Budget 2025 as it happened
Niall Member In Carson/pa Picture: Mcgrattans In Of Wire Dublin Watches A Public Bar 2025 The Budget
It's Budget Day. In the Dáil chamber, Jack Chambers has announced his first, and this Government's last budget.
The Government has a €8.3bn package to work with, which will be split between €6.9bn of public spending and €1.4bn on tax cuts and changes.
- €12 increase to all ; to increase by 80c per hour;
- A universal of €250 in two payments of €125 each — one this year and one next year;
- to drop to 3% and higher rate of tax to rise to €44,000;
- Reduced on gas and electricity to be extended until April 30 2025;
- Amount of an employer can give employees as bonus payment to increase to €1,500.
- , where parents of a newborn are given an additional double child benefit payment in the first month of the baby’s life.
- Two double payments of in November and December and €400 lump sum payment to recipients of the ;
- Exemption on taxes to be introduced on payments to women impacted by scandal;
- €99m financing deal has been agreed to fund a facilities to help drive growth in the offshore renewable energy;
- €14bn will be invested in water, electricity, transport and housing to "ensure the further development of our society";
- Free for those aged between 5 and 9;
- increasing by €250 to €1,000 for 2025, Mortgage interest relief extended for another year; stamp duty on bulk purchases of homes to increase from 10% to 15%
- €1bn allocated to to address domestic wastewater pressures
- has been extended until the end of 2029;
- Price of 20 up €1 from midnight to €18.05. Tax on at rate of 50c per ml of vape liquid to be introduced next summer;
- Reduction of to continue along with the waiver of state exam fees, with up to Leaving Cert;
- The government will expand access to free In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) services and introduce free Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT);
- €1.25bn of additional funding for the , €3bn from sale of State’s AIB shares for , €750m for further development of infrastructure.
'People have a bit more money in their pockets': Cork shop owner hopes budget will boost business
Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Philip Hurley, owner of Wild Side Sports in Bandon, Co Cork, said he was optimistic for next year following the budget — as people can expect more money in their pockets — but as a business-owner he feels like there wasn’t much in it for him.
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Budget 2025: Here are the things that will increase in price from midnight
The Government vowed that Budget 2025 would be one that tackles cost-of-living challenges, but it comes during a month when consumers face a range of hikes across the board.
Here are a few of the announced initiatives that will come into effect from midnight tonight.
Donohoe: Budget 2025 not designed to keep voters sweet before election
Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe has denied that Tuesday's budget is an election budget designed to keep voters sweet before heading to the polls.
Speaking to the , Mr Donohoe said that an election budget would have seen the €25bn surplus doled out rather than allocating €16bn to two separate funds for next year.
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A farmer has said the budget will not change much for his family amid pressure from rising costs.
Garrett O'Brien has 200 cows on his farm in Co Tipperary, which has been in the family for generations.
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: Here's a handy roundup of what we learned from the Dáíl speeches today
And that's that. Both Jack Chambers and Paschal Donohoe have delivered their speeches and now the focus turns to the opposition.
Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty accuses the Government of being “serial wasters”, saying that the public cannot afford a further five years of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in coalition.
He brings up the Leinster House bike shelter, the Government Buildings security hut and the €2.2bn National Children's Hospital.
He hits out at Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien, saying that there are record house prices at present while “nobody takes responsibility”.
The Sinn Féin finance spokesperson raises the ongoing issue for children with scoliosis, saying that parents are required to “battle every single day and it is not acceptable”.
He said that the Government has “all the financial resources”, but that it has failed to deliver on basic services in the State.
“You have squandered five years, you have squandered money and time and you will be judged on that when the general election comes,” Mr Doherty said.
The funding for tourism has been increased by €7.7m bringing it to €226.3m with the money going towards sustainable tourism and climate action initiatives and continued funding for both overseas and domestic marketing.
Mr Donohoe announced €231m in funding which will benefit clubs and oranisations in "every corner of the country".
Following a stellar year for Irish athletes on the world stage, there will be enhanced supports for high performance athletes.
There will also be increased funding for the community sport facilities fund and supports for promoting equal access and inclusivity across all sports.
A total of €4.5bn will be provided for the Department of Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.
The National Training Fund is in surplus due to the growth in the number of people at work and increased employers' PRSI receipts.
As part of Budget 2025, Mr Donohoe announced almost a €1.5bn package over a period of six years to 2030.
Core funding in higher education will increase by €150m per year.
This funding will support additional healthcare and veterinary places and an increase in certain PhD stipends.
As the craft apprenticeship system continues to grow, €78m will be provided to 6,800 apprentice registrations in 2025.
“This Government is committed to building stronger, safer communities,” Mr Donohoe said, saying that the total funding for the Department of Justice would be €3.9bn.
Mr Donohoe confirmed that funding would be allocated to recruit an additional 1,000 Gardaí, alongside a further 130 civilian garda staff.
He also said that there would be a “significant increase” in funding towards the Irish Prisons Service, which would allow for the recruitment of an additional 350 staff.
It will also allow for investment in areas like prisoner care and rehabilitation, Mr Donohoe said.
For direct provision application processing, Mr Donohoe said that there would be 400 additional staff funded.
He also confirmed that an additional €7m for organisations that provide supports to victims of domestic, sexual and gender based violence.
“We are working to maintain a safe and secure Ireland and to support where we can overseas,” he said.
On defence, the Public Expenditure Minister said that he would be allocating funding to provide for 400 new members of the Defence Forces.
Mr Donohoe confirmed that €2bn would be provided to the Department of Agriculture, saying this “demonstrates the broad support” provided across sectors like farming, fisheries and foresters.
Of the funds allocated, €30m will be provided for a new tillage scheme that will support farmers to plant field crops.
An additional €10m will go towards animal health measures, while €25m will go into the continuation of the national sheep welfare scheme into 2025.
Mr Donohoe confirmed that €8m would be made available to enhance payment rates for the national beef welfare scheme.
Around €143m gathered through the carbon tax will be provided to the Department of Agriculture, which Mr Donohoe said would be used to support farmers improve biodiversity.
He added that the Department of Agriculture would administer over €1.2bn worth of EU funding in direct payments to farmers.
A €99m financing package has been agreed between the Port of Cork and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund to extend the quay-side berth at Ringaskiddy.
"The agreement marks a significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to deliver a greener, more sustainable future," said Mr Donohoe.
Minister Donohoe announced €3.9bn for the Department of Transport as part of creating "a forward-facing Ireland".
Almost €1m per day will go towards cycling and walking infrastructure.
The temporary fares initiative will continue on public transport to the end of 2025 while free public transport will be extended to cover all children up to the age of eight.
Funding for Housing for All has been announced by Mr Donohoe, with a total of €7.8bn being allocated.
He said that €3.2bn in capital funding will be provided to ramp up housing delivery and deal with “affordability constraints”.
Of this €3.2bn, over €2bn will go towards delivering 10,000 new social homes, while €680m will be provided to affordable housing schemes to deliver 6,400 affordable homes.
Mr Donohoe describes €1.6bn in funding towards supporting 66,000 households in existing social housing tenancies as “unprecedented”.
This will also go towards a further 7,400 new social homes in 2025.
He announced that €186m would go towards regenerating towns and urban areas, with an additional €23m going towards delivering Traveller community specific accommodation.
Funding of €100m would go towards adaptation grants to improve homes for older people, while €90m is being allocated to retrofit 250,000 social homes next year.
Mr Donohoe said that this would demonstrate the “State’s commitment to help people reduce their energy bills and ensure Ireland meets our climate targets”.
Mr Donohoe said that the Government has identified four key pillars for the use of the €14bn Apple funds including, water, electricity, transport and housing.
While the Apple tax pot is significant, Mr Donohoe warned that this money is "one-off in nature".
"It is vital therefore, that we maximise the potential of these funds, delivering the best possible outcome for the longer term".
He said that investing in infrastructure, such as improving the national grid and our water system will "support the needs of our people, assist in growing our economy and help in meeting our climate and nature goals."
Mr Donohoe said officials will now begin work on developing an investment framework for the use of these funds, ensuring "coordination with existing investments being made through the National Development Plan".
Mr Donohoe told the Dáil that the "ambition of this Government is for Ireland to be one of the best countries in the world".
As part of one-off and ongoing measures aimed at families, a newborn grant of €280 will help parents with the initial costs of parenting. This will apply to all children born after January 1.
In tandem with this, maternity, paternity, adoptive and parents' payments will rise by €15.
Foster carers are to receive a new initial placement allowance.
Tusla, the child and family agency, will receive €88m in additional funding next year, which is a 9% uplift. The 2025 allocation will allow Tusla to introduce step down placements for special care and continue to increase the number of residential care placements.
The allocation will cover the rollout of around 70 new placements as well as enhancements to existing placements.
The hot school meal programme will be extended to all remaining primary schools in 2025. A school meals holiday hunger pilot project will also be rolled out next year.
Mr Donohoe told the Dáil: "The Government has made eradicating child poverty an absolute priority and in the last five years, there has has been an overhaul in supports available to parents.
"To ensure that our supports are targeted at the families who need them most, a €400 lump sum payment will be made to recipients of the working family payment later this year."
He added: "When we talk about the future of Ireland, we are not just talking about infrastucture or the economy, we are talking about the young people who will go on to lead and look after our society and out country."
Mr Donohoe confirmed that the total allocation to health has risen to €25.76bn in Budget 2025.
He said that this will provide the health service a “stable funding base”, while saying that additional funding must “support better financial planning and governance”.
He said that the number of people within the HSE would rise to over 130,000, up 27% on 2019.
Mr Donohoe confirmed funding would be allocated to deliver a further 495 beds to the health service.
These extra beds will bring the total within the health service to 18,000 beds.
Mr Donohoe said there would be an additional 600,000 home support hours allocated.
He has also confirmed that there will be an expansion of access to women’s health measures, which includes increased access to IVF and hormone replacement therapy for free.
On mental health, Mr Donohoe said that funds would be allocated to continue support and enhance mental health services in the country.
This includes extra funding for: Youth mental health services, Traveller community counselling, Suicide bereavement counselling, more children and adolescent mental health services
“This budget ensures that the health service is well funded and able to deliver better access and better health outcomes into the future,” Mr Donohoe said
Budget 2025 will provide for an additional 1,600 special needs assistants (SNAs) at a cost of €18m while an additional €15m will provide for a further 768 teachers working across various special education needs settings.
The provision of electronic pouches to help make post-primary schools smartphone free will come at a cost of €9m.
A capital allocation of €1.3bn will support350 building projects currently underway and a further 200 new school projects.
An additional €52m in funding will be provided for the school transport scheme.
The free book scheme will be extended to 20,000 post-primary students in transition year, fifth year and sixth year costing €51m.
A raft of long-term increases and once-off bonus payments for those in receipt of social protection payments have been announced.
Everyone in receipt of social protections supports, from pensioners to the unemployed, will see payments increase by €12 each week.
Those who qualify for the over 70s free travel scheme will also get a companion pass to allow a friend or family member travel with them.
The supports carers received will also be improved.
The carers allowance means test disregard is to increase to €625 for a single person and €1,250 for a couple.
Mr Donohoe also stated that €20 will be added the rate of domically care allowance, and the carers support grant will rise by €150 to €2,000.
He said: "Nearly 1.4billion people will benefit, including pensioners, people with disability, carers, lone parents and the long-term unemployed."
The overall cost of living package is €2.2bn, Mr Chambers confirmed.
Announcing the details of the package, Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe confirmed that there would be two €125 energy credits paid out to households.
The first credit will come before the end of 2024, while the second credit will be paid in 2025.
Mr Donohoe confirmed that there will be a €300 lump sum payment to recipients of the fuel allowance in November.
A further €200 will be provided to those accessing the living alone allowance, alongside €400 lump sum payments to individuals in receipt of the carer’s support grant, disability allowance, blind pension, invalidity pension and domiciliary care allowance in November.
: Jack Chambers concludes his speech referencing a quote from legendary commentator Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh, who died on the day of his appointment as Finance Minister.
Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe is now on his feet to deliver his budget speech.
VAT on the installation of heat pumps is to be cut from the standard rate of 23% to 9% bringing down the cost of replacing oil and inefficient boilers.
Overall, an extra €16m in current expenditure and an additional €190m in capital expenditure is being allocated to the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications in 2025.
Carbon taxes on petrol and diesel will go up from €56 to €63 from October 9.
However, on other fuels the rate increase will be delayed until next May, to take account of the winter-home heating season.
The revenue raised from the levy will be put into retrofitting schemes and measures to encourage and support farmers in the green transition.
The SEAI residential and community energy upgrades scheme, which includes the solar panel scheme, will receive €469m from the carbon tax pot.
Mr Chambers is also making an amendment include batter electric commercial (BEV) vehicles, so that they can qualify for the €200 VRT rate.
Mr Chambers told the Dáil that currently, due to their battery weight, BEVs are at a "competitive disadvantage" compared to petrol and diesel cars.
To incentivise the uptake of elective vehicles in the company car sector, there will be a reclassification of a low emitting company car.
However, this change will not come into force until January 2027.
The excise duty on a packet of 20 cigarettes will be increased by €1 with a pro-rata increase on other tobacco products.
This will take the price of cigarettes in the most popular price category to €18.05. This will be in effect after midnight tonight.
A domestic tax willl be introduced on e-cigarettes on public health grounds and will apply to all e-liquids at a rate of 50c per ml.
A typical disposable vape currently costs in the region of €8 and will now rise to €9.23 including VAT.
This will not come into force until the middle of 2025.
Stamp duty on residential property valued above €1.5m to 6% with effect from tonight.
The existing rate of 1% will remain for properties up to €1m and 2% on values above €1m with immediate effect.
The income tax package, worth €1.6bn, is aimed at low and middle income earners with the main tax credits, the personal, employee and earned income credits increased by €125.
The standard rate cut-off point is to be increased to €44,000 with proportionate increases for married couples and civil partners.
As had been flagged, the USC will be reduced to 3%.
The minimum wage will be increased by 80c bringing it to €13.50 and the entry threshold to the new USC rate will increase in line with the increase to the minimum wage.
The USC middle rate has been reduced to 3% and the 2% USC ceiling band has increased to €27,382.
Carer tax credit increases are: the home carer tax credit by €150, the single person child carer credit by €150. the incapacitated child tax credit by €300, the dependent relative tax credit by €60.
Workers will find the main tax credits increased by 21% or €350 each. The standard rate cut-off point for a single person is increased to €44,000.
The capital acquisition thresholds will be increased across the board with the Group A threshold going up to €400,000, Group B to €40,000, and Group C to €20,000.
In terms of the benefit-in-kind (BIK) for company cars, the temporary universal relief of €10,000 to the original market value is extended for another year.
An employee with an electric company vehicle will have an overall BIK relief of €45,000 in 2025.
The rent tax credit is being increased by €250 bringing it to €1,000 and €2,000 for couples in 2025.
Help to buy will be extended out to the end of 2029.
As high impact rates continue to impact households, the mortgage interest tax relief will be extended for another year. The relief will also be made available to assist mortgage holders in respect of the increase in interest paid in 2024 over 2022.
For small businesses, the VAT registration thresholds on the supply of goods and services will be raised to €85,000 and €42,500.
Active farmers or those who carry out "genuine economic activity on their land" will be able to avail of an exemption from the Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) in 2025 if they seek to have their land rezoned to reflect activity carried out on their land.
For farmers looking to pass on their farms, Mr Chambers confirmed that Agricultural Relief would have it’s six-year active farmer test to the person who provides the farm gift or inheritance.
“This measure supports current farmers and the next generation,” Mr Chambers said.
Mr Chambers announced that there would be changes to existing agricultural stamp duty reliefs: the young trained farmer stamp duty relief and stamp duty relief for farmers leasing land.
The former relief will allow an individual farmer to claim it when they carry on a farm through a company.
“The leasing relief will be amended to also encompass farmers who have chosen to incorporate their business,” Mr Chambers said.
For farmers income stability, Mr Chambers acknowledged that there is income stability, particularly for the dairy sector.
Mr Chambers said that he is “keen” to advance an income volatility measure to support farmers in advance of the next budget.
He said that this will require “detailed consideration” of complex policy issues, while confirming that the Department of Finance would work with the Department of Agriculture on the matter.
Mr Chambers also confirmed that the farmers flat rate compensation would rise from 4.8% to 5.1% from January 1 2025.
The Finance Minister confirmed that a number of agriculture stock reliefs would be extended until the end of 2027.
These include: general stock relief, stock relief for young trained farmers and stock relief for registered farm fartnerships.
He confirmed that there would be a broadened scope for accelerated capital allowances for farm safety equipment, meaning that there will be further safety equipment types that can benefit.
Mr Chambers that he is introducing an exemption to income tax, capital gains tax and capital acquisitions tax on payments made to women impacted by the CervicalCheck scandal.
He confirmed that any future or historic income or gains by women from investment of CervicalCheck payments will be made exempt as well.
He said that the measure was a further element of the Government’s response to the failure of the CervicalCheck programme.
Mr Chambers announced a number of changes to housing policy, including an expansion of the renters tax credit.
The credit, initially introduced in 2022, is to be increased by €250 to €1,000 for a single person, or to €2,000 for a jointly assessed couple.
This increase will take place this year, meaning that those who have already claimed the credit for 2024 will receive a further €250 for a single person, or €500 for a couple.
In addition, there has been a further extension of the Help to Buy scheme out to the end of 2029.
Mr Chambers said that the expansion of the scheme nearly out to the end of the decade is aimed to “give further certainty to future homebuyers and to the market”.
For bringing vacant properties back into the market, Mr Chambers confirmed that he would be extending out pre-letting expenses relief by a further three years to 2027.
These expenses allow landlords a deduction of up to €10,000, provided a house has been derelict for 12 months.
Mr Chambers said that the extension is in support of the Government's Housing for All plan
The inflation rate is projected to remain below 2% in 2025, Mr Chambers has told the Dáíl.
He also confirmed that the budget surplus for the year is €23.7 bn.
: One of the major questions coming ahead of the budget was how Ireland will spend the €13.1bn in back taxes, set to be paid by Apple after an EU ruling last month.
Mr Chambers gave an indication in his budget speech, saying that a framework for spending the funds was being prepared for Government, with an expectation it would be ready for quarter one of 2025.
Jack Chambers has taken to his feet in the Dáil - Budget 2025 is being delivered.
He said: "I believe Budget 2025 puts in place the policies and the measures to continue a positive trajectory."
He added that the budget, his first as Finance Minister, was a "unique" opportunity as it allowed him to "plan and transform" for the future.
Mr Chambers, in a green tie, said that he believed Budget 2025 would ensure "that all our people see a promising and hopeful future in this country."
So, what will actually happen with Budget 2025?
At 1pm, Finance Minister Jack Chambers will get to his feet in the Dáil to deliver the budget speech, detailing the main announcements and payments.
His speech will be immediately followed by that of the Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe with additional information on how the €8.3bn is to be spent.
Opposition parties will also be given the opportunity to speak on the budget once the ministerial speeches.
The time allocated for debate about the budget is a total of seven hours - from 1pm until 8pm.
The Finance Minister has said this budget will be about "building prosperity for the future and delivering real progress"
In a post on social media, Jack Chambers said it would be for "workers, families, businesses and communities across Ireland", noting that he had an 'early start' to finalise his speech.
The health budget will see an increase of almost €3bn with a record total spend of €25.76bn.
The increases include €9.8bn for acute hospitals, €280m for the National Ambulance Service, €179m for palliative care, €1.48bn for mental health and €1.73bn for older persons services.
: The Government leaders were meeting late into Monday evening before finally signing off on Budget 2025.
We have an early indication of what we're going to hear when Finance Minister Jack Chambers takes to his feet in the Dáíl at 1pm.
- Core welfare rates are to rise by €12 across the board while there will be two double child benefit payments before Christmas.
- Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman also secured an additional payment for new parents.
- The payment, being dubbed the 'baby boost', will mean a special one-off payment of €280 paid out following the birth of a newborn on top of the existing €140, totalling €420.
- The new payment will kick in from January 1 on a permanent basis.
- Carers are also to receive a double payment - while the Carer's Benefit will be extended to self-employed workers.
- USC will drop from 4% to 3%.
Some early news from Leinster House: College fees for students are set for a €1,000 cut, the Irish Examiner understands. Government sources have indicated that coalition leaders signed off on the change late last night.
The change means that fees will be cut from €3,000 to €2,000 for the 2024-2025 academic year.
The fees for apprentices will also be cut by €1,000 and post-graduate support payments will climb from €4,000 to €5,000.
Good morning, and welcome to the Irish Examiner's Budget 2025 live blog.
Stay with us for news and analysis across the day as the Government delivers the final budget before the next general election.