Budget 2024: Here is a breakdown of €14bn package including cost-of-living payments, tax credits and expenditure

Mr. McGrath said Budget 2024 comprises of a ‘core expenditure package of just under €5.3bn, and a tax package of over €1.1bn’ – €6.4bn in total.

This rises to €14bn with the addition of €2.7bn in once-off cost-of-living measures (net of windfall energy revenues) and non-core expenditure of €4.75bn, including €250m for public capital investment funded by windfall corporation tax.

Budget 2024 includes a series of one-off cost-of-living supports that will be made available to citizens over Winter 2023 and during 2023/24.

One-off cost of living supports

• €450 electricity credits (3 x 150) will be received by all households in 2023/24.
• €300 Fuel Allowance lump sum payment will be received by an estimated 370,000 recipients in Winter 2023.
• €200 Living Alone Allowance lump sum payment will be received by an estimated 47,000 recipients in Winter 2023.
• Double month Child Benefit payment will be benefit an estimated 1.2m children in Winter 2023.
• €400 Working Family Payment lump sum payment will be received by an estimated 47,000 recipients in Winter 2023.
• €100 Qualified Child Increment lump sum payment will benefit 370,000 children in Winter 2023.
• Double week for all weekly welfare schemes will be paid to between 1.4m and 1.5m recipients in January 2024.
• €400 lump sum payments will be made to selected welfare categories – Carer's Support Grant, Disability Allowance, Blind Pension, Invalidity Pension, Domiciliary Care Allowance (one payment per person/household) – benefiting 370,000 recipients in Winter 2023.
• Double payment of Foster Care Allowance will benefit 5,000 recipients in Winter 2023.

Budget 2024 includes a range of tax measures – mostly tax credit increases but also tax cuts and increases in thresholds.

Tax measures

• an increase of €2,000 in the income tax standard rate cut-off point for all earners.
• €200 increase in the Incapacitated Child Tax Credit.
• €100 increase in the personal tax credit.
• €100 increase in the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax credit.
• €100 increase in the Earned Income Credit.
• €100 increase the Home Carer Tax Credit.
• €100 increase in the Single Person Child Carer Credit.
• A reduction in the middle rate of Universal Social Charge (USC) from 4.5% to 4.0%
• An increase of €2,840 in the threshold at which the middle rate of USC is paid, from €22,920 to €25,760.
• Increase in the Rent Tax Credit from €500 to €750.
• 75c Increase in Excise Duty and VAT on a pack of 20 cigarettes.
• Extension of Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) relief for Battery Electric Vehicles to the end of December 2025.

A third plank of Budget 2024 is increased expenditure including the extension of the free school book scheme to post-primary, increased pension payments and further spending on housing.

Expenditure measures

• Free School Book Scheme for junior cycle students at post-primary level.
• 1,000 new Garda and 250 Garda Staff.
• Restoration of maintenance grants to postgraduate students on a similar basis to undergraduates.
• 400 additional military personnel.
• €67m to provide 16,000 craft apprenticeship programmes.
• 10,200 new tenancies under the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) and Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) schemes.
• 20% fare reduction on public transport continued to end of 2024.
• 6,400 affordable homes for sale and rent.
• 6,000 new households supported through Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme.
• €207m to bring back vacant and derelict units through the voids programme and Croí Cónaithe scheme.
• €12 increase in the Weekly Social Welfare Rate for working age recipients.
• €12 increase in weekly payments for Pensioners.
• €54 per week increase in the Working Family Payment threshold.
• €4 increase in weekly rate for a Qualified Child.
• Up to 2,000 additional staff to enhance capacity across acute and social care services.
• €1m per day invested in cycling and walking infrastructure.
• €1bn for the development, protection and renewal of our road network.
• €348m to connect a further 100,000 homes to fibre broadband.
• National Childcare Scheme hourly subsidy increased from €1.40 to €2.14 effective from September 2024.
• €380m for residential and community energy schemes.
• Additional €50m for school transport scheme.
• Over 1,216 Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) and 744 Special Education Teachers.
• Extension of Child Benefit to 18 years old in full time education.

Gas, electricity and fuel

Other measures include support for people struggling to heat their homes.

Mr. McGrath said: “I am proposing to extend the 9% reduced VAT rate for gas and electricity for another 12 months. It is estimated that consumers will save an additional €90 for electricity and those who use gas will save an additional €62 during the 12-month extension.

“I am conscious that the price of petrol and diesel for motorists have increased in recent weeks, driven by volatility in international oil prices. I have therefore decided to defer the final tranche of fuel excise increases which were due to happen on October 31.

"I will restore the outstanding amounts of 8c on petrol, 6c on diesel and 3.4c on Marked Gas Oil in two equal instalments on April 1, 2024 and 1 August 2024.”

Mortgage interest relief

Budget 24 also promises relief for homeowners and people struggling to pay their mortgages.

“I have decided to introduce a one-year Mortgage Interest Tax Relief for home owners with an outstanding mortgage balance on their primary dwelling house of between €80,000 and €500,000 as of December 31, 2022.

“Relief will be available in respect of the increased interest paid on the mortgage in the calendar year 2023 as compared with the amount paid in 2022, at the standard rate of 20% income tax. The relief will be capped at €1,250 per property.

“Approximately 165,000 mortgage holders will benefit from this measure with an estimated cost of €125m,” Mr. McGrath said.

Climate action

Budget 2024 includes another carbon tax hike.

It states: “There will be a €7.50 increase on the current rate of Carbon Tax applied per tonne of carbon dioxide emission. This will bring the rate up to €56 per tonne. Carbon tax will increase by the same amount in every budget until 2029. The increase will be applied to petrol and auto diesel from midnight on budget night (i.e. from October 11, 2023) and all other fuels on May 1, 2024.”