NEED TO CATCH up? The Journal brings you a round-up of today’s news.

IRELAND 

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath speaking to media at the RTÉ radio centre in Dublin after the Budget Phone-in on RTÉ Radio 1's Today with Claire Byrne Sam Boal Sam Boal

• Electricity will be 10% more expensive for large energy users during the peak evening hours of 5pm to 7pm, following a decision from the utilities regulator.
• A former Sinn Féin councillor and his father have pleaded guilty to facilitating the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in 2016 as part of the Hutch-Kinahan feud.
• Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said the government has set aside €2 billion in the ‘rainy day’ fund that could be used to help soften the impact of the rising cost of living.
• Access to IVF will be phased in from September 2023, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said. 
• Women who suffer from extreme sickness during pregnancy will get access to a life-changing drug free of charge by January, Donnelly also confirmed.
• There hasn’t been a spike in the number of people seeking asylum from Russia, according to Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman.
• O’Gorman also said today that he hopes parents using childminders will be able to benefit from cheaper childcare in the future.
• A new 10% levy on concrete introduced in the Budget to help pay the redress for the mica scandal will mean it will mean an extra cost of at least €3,000 to build a typical home in Ireland, it was warned today.
• The University of Maynooth has announced that construction on a new Student Centre project has been terminated, much to the dismay of the Students’ Union. 

INTERNATIONAL

Christmas decorations are already being installed on Oxford Street, London Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

#NORDSTREAM: The EU has said that leaks from two Russia-Germany undersea gas pipelines appeared to be “a deliberate act”, as Moscow said it would call for a UN Security Council meeting over the incident.

#BREXIT: The EU’s former negotiator has said the bloc “must not and will not back down” on the Northern Ireland Protocol. 

#BANKING: The Bank of England has launched an emergency UK government bond-buying programme to prevent borrowing costs from spiralling out of control and stave off a “material risk to UK financial stability”.

PARTING SHOT

Budget 2023 has brought a focus on the tax we pay in Ireland, not only in terms of how much is taken from paychecks, but also how much the State takes in by other means and what’s the best way of using it.

This week on The Explainer podcast, we were joined by Barra Roantree, an economist with the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) to put it all under the microscope.

What are the big changes we should be paying attention to in Budget 2023? What is a progressive tax regime? And just what, exactly, is going on in the UK?

You can listen here: 

The Explainer / SoundCloud