There’s something for everyone this year.

And while it may not be much as the cost of living crisis rumbles on, Budget 2024 is reaching out to offer a hand to stretched workers, homeowners, and parents.

Announcing the €14 billion Budget in the Dáil this afternoon, Ministers Michael McGrath and Paschal Donohoe unveiled a number of significant tax cuts, increased social welfare payments, mortgage interest relief as well as welcome reductions in college fees and childcare.

“For many, the impact of inflation resulted in a deterioration in living standards in the last year.” said Minister McGrath.

“I expect living standards will improve for the vast majority in the next 12 months, with incomes growing faster than the rate of inflation.”

Here’s hoping, right?

Anyway, here’s a handy breakdown:

Social welfare

• The Christmas Bonus to people in receipt of regular Social Protection payments will be paid in early December.
• The Qualified Child Payment is being increased by €4 to €46 per week for under 12s and to €54 per week for over 12s.
• A one-off payment of €400 will also be made to Carers and people receiving Disability Allowance and the Working Family Payment.
• The Home Carer credit and the Single-Person Child Carer credit will be increased by €100.
• People receiving the Living Alone allowance will receive a €200 lump sum payment.

USC and Minimum Wage

• The 4.5% USC rate will be reduced to 4%. Personal and Employee PAYE  income tax credits are being increased by €100 each.
• Ireland’s minimum wage is increasing by €1.40 per hour to €12.70 per hour.

Increase in National Minimum Wage welcome – important that we move to a real living wage to help workers meeting living costs. #Budget2024 #livingwage #CostOfLivingCrises pic.twitter.com/Q25acaJy90

— SVP – Ireland (@SVP_Ireland) October 10, 2023

Child Benefit 

• The Qualified Child Payment is being increased by €4 to €46 per week for under 12s and to €54 per week for over 12s.
• Parents will receive a double Child Benefit payment of €280 before Christmas.
• Child Benefit payments will be extended to include children aged over 18 who are still in secondary school.

Children and childcare

• In a welcome move, parents will see childcare costs cut by a further 25 percent, likely by the end of 2023.
• Parents benefit will be extended to nine weeks from August 2024.
• Foster parents will see the statutory foster care rate increased by €75 per week for children under 12 and €73 per week for children over 12 by the end of the year.

Housing

• The Renters’ Credit will be increased from €500 to €750. This will also apply to parents who pay for their children’s college accommodation, backdated to 2022.
• The Help-to-Buy scheme is being extended until the end of 2025.
• Around 165,000 mortgage holders will benefit from a one-year Mortgage Interest Tax Relief. To qualify, homeowners will have an outstanding mortgage balance on their primary dwelling of between €80,000 and €500,000 as of December 2022.
• Landlords will benefit from temporary tax relief too: “Subject to certain conditions being met, rental income of €3,000 for the year 2024, €4,000 for 2025, and €5,000 for the years 2026 and 2027, will be disregarded at the standard rate.” said McGrath.

Landlords: Rental landlord tax credit for next 4 years of circa €800 per year. Enough to keep landlords in the market?

— Quintas (@QuintasCork) October 10, 2023

• The Vacant Homes Tax is being increased to five times the existing Local Property Tax rate.

Energy 

• Every household in Ireland will qualify for three €150 energy credits between the end of 2023 and April 2024.
• People receiving the Fuel Allowance will receive a €300 lump sum payment.

Students

• More than 50,000 students across Ireland will see grant payments increase by more than €300 during the academic year ahead.
• Eligibility for the Young Adult Card is being extended to cover adults aged 19-25.

Cigarettes

• The price of a box of cigarettes will increase again by 75c. Smokers will be paying €16.75 for a pack of 20 cigarettes from midnight tonight.
• There’s a new tax on vaping coming next year too.

Education

• Secondary school students will receive all their school books for free during the first three years.
• €10.5 billion is being allocated to the Department of Education in 2024, including €940 million for school building projects currently underway and a further 200 projects starting in 2024 and 2025.
• Funding has also been provided for 1,200 more SNAs.
• 900 more schools across the country will qualify for the hot school meals programme in April 2024.

Public services

• The Gardaí trainee allowance will increase from €185 per week to €305 per week, in a bid to attract and keep Gardaí and target up to 1,000 new recruits in 2024.

Business

• A €250 million fund will be created to support up to 130,000 small and medium-sized businesses. Payments will be made based on the commercial rates each business has paid.