Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has been announcing the budget in the last hour.
The government is cutting tax and increasing spending next year.
So far Paschal Donohoe has announced:
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- That the Budget is to include a Human Capital Initiative worth €300 million
- Future growth loan scheme for SMEs, Agriculture and goods
- €110 million of Brexit measures in Departments
- Rainy day fund to be set up with 1.5bn from Strategic Investment Fund and 500 million from exchequer
- €800 million fiscal space, plus revenue raising measures of €700 million
- Total extra spend in this budget of €1.5 billion
- Total 2.3 billion euro to a housing programme
- €1.25 billion to deliver 10,000 new social homes in 2019
- An extra €121 million for Housing Assistance Payment
- €60 million increase in capital funding to fund emergency accommodation
- €30 million extra for homelessness services, bringing 2019 total to €146 million on those services
- €100 million affordable housing fund to help local authorities deliver affordable housing – increasing to €310 million over three years
- 100% mortgage interest relief on any loan used to pay for a rental property from next year.
- Finance Minister has committed that any increase in Local Property Tax will be moderate and affordable.
- €25 increase in weekly income threshold for GP visit cards
- Prescription charges to drop 50c to €1.50 for medical card holders over 70
- An extra €84 million euro for mental health services next year with a €1 billion total budget
- National Treatment Purchase Fund funding will be €75 million, an increase of €20 million
- Increase in funding to disability services of €150 million to €2 billion
- Capital spending on health to increase by €174 million to €670 million
- Pack of 20 cigarettes to increase in price by 50 cent
- Minimum excise on tobacco products to rise so that all cigarettes sold below €11 will have same excise as more expensive ones
- €5 euro a week increase in all social welfare payments from next March
- Christmas bonus to social welfare recipients to be restored to 100%
- Two extra weeks’ parental leave to all parents of a child under one
- Increase in qualified child payments
- €2.20 per week for under 12s and €5.20 per week for over 12s
- Increase of €25 euro in back to school clothing and footwear allowances
- 1,300 additional posts in schools in 2019
- 5% increase in standard capitation rate per pupil
- 950 special needs assistants to be recruited in 2019 as part of €1.8 billion fund for children with special needs
- National Training Fund levy to increase by 0.1% in 2019 and 2020
- Extra €196 million for capital spending in education to create 18,000 new permanent school places, upgrade ICT and invest €150 million in higher education
- Department of Business to get €950 million next year, an increase of 9%
- New Future Growth Loan Scheme for SMEs, Agriculture and Food sector
- Enhancements to the KEEP programme to retain skilled workers
- Share options may now be granted up to 100% of salary and overall value of options will have higher ceiling of €300,000
- Corporation tax to remain unchanged at 12.5%
- New exit tax regime of 12.5% on any unrealised gains arising from when a company moves assets offshore so they leave Irish taxation
- €286 million towards new infrastructure like: N4 Collooney to Castlebaldwin and the Dunkettle Interchange. Completion of runway overlay project at Knock Airport. Design, planning and implementation of cycling and walking projects around the country
- Extra €40 million for pavement repair and rehabilitation works on regional and local roads
- Tourism VAT rate to rise to 13.5% from January 2019 – will raise €466 million euro
- €35 million for tourism investment including €4.5 million for regional initiatives like Wild Atlantic Way and Hidden Heartlands – Includes €10 million for development of greenways
- Tax free threshold on Capital Acquisitions Tax to rise 10,000 to 320,000 when parents transfer to children
- Extending film corporation tax credit to 2024
- 9 % VAT rate to be retained for newspapers, and electronic publications to have rate cut from 23% to 9%
- Tax on betting to rise from 1 to 2%
- 1% surcharge for diesel vehicles across all VRT bands
- €60 million for Brexit related supports in the farming sector
- €53 million in capital next year for rural regeneration fund
- Budget of An Garda Siochana to increase by €60 million with 800 new gardaí to be recruited
- €60 million for justice sector for: Asylum seeker accommodation, to widen Magdalene scheme and for reform of Department of Justice and Courts
- Overseas aid to increase by almost €110 million
- €126 million has been announced for sport
- €41 million for sports projects like clubs and organisations, retention of 9% VAT rate for sporting facilities
- An extra €36 million for Department of Culture to include money for restoration works and supports for the arts
- Tusla to get an extra €30 million in funding
- €90 million extra for childcare supports to change bands for affordable childcare scheme
- Entry level for higher rate of income tax increasing by €750 to €35,300
- Third rate of USC to be cut from 4.75 to 4.5%
- Minimum wage to be increased to €9.80 per hour
- Threshold for higher rate of employer PRSI increased from 376 to 386
- Home carer tax credit to increase by 300 to 1,500
- Earned Income Credit for self employed to increase by €200 to €1,350
- Increases in new entrant pay for the public sector costing 200 million out to 2025
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