Finance Minister Jack Chambers has unveiled the details of Budget 2025 in the Dail this afternoon.
The budget will include €8.3 billion of new money, a 6.9% growth on last year.
Key Points:
-
- €3 billion infrastructure fund
- €1 billion to Irish Water
- €1.25 billion to the LDA
- €750 million to Eirgrid
- Main tax credits will increase by €125 on personal, employee and earned income
- Higher rate of tax rises €2,000 to €44,000
- USC will see the 4% rate reduced to 3%
- Minimum wage to rise by 80c to €13.50 an hour from January 1st
- Entry 3% rate of USC will rise to €27,000
- A full time worker on the minimum wage will see their net income rise by €1,424 annually
- Increase in the Carer Tax Credit by €150, single person child carer to increase by €150, incapacitated child credit by €300 and dependent relative credit to increase by €60
- Blind tax credit to increase by €300
- Inheritance tax increasing from €335,000 to €400,000 from a parent, €32,500 to €40,000 for Group B and €16,250 to €20,000 for Group C
- The exception to allow employers to give employees vouchers or other non-cash rewards is increasing from €1,000 to €1,500 a year
- Payments to women under the Cervical Check payment scheme will be exempt from tax
- The relief on BIK for company cars is being extended for another year. It’s €10,000 on the original value of the car
- The Help to Buy scheme is being extended until the end of the decade
- Pre letting expenses relief for landlords being extended to the end of 2027
- The 9% VAT rate on gas and electricity is being extended six months to 30th April 2025
- Introduction of a partial exception for foreign dividends for companies. Increase in the first year of the R&D tax credit from €50,000 to €75,000
- Doubling the Employment Investment Incentive from €500,000 to €1 million
- Increasing reliefs on start ups for entrepreneurs
- Increase the lifetime limit on gains for angel investors in innovative start ups from €3 million to €10 million
- A new relief for expenses incurred with listing on the Irish or European stock exchange with a cap of €1 million
- Tax credit on unscripted production at a rate of 20% on expenses of up to €15 million for the audio visual sector
- €20 million for film productions under the 481 tax credit
- Extension to 2027 of the general stock relief, stock relief for young trained farmers, stock relief for registered farm partnerships
- Flat rate scheme for farmers being raised from 4.8% to 5.1%
- There will be an option for farmers and others who might be impacted by the residential zoned land tax to apply for a 2025 exemption if they want the land re-zoned to reflect work carried out
- Pack of 20 cigarettes going up by €1. Pro-rata increase on other tobacco products, brings most popular pack price to €18.05 from midnight
- A tax on e-cigarettes will be introduced at a rate of 50c per ml of e-liquid. Typical vape has 2ml so average price will go from €8 to €9.23 from the middle of next year
- Stamp duty on bulk purchases of homes by investment funds rises from 10% to 15%
- The bank levy will be extended for another year with estimated yield of €200 million
- Increased stamp duty on high value residences. From tonight there will be a 6% rate of stamp duty on properties worth more than €1.5 million. Rates 1% up to €1 million, 2% of up to €1.5 million and 6% over €1.5 million
- Vacant homes tax to rise from 5 to 7 times the local property tax rate from November
- Carbon tax will increase on 9th October from 56 to 63.50 for petrol and diesel
- The VAT rate on heat pumps is to be reduced from 23% to 9%
- The motor insurers insolvency levy will be reduced from 1% to 0% from 1st Jan
- The excise relief on small cider and perry producers extended
- €250 electricity credit in two parts – one before the end of the year and one after
- €300 to those on fuel allowance in November
- €200 extra on the living alone allowance
- €400 to those on carers support grant, disability allowance, blind pension, invalidity pension and domiciliary care allowance
- School transport fee reduction and state exam fee waiver continue
- €1,000 reduction on student contribution fee
- One off 33% in the contribution fee for higher education
- Increase in the Post Grad Tuition fee by 1,000 for student grant recipients
- Maternity, paternity, adoptive and parents leave rise by €15
- Hot school meals programme increases to all primary schools in 2025
- A baby bonus of €420 to be paid for each new born child
- An October and a Christmas social welfare double payment will be made
- Two double payments of child benefit will happen in November and December
- €400 lump sum on the working family payment this year
- National Childcare Scheme budget to increase 44% leading to full time childcare costs reducing by an average of €1,100 a year
- The number of children availing of the scheme will increase to €216,000
- €336 million increase in money for disability services for extra residential care beds, respite, home support hours
- 1,600 new SNAs and 768 special education teachers to be recruited
- Money to keep schools smartphone free and allow them to buy tech to do that
- Free schoolbooks extended to all secondary schools
- 495 new beds to the health service
- 600,000 home support hours extra
- Increased free IVF and new free HRT
- Government has agreed the Apple money should be used across water, electricity, transport and housing as four key pillars. Investment framework being developed
- Additional €1.7 billion in 2025 for infrastructure projects including €400 million to the National Broadband Plan
- €3.2 billion in capital funding for the housing sector
- 10,000 new build social homes at a cost of €2 billion in 2025
- €680 million for key affordable housing schemes
- 10,000 new households under the HAP and RAS schemes in 2025
- €186 million new funding to regenerate towns and urban areas
- €90 million to retrofit 2,500 social homes in 2025
- €3 billion for the climate transition funds. Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, water quality or biodiversity will be looked at
- Warmer homes grants will reach ten times the funding from 2020 and will meet up to half the cost of energy efficiency upgrades
- A financing agreement to extend the Port of Cork’s quay side berth at Ringaskiddy has been agreed
- €2 billion for Agriculture
- €30m for a new tillage scheme to support field crops
- €10m for animal health measures
- €22m for the national sheep welfare scheme
- €8m to enhance payment rates on the beef welfare scheme
- A new Energy Subsidy Scheme for businesses worth €170 million for 39,000 firms has been agreed
- A €1.5 billion package out to 2030 for funding research and higher education skills decarbonisation. This includes €150 million increase in core higher ed funding
- 350 extra staff for the Prisons Services
- 1,000 gardai and 50 civilian gardai
- 400 additional staff for the International protection processing system
- €7 million for organisations tackling gender and domestic violence
- 22% increase in the capital money for defence to invest in military radar and subsea surveillance projects
- 400 extra defence force members in 2025
- €380 million to arts and culture
- €107 million to the gaeltacht
- €226 million to tourism
- €328 million to media funding – including €6 million for the independent broadcasting sector
- €35 million extra to the global Ireland strategy
- €810 million to overseas development and aid
- €2.1 billion for accommodation for Ukrainian refugees
- €25 million for the community recognition fund for those integrating Ukrainian arrivals
