BUDGET 2024 IS set to be announced on Tuesday with much speculation as to what measures it will entail.
A package worth around €6.4 billion is expected to be signed off on by tonight, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said.
The Budget is expected to include an increase in the standard rate band of income tax, an increase in social welfare payments, more electricity credits, help with childcare payments, an extension of the Help-to-Buy scheme, targeted mortgage interest relief and a return of the renters’ tax credit.
Varadkar during the week confirmed that the Budget “will contain an income tax and USC package which will reward work and put money back into people’s pockets”.
He added that there will be “a significant cost-of-living package which people will feel the effect of before Christmas”.
The final restoration of the excise duty on fuel was meant to kick in later this month by eight cents for petrol and six cents for diesel, but this is now expected to be pushed back to a later date as prices at the pump are steadily getting close to €2 per litre.
Your stories
We asked readers to get in touch and let us know what they want to see in the Budget.
Many of you contacted us and there were some recurring themes: more support for parents paying for childcare, reducing the Universal Social Charge (USC) or scrapping it altogether, increasing social welfare payments such as the Carer’s Allowance and the State Pension, and financial support for people trying to buy their own home – especially for single people.
Here is a round-up of what readers want to see announced this week.
It’s not an exhaustive list. If there is something you’d like to see in the Budget, let us know in the comments.
Carer (40s), Meath, ‘broken mentally, physically and financially’
“As a carer for my daughter with disabilities I expect to be ignored by the Government again. We’re told time and again how great we are and how much we save the Government but, do you know what, I think we need some of that money we’re saving them.
“The cost of private therapies for my child far outreaches my income. I haven’t chosen to go private but been forced to. In my area of the country my child has been on a waiting list for occupational therapy since 2016. She has had zero supports since her diagnosis in 2015. The occasional phone call from the disabilities team is all I have received.
“I, like many carers, am absolutely broke, mentally, physically and financially. I can’t go to work because at least three times a week I have to collect my child early from school because she’s not coping.
“The winter is fast approaching which means even more time staying in and trying to keep the house warm. And don’t even get started on the price of groceries, my food bill is over €220 per week because. As is quite common for children with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) my daughter’s range of foods is quite limited to certain types.
“I think the Government needs to take a long hard look at how much we actually do and ensure we are paid properly. Remove the earnings limit for spouses of carers and make it that Carer’s Allowance is exempt from other means testing.
None of us are getting rich off of looking after our disabled children, in fact most of us are in debt due to the Government’s lack of care.
“They gave themselves a pay rise, all we’re asking for is fair pay for what we do. I’d like to also point out that my situation is far from unique and carers all over the country are struggling just as much.”
Liz (40s), Dublin, carer with high mortgage repayments
“I live with my partner and four children, one who has special needs. My partner works long hours full time, I work part time and receive the Carer’s Allowance. We are much worse off than last year.
“Our mortgage is crippling us, there have been approximately six rises in interest in the year, monthly repayments have increased 40 to 50% in the past 12 to 24 months. In 12 months, we are paying out an extra €350 per month to the mortgage, we cannot afford any extracurricular activities with the kids, we cannot afford a holiday.
“I cannot increase my work hours to help ease the burden as I’m limited to working 18.5 hours a week due to being a carer. The Carer’s Allowance needs to be increased, it’s impossible to live on.
I am caring full time for my son and saving the State hundreds of thousands over a lifetime, so receiving the same amount of money as a person on the Jobseeker’s Allowance is just ridiculous, we deserve more for the work we do.
“The Government needs to bring back some form of mortgage interest relief to ease the burden of these increases and increase the Carer’s Allowance by 50%, so that when you do the allowable number of working hours you will end up with a weekly living wage.”
Alan (43), Meath, struggling to save for a home
“I was reading some articles on the ‘hard pressed middle income families’ and how they will benefit from the next Budget.
“I’d like for it to be asked how the Government will protect the really hard pressed people “the single middle income earner”. There’s no support available for a middle income earner that is single.
“Families get social welfare allowances on top of their incomes to support their families.
“Single people get no help, the supports don’t cater for people on middle incomes and we are effectively forced to work to pay rent on mortgages for other people’s houses. We’ll never be able to save for our own mortgages. We get no support at all. It’s disgraceful really.”
Christine (33), Cork, wants more help for single people
“There needs to be more support for single people to buy their first home. There should be a reduction in the required deposit, to 5%, of purchase price and/or extend the Help-to-Buy scheme for second-hand homes for single people only.
“Single people cannot compete against the buying power of a couple. Even the rent credit benefits the couple – they’re paying the same amount of rent as a single person, but they can claim twice the amount.
Orla, Dublin South West, wants help with childcare costs
“I would like to see more help with childcare. Currently my three-year-old attends crèche full time. She started (ECCE Early Childhood Care and Education) in September and we are still paying almost €800 a month for her to attend crèche.
“Before the change in the universal subsidy and ECCE we were paying €1,200. This was inclusive of a corporate discount. So a €400 a month drop is huge but still doesn’t go far enough. Our friends have a child in creche full time (also ECCE) in the mornings and pay €356 per month. How can it be so different?
“Childcare is not at the forefront of everyone’s minds but in an age where you require two incomes to get by, it should be.”
Renter (28), Dublin, fears eviction
“I’m a single 28-year-old woman in Dublin renting a house where I have no tenancy agreement.
“I did not get the renters’ tax credit last year as our landlord will not register with the RTB (Residential Tenancies Board) and we are not asking them to do so because any “rocking of the boat” could get us evicted.
We have done repairs ourselves because they won’t respond to any queries. I received virtually nothing in last year’s Budget and so many of my peers are the same as so many renters don’t have tenancy agreements and pay rent in cash.
“No one my age and in my situation expects anything from this budget. We are the generation that’s emigrating in droves and we are constantly ignored by the Government.”
Accidental landlord (43), Dublin, wants to see more tax breaks
“I would like to see the following measures in the Budget:
“Tax breaks for accidental landlords. We bought at the peak in 2008, we’ve always been good to our tenants. But now we have had to evict and sell, much to their upset.
“The interest rate rises have put a financial strain on us and we couldn’t increase the rent to market value so we were making big losses each month.
“I also want to see tax breaks for child care. We have a childminder in the home. It means we can both work and contribute to society. However the cost of childcare makes it hardly worthwhile.
“Other things I want to see in the Budget include a tax on vapes and lower inheritance tax – this always feels like a double tax and it has not risen with inflation. It should be restored to what it was before or more.”
Joe (60), Wexford, wants targeted help for those in need
“The focus should be on real help for those in need of real help. Direct financial support should be given to pensioners reliant primarily on the State Pension, the disabled (and their carers), those on long0term illness benefit, those on the lowest earned income bracket.
“Electricity credits should be targeted and limited to those under a certain income level taking into consideration the number of people in the residence.
To classify ALL those on middle incomes as ‘squeezed’ is quite frankly ridiculous.
“For example, a couple in their 50s earning €50,000 each with their mortgage paid for and children flown from the nest are not squeezed. To prioritise them over others is no more than a financial bribe to the core of their electoral base.
“With full employment technically achieved and work available for those that want to, I would like to see mention of tighter controls to the ‘actively seeking work’ condition in respect of Jobseeker’s Allowance.
“Clearly measures need to be introduced for parent(s) in relation to pre-primary and primary education costs. In addition, all schools should be adequately funded and legally barred from sending begging letters to parents.
“The private sector is, was, and never will be the solution to housing. It can’t be solved overnight but a coherent and realistic strategy is desperately required. As a start, State funded third level education accommodation campuses need to be built as a matter of urgency and of sufficient scale.
“Finally, any measures to once again financially benefit landlords or the retention of the lower rate of VAT to the hospitality sector will result in the coalition parties losing my vote.”
Liam (24), west Dublin, wants increase in mental health budget
“What would I like to see in next week’s Budget?
“A substantial increase in the mental health budget, the pay of clerical officers at entry level to be increased to the living wage of €14.80, and a commitment to free or very low cost public transport to support the transition to a green economy.”
Woman (mid-40s), Dublin, wants increase in Carer’s Allowance
She said her family is “definitely worse off than last year”.
She wants to see a number of things in this week’s Budget, including an increase in the Carer’s Allowance and the abolition of the means test related to it, saying “one-off payments just don’t cut it”.
She also wants the Domiciliary Care Allowance (a monthly payment for a child aged under 16 with a severe disability) to be extended to 18 years and for there to be automatic Disability Allowance qualification for those with lifelong disabilities.
“There also needs to be proper, meaningful, individualised supports for people with disabilities and their families, and proper mental health supports.
“The Children’s Allowance should be extended to those still in full-time education. I want to see a reduction of college fees/registration fees and an increase in means threshold for qualification for Susi (Student Universal Support Ireland) grants.
“The USC and property tax on a family home should be abolished. There should be a tax relief on mortgage interest for owner-occupiers, and a tax relief on health insurance contributions.
“I also want to see an increase in medications covered by the Drug Payment Scheme (DPS), for TDs and ministers’ overpaid salaries and pensions to be cut, and a cap on energy companies’ profits.”
Shane’s reply was short and to the point: “I only care about lower taxes and lower cost of fuel.”
He wants the higher tax bracket to be increased to at least €42,500, preferably €45,000; the USC to be abolished; and for the excise duty on fuel to not be restored. “Anything over €1.5 per litre is too dear,” he told us about the latter.
Mary (74), Dublin, not receiving full pension
“My husband and I are among many thousand Irish citizens who are being denied their full old age pension even though we have sufficient PRSI contributions to qualify for the same. This is because of the unjust averaging rule which is being applied to our contributions.
“I worked as a public servant from 1966 to 1972 and was let go because of the marriage bar. Having reared my family, I again entered the workforce in 1998 and worked until 2012 paying full PRSI contributions during that time securing an excess of those required for a full old age pension.
“The Department of Social Protection averaged my contributions from 1966 to 2012 – a period of 47 years – thus my reduced pension. I did qualify for the Homemaker’s Scheme which slightly increased my entitlement but am still short of a full pension. with a deficit of €39.70 weekly. Had I never worked until 1998 I would now be in receipt of a full old age pension.
“My husband commenced work in 1964 and paid full contributions until 1975 when he entered the public service. He retired in 2007. His contributions were also averaged from 1964 to 2007. The result is that he has a very reduced pension with a deficit of €92.40 weekly. Had he retired in 1975 and never worked another day he would be in receipt of a full old age pension.
“Our combined deficit is €528.40 monthly – a vast amount to pensioners.
The sting in the tail from the above situation is that in each budget there is fanfare over the increase granted to old age pensioners.
“What is not mentioned is that only those who have been granted a full old age pension will get the full amount with proportionate increases for those getting a reduced rate.”
Áine (43), Cork, wants better rural transport links
“I would like to see an increase in public transport in rural areas outside cities so they can be more connected to regional cities. Park-and-ride satellite car parks could be set up easily to link rural transport and wider public transport links.
“I would like to see an increased percentage of return in Med 1 and Med 2 (health expenses) applications, so people are not penalised as much for health costs.
“The Government should also make sure energy grants include energy storage to reduce load at peak demands, penalise energy companies for excessive profits, remove VAT from energy bills, and increase the value of power sent into energy infrastructure from micro generators.”
Woman (50s), Dublin Mid West, wants a grant for funeral expenses to be reintroduced
“I think that a very popular measure, especially with older people, would be to reintroduce a grant to pay for funeral expenses. This would be a welcome measure and would be more useful to senior citizens than giving them a fiver increase in their social welfare payment.
“Many pensioners worry that they would not be able to afford funeral costs if a relative died. The Government would be guaranteed to win a few votes by reintroducing a grant that was so cruelly withdrawn some years ago.
“The other thing that I would like to see in the budget is a dental card that would allow people to get a free dental check-up every year.
“As the old saying goes, ‘Prevention is better than cure’ and funding a dental examination might prevent the need for a filling or an extraction. Also, a dental card would be more valuable to many than a GP card, as a standard dental exam, scale and polish costs about €20 more than a visit to the GP.”
Budget 2024 will be announced on Tuesday, 10 October. The Journal will have all the latest news and analysis.
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