Minister for Finance Michael Noonan will announce a total of €3.5bn of cuts and tax hikes.
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Owen Bennett, Leanna Byrne, & Jack Leahy
News Editorial Team
16:22 Taking a break until 5pm. More to come on the USI’s reaction and a UT post-budget analysis.
16:04 McGrath says that:
- 1 in 4 homeowners will not be able to pay the property tax. Says that Minister Noonan should have told the Troika that they could not make them pay it.
- He says that the Budget is “shaped more by the respective party political needs of Fine Gael and Labour than by the interests of the nation”.
- Says that Labour were making promises to gain votes.
16:00 Labour are facing a lot of criticism in the twitter-sphere.
McGrath is now criticising Labour about the pledge on child benefit and the student contribution charge.
15:55 Michael McGrath, Fianna Fáil’s finance spokesperson, is now speaking about honesty and leadership. FF are not happy with the budget because it is “protecting the highest earners”.
15:45 USI have not yet commented on the increase. Tweet from minutes before the announcement.
15:42 Student Contribution will be increased by €250, as expected. Heckles from the opposition begins.
15:37
- No primary social welfare payments will be reduced next year.
- There will be no change to the weekly fuel allowances for disabled.
- Changes will be introduced to the electricity allowance to make savings.
- Child benefit rate will be reduced by €10 a month.
- €13.6 million will be given to the health services next year.
15:34 At least it’s not all bad for DIT students!
15:32 €17.4m to be provided to Department of Children for development of youth detention facility at Oberstown.
Upgrading of the government’s energy spending will be undertaken. It will provide job opportunities will be ‘secured and created’. The total cost is an estimate of €9million.
15:30
- Enterprise Ireland with receive an allocation of €139m to support indigenous Irish exporters in 2013.
- Capital allocation for school education will reflect the growing population.
- DIT Grangegorman will get underway next year.
15:27 Many are unhappy with the public service cuts.
15:25
- Public staff numbers will be reduced again this year. The aim is to reduce to 282,500 by 2014.
- Top salaries have been reduced by up to 30 per cent and capped at €200k.
- Standardisation of annual leave will be implemented.
- Cost extraction measures that have not been addressed under the Croke Park Agreement will be introduced. More cuts to the public service will be made through “workforce reforms”.
15:20 Minister Howlin says that this may be the “last December budget for this government”.
15:16
- Minister Noonan wishes to boost the confidence of the consumer and businesses. He believes that we are on the road to a recovery.
- The government are to maintain the 12.5% corporation tax.
- Minister Howlin will now speak. Arguments now break out with opposition.
15:11 The government are committed to maintaining the current rates of rates of income tax.
There is no increase on excise duty on diesel and petrol.
15:09 Minister Noonan says that we are “striking the right balance”.
Any unpaid Household Charge for 2012 will be collected through the Property Tax.
15:05 Minister Noonan now outlining the property tax. It will be based on the market value of the property. The valuation will be valid up to and including 2016. Valuations will done by the home owner.
The same exemptions will apply the property tax as the household charge.
Noonan believes that the property tax is “fair” and says “those that earn the most pay the most”.
15:00 Tweets coming under the hashtag Budget2013 say that Minister Noonan looks very nervous. Opposition TDs continue to cut in and heckle.
14:56 Tax relief will end for pension schemes providing over €60,000 a year from 2014.
14:53 An 8.2 per cent deficit for 2012.
Projections: 7.5 in 2013; 5.1 in 2014; 2.9 in 2015
14:49 Tweets unhappy about lack of documentation for opposition
14:40 Minister Michael Noonan has begun his speech. Has said that he will be growing the jobs that “so many young people yearn”. There has now been an interruption from Michael McGrath, a Fianna Fáil TD, accusing the government for not giving out the budget to the opposition TDs. Noonan says that they will not be given out but are available online.
14:30 Minister Michael Noonan to announce budget now. Ministers have just entered the Dáil. Opposition parties will be allowed to comment on the budget following the announcement.
14:23 The abolition of the PRSI-free allowance is expected to cost workers about €260 a year. For students working part-time jobs to pay for education, make that €510 more required.
14:22 Ouch.
So #Enda has pledged to protect the "vulnerable, isolated, & lonely" – that'll be his health minister, presumably #vinb #budget13
— Cassius (@cassiustweets) December 5, 2012
14:21 The Evening Herald reckon they have some measures sussed:
- Cigarettes to rise by 10c and the price of a pint to rise from between 5 and 10c at midnight tonight.
- TDs to have expenses cut by around 15 per cent.
- OAPs free travel to be maintained – but that other allowances, eg the Telephone Allowance, will face “curtailments”
- Over 70s with incomes of more than €60k a year are to see a 3 per cent rise on their Universal Social Charge.
14:20 @ColmTobin on Twitter:
14:18 Colm Keaveney, chairperson of the Labour Party, has said that his support for the budget in tonight’s vote is ‘not a given’. Keaveney was recently targeted by students in his Galway constituency as part of the USI’s pre-budget campaign and added:
I have to make an assessment whether or not I can put my head down on a pillow tonight thinking this Government made a good job of the Budget.
14:17 In the lead-up to today’s announcement, many politicians have spoken of their commitment not to seek cuts to the amount of state funding available for student maintenance grants. That’s all well and good, but rising student numbers and changing criteria might dictate that grant recipients do not receive the same amount next year as they will eventually receive for this. Don’t celebrate too soon if no cut is announced.
14:15 USI President John Logue announces on Twitter this morning that the organisation will hold a student briefing at 17:00:
14:13 A total of €80m will be cut from the education budget. The student contribution charge is expected to rise from €2,250 to €2,500. Speaking to national media this morning, Union of Students in Ireland president John Logue voiced concerns that we may yet see cuts to the student maintenance grant and the student assistance fund. Sources have suggested this morning that the latter will be cut by 12%.
The student-teacher ratio is expected to increase from 21-1 to 23-1, while private schools may see their state subsidy cut as well.
14:10 The chips are down and the sums are done: €3.5bn is coming out of the Irish economy. Minister for Finance Michael Noonan will announce €1.25bn of tax increases at 14:30 and Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin will detail €2.25bn of cuts directly afterwards at 15:15. UT will be live-blogging the events and reaction until 6pm.
