

More than 1,000 adults were questioned for the poll, which was carried out earlier today.

Budget 2019 is set to be unveiled tomorrow, with many of the measures already well flagged.

According to a separate opinion poll, 64% of people would prefer income tax cuts and 34% would favour spending increases.

Income tax decreases 

€800 million has been earmarked for Budget 2019 and there has been much speculation as to how the money will be spent, with social welfare increases and income tax decreases expected. 

In August Taoiseach Leo Varadkar outlined a number of measures people can expect. In short, he wants a balance of spending and tax cuts. He said he wants the majority of any additional cash to go into improving public infrastructure rather than tax reduction.

The programme for government has committed to a 2:1 ratio between spending on services and tax measures.

“We talked in the past about the proportion of 2:1 but it is going to be much greater than that. There will be a tax package, perhaps similar to last year – relatively modest,” Varadkar said.