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LAST UPDATE | 12 Oct 2021
THE GOVERNMENT HAS unveiled its Budget for 2021, announcing how it plans to spend a €4.7 billion package.
Here are some of the main points…
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So my pension goes up by 5 euro a week, my electricity bills will be going up by that much at least, I don’t qualify for the heating allowance because I have a very small other pension.
This means with increase in carbon tax affecting petrol prices and heating oil I will be worse off.
Thanks a lot.
@Mark Fogarty: My electricity bills have already risen from €90 per month up to €130 per month :( And we’ve been very conscious about our usage over the past few months, leaving nothing on standby at night etc. Didn’t make any difference, price still rocketed up.
@Mark Fogarty: petrol and diesel goes up from tonight. Home heating fuel from 1st May 2022.
@Mark Fogarty: And I assume your property tax goes up too!!
@Mark Fogarty: when you say heating allowance do you mean fuel allowance they’ve changed that in the budget so you may qualify also seeing as your on the pension put in for the home benefits package ( electric, tv license, fuel )
@Mark Wallace: Mark, the prices on Petrol stations in my area increased during last week by 12 cent per litre and it was before the budget, so I presume it will be another 5-10 cent now after this announcement.
@Mark Fogarty: I agree with you it is more of the same take take & give very little back, imagine if we could become politicians we get great pay packets & expense packet.
@Mark Fogarty: same here mark. I have modest pension but just above the new threshold. I took my sister in and am her sole carer (she has Downs syndrome). Everything she needs, extra heating, chair lift, etc I had to pay for as her needs are now assessed on our joint income. I get no carers allowance because I have my private pension. No fuel allowance. Might buy her a happy meal with the extra fiver. Lol.
@JK: put your name on the ballot.. That’s all it takes..
@Mark Fogarty: as a 48 Yr old, mother of 3 , working full time, I get nothing, and anything I get is negated by increased carbon taxes or inflation. Goodbye to this government, bring in the opposition, coz I am sick to my teeth of paying for shi*, job skr and civil service pay nothing, yet get an increase every year
@jenni: If you think the Shinners are going to solve it you’re deluded.
@jenni: and how will they solve it?
@Conor McNamara: Well they can’t do much worse. 20+ of FF .F/.G governments has ruined this country and taxed
middle income earners into oblivion.
@Adam S: that wasn’t budget related. The prices being quoted by the suppliers have been increasing incrimentally over the last few weeks but your local station only puts up the price when they get a delivery hence the jump in price.
Ah the USC got a little tweak.
The temporary tax that’s never ever going to go away.
@Franny Ando: what would you expect from that shower
@David Chadwick: Not a bloody thing believe me.
@Franny Ando: if the last crash taught us anything, its that too narrow a tax base is a recipe for disaster, little and often is the best way for taxes to be
@Seán O’Sullivan: They’ve ticked the ‘often’ box. Can’t ever see them ticking the ‘little’ one.
@Franny Ando: Sigh. How many thousands has the temporary tax permanently taken away from me at this stage?
@Franny Ando: Correct me if I’m wrong but that change only equates to €15.20 a year….. €608 difference at 2.5%….. joke of a reduction, especially since it should be gone by now…. 10 years later!!!
@Paul Hedderman: I’ll take your word for it:) It’s too bloody miniscule for me to work out. Always an excuse as to why it can’t go we will never see the end of it.
@David Chadwick: no political party campaigning to remove it that I can see.
Bar the €50 tax credit, as a married mother of 2 with a constant cost of living and education on the rise there isnt one part of this that applies to us. So we’ll jst keep working our backsides off, pay our taxes, put up with struggling services we’re sinking our tax money into and jst get on with more of the same. Wonderful.
@Christine Hanway: Unfortunately middle Income Ireland is always screwed over. Somethings never change.
@Franny Ando: and no sign of it changing either…
@Christine Hanway: keep voting the same, keep getting the same
@Christine Hanway: Same :(
@Christine Hanway: bang on. Absolutely nothing for regular working people.
@Christine Hanway: Let your local government TD know and make sure to vote for the party or representative that says they will support
Workers and middle income earners in the next election
@Franny Ando: Middle Income Ireland unfortunately fails to side with lower income Ireland in the mistaken belief that they are part of the privileged few.
@Willie Penwright: Thats a load of cr-ap.
@Local Ore: done that and will continue to do so but somehow this shower are still there….
Putting up carbon tax to offset emissions, pissing in the wind lads ye havent a clue !
There is a power station in Copenhagen generating power for 160,000 homes by burning household waste. All dangerous gases , ash and small particulates are filtered out with nearly only water vapour coming as emissions.
These clowns need to go , someone needs to get in and provide real solutions not burdening all the tax on people!
@David Chadwick: They want to build incinerators here but people keep opposing them.
@David Chadwick: the carbon tax has to one of the biggest scam taxes ever
@Darren Byrne: check out copenhill on google they even built a skislope on it , this country is so far behind its crazy , too interested in taxing working class instead of proper incentive to get renewable energy into homes
I mean I’ve read worse news. Wouldn’t be thrilled with a few bits but sure isn’t it always the way, I’ve yet to meet a budget that’s killed me. Great to see funding for the maritime side of things and the coast guard, often forgotten about until they’re needed.
@This time its personable!: Same. Not brilliant, but not the worst thing I’ve read. Also better than I expected after the amount we spent during COVID. A pity there still isn’t much being allocated specifically for mental health services though
Why is PUP still going. There are loads of vacant jobs.
@Gregory Pym: Not where people who need them, live. Remote working is now a distant dream.
1 Billion in Foreign Aid – yipee
@Pete Lee: you do know there are people out in the world that walk for miles just to get filthy water for there kids to drink? The standard of living in this country compared to how some other people live their lives is shocking,(heaven and hell springs to mind) maybe a little bit of empathy and perspective Pete?
@Gordon Larney:
Empathy is all well and good. But we all know that the money never gets to those who need it. Instead it gets eaten up by Administrative costs and to pay the exobatant salaries that the CEOs etc of these NGOs pay themselves.
I’d prefer if some of that money were ring fenced to do the right thing by those children and young people suffering with scoliosis in our own country.
@Gordon Larney: why don’t they move closer to the water source ?
@Bridie Gubbins: there are no visible water sources, that have to try find it by digging wells which sometimes takes them miles from where they are based. Maybe you should look it up Bride, seen as you are interested in it?
Why is PUP continuing until February. This is killing restaurants and hotels who cannot get staff because they get more on PUP. How can Ireland continue to pay it!
This all looks great.
They should encourage free condoms also if they are giving the pill to ladies.
@Madra: condoms are already free through HIV Ireland
@Madra: almost all sexual health clinics and family planning clinics give out free condoms. You also don’t have to use them daily, month after month, at the same time of day for them to be effective. If you do need to purchase them it’s a one off payment for several and they work immediately. Not affected by illness, underlying conditions you have yet to discover and have virtually no side effects. They don’t require you to pump your body full of hormones potentially increasing your risk of breast cancer later in life or potentially affecting your ability to become pregnant when you choose. But sure feel hard done by because you could end up paying a few euro if you CHOOSE not to get the readily available free supply!
All the SF supporters will be moaning soon. Their manifesto thinks money grows on trees.
@alan scott: ur so original….. best u could come up with eh?
@alan scott: sorry mate.. seems to me, the gombeens who constantly vote for FFG seem pretty much intellectually challenged to me, ooopsy does that include u?
@Pádraigín O’Sirideáin: mate I’m only taking the pxx out of you relax. I don’t care what you believe in as long as it benefits the citizens of Ireland. And no I’m not intellectually challenged, have a good day!!
@alan scott: no mate, ur not taking the pxss, ur sublimely advocating the FFFG line that SF have no credible policys, when you have probably never read SF manifesto.
You and FFG trolls have alot in common.
I am so happy and excited to read this story. This is the best budget ever! This government is probably the greatest we’ve ever had. The only ones who don’t think so are obviously deluded begrudgers and naysayers. Maybe we should suspend the next election and leave this government in power in perpetuity on account of the amazing job they are doing? Rome used to regularly appoint dictators and that made them great. Ireland could do the same. An Irish empire with all that power and glory! It’s doable I tells ya. I definitely gotta lay off the booze and pills and I sure picked the wrong week to give up sniffin’ glue…
@William Tallon: Wr should be declaring martial law and raiding the homes of senior SF officials (Kidding I believe in free and fair elections regardless of what you believe in) I’m only joking people for those thinking I’m actually thinking of that prospect.
@William Tallon: they spent as much as they are allowed to under eu fiscal rules, what more do you want , anything extra you want you will have to take money form somewhere else
@alan scott: In your posts here you seem a tad obsessed with SF for some bizarre reason known only to yourself. Maybe best to keep it that way? I must confess to having no particular interest in SF other than as a fiction genre or interest in politicians in general for that matter. I consider them an necessary evil. We need them to keep society functioning and to make the hard decisions we wouldn’t want to make. ‘Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard…’ H.L. Mencken.
@Seán O’Sullivan: What are you on about? I don’t want anything. My comment wasn’t meant to be taken as seriously as you seem to have taken it. It was meant to be throwaway and humourous. I’ve obviously failed with regards to the latter being clear to you. Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa! Sheesh…
@William Tallon: this fella Scott pretends ” ahh sure lads I’m only joking.. I’m for fair elections….” and in every post hes obsessed with snidey digs at SF or anyone that supports SF, Funny how he never snipes at FGG isnt it ? Lol
@William Tallon: SF are way far to the left. They would undermine democracy, make ties to the uk extremely difficult and antagonistic. They will allow illegal immigration. Make collages free, make public transport free, they will tax the middle class to benefit the working class. Also SF are part of the European United left/Nordic green left which has communists or ex communists in their ranks. The very same people who ruled Eastern Europe before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
@alan scott: ahhh there he is, just showing his true blue shirt colours now… the light hearted fella suddenly disappeared.
@Pádraigín O’Sirideáin: u can vote which way u like Alan Scott. But youve been exposed as a sly FFG yes man who disposes any other point of political view… ur scared.
@alan scott: As I think I’ve already clearly pointed out I don’t care about SF in the least so I’ve no idea why you’re telling me this. But hey, as this is a comments section feel free to vent all you want and let your obsessions run free! I’m not sure if that’s a wise or mentally healthy course of action though but carry on regardless. I’m sure you will. It’s truly fascinating to observe…
I know I don’t get a Christmas bonus I have to do a lot of over time to get over christmas
Minimum wage increase. Better to bring back a national wage agreement.
@Matt: That wouldn’t be any use to minimum wage non unionised workers. The original one actually applied to few outside the civil/public service as most of private industry is non unionised.
Get the greens out. Nothing but brainfart taxes. And when is the temporary USC being mothballed? Thanks FFG.
So the Hard working people of Ireland are once again getting raped and the people that don’t want to work and rather claim the social get extra. We’ll done to the government.
@Martin Kinsella: Well it’s for carers, those on the pension and those who are disabled. Do you begrudge them getting a measly €5 a week, €260 a year. The PUP was €350 as government said this was the minimum needed to survive on a weekly basis but yet carers, pensioners and the disabled get a base rate of €208 a week now.
What the large print giveth, the small print taketh away …
(Tom Waits)
So..let’s put Sinn Fein into power next time and see what a bollix they make of it. Mary Lou and Pierce can gob off all they want when they’re not in power..but I reckon they’d get some fright if they ended up with it. Easy to critizise when you know you’ll never be called on to fulfil your ‘alternative budget’..
@Paddy Kelly: “never be called”… u sure about that?
@Pádraigín O’Sirideáin: It’s only a matter of time I think Pádraigín; sit back and watch the sport. It could be seriously entertaining. And god know’s we need it..
@Paddy Kelly: So you think this lot are doing a good job. If so you are seriously deranged. I’m not a S.F voter or supporter but at this stage I am willing try any alternative. 20+ years of this crowd in power has ruined the country and screwed the working class into the ground with tax after tax. Its way past time for change and a different approach because to continue with the same useless shower is seriously the definition of madness.
Speechless why did they forget rising house prices and rent and the constant price hikes(inflation) why stop at 23 for bus fares?
how much is fuel going up by ?
prerol and diesel ⛽
@MrJohne: 2 to 3 Cent per litre
@David Hughes: it has been going up 2 to 3 c every day for the past few days. Petrol stations taking advantage before the budget was even announced.
I know I’m 48, with a mortgage and 3 kids, and yet again I’m being effed over. I’m seriously thinking about just dropping out of work, claiming up to 1000 per week and getting my head into a good place. It’s not worth working anymore.
@jenni: well do it then. If u think you’ll get 1000 a week u go ahead.
If u believe its so great on the dole , go ahead?
Not much to argue with, but obviously that won’t be the case for all. Might look different away from the bullet point’s when the bones of it are pulled apart.
19-23, half price public transport? Any ideas on the logic behind this? Intrigued.
@Tony Harris: students? Who are travelling miles cos they cant afford accomodation near their college?
So from birth to 17 yrs u get childrens allowance, if u go to 3rd level u get susi grant and from 19 to 24 u get discounted public transport. What about all the 18 year olds going into 6th year they get nothing
@Sue OB: at 18 you get to become an adult…
Irish politicians are well paid and can reach pension status with a very short working political life.Fairness?
Cost of Diesel has risen approx 35cents (1.57now) from 1st of January(1.22then)…and now even more increases..that is nearly 29% increase…I don’t see my wages going up even a euro and we will be getting extra 50 euro in tax credits…wow…that is certainly “amazing”
Let’s let Sinn Fein take it over for a while for the cráic. Instead of the gobbing out of them Mary Lou and Pierce might actually have to run a country ..and realise what budget they actually have to do it.
The two lieing sneers are giving nothing to pensioners
What a insult to the people
So..let’s put Sinn Fein into power next time for the craic..and she what a bollix they make out of things. There won’t be so much guff out of Mary Lou or Pierce then.
Thanks goodness women over 25 don’t copulate or get pregnant!
@Lauren Masterson: you should be out working and earning your own money by that age. Why do some people want everything free?
How much petrol go up by
@Peter Dunne: Google is your friend!! :)
@alan scott: why you deleting your comments Al? Any string of comments where you’ve been shown up for what u are you’ve deleted your comments ? :) :)
@Pádraigín O’Sirideáin: We can delete our comments? How?
@David Walters: ;)
37m for mental health expansion, 105m for disability services and 500m for Covid measures? Seriously? We know what takes precidence in Ireland anyway.
So from birth to 17 yrs u get childrens allowance, if u go to 3rd level u get susi grant and from 19 to 24 u get discounted public transport. What about all the 18 year olds going into 6th year they get nothing
@Sue OB: children’s allowance as they’re still in secondary school
@Darren Byrne: no, the minute they turn 18 the children’s allowance goes away. Even if they are still in Secondary school.
Hmm, at least there are some changes. I really hope the 20% tax band starts from 35000 and 40% band starts from 65000. This will be my birthday wish for next few years.
So from birth to 17 yrs u get childrens allowance, if u go to 3rd level u get susi grant and from 19 to 24 u get discounted public transport. What about all the 18 year olds going into 6th year they get nothing
@Sue OB: ok ok. Heard you the first time.
we have the lowest hospital beds per capita in Europe which gets worst for ICU beds. We didn’t learn anything from this pandemic. I am really disapponted with this budget.
Ah sure don’t worry. You’ll all still vote for FF/FG next election. As Ray Patterson said, “You know, I’m not much on speeches, but it’s so gratifying to … leave you wallowing in the mess you’ve made. You’re screwed, thank you, bye.”
So what is don’t pay in USC goes into he tax basically, loopholes bstds
So Yet again. As a worker who never had social payments nor my family Inc children who all work are to be stomped on again and again taxed to the hilt yet go on social and get money for free SURE WHY WOULDN’T YOU..
Government get pay rises me not in 4 years yet work all through Covid in Retail.. Budget for Votes from social benefits Scroungers yet there are genuine people but even pup still going and we can’t get 17 staff?? Go figure
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