By Cillian Sherlock, PA
Measures to help households tackle the cost-of-living crisis are to be revealed as part of the Government’s budget today.
The budget will be delivered by Minister for Finance Michael McGrath and Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe in the Dáil at lunchtime.
Mr McGrath indicated on Saturday that people’s standard of living would improve on the back of the budget, and said he hoped the measures would have their desired effect.
The total cost of Budget 2024 is around €6.4 billion, with taxation measures worth €1.1 billion of the total.
However, the ministers struck a tone of caution last week as September’s exchequer returns revealed a slowdown in corporation tax receipts for the second month in a row.
With the quarter three returns falling short of projections, Mr McGrath said the figures were a timely reminder of the need for careful management of the public finances.
Ahead of his first budget as Finance Minister, Mr McGrath said: “Given capacity constraints, and the fact that inflation still remains high in comparative terms, there will be a limited amount of space available this year for temporary once-off supports to assist with the cost of living focused, where we can, on the most vulnerable.”
Amid continued high fuel and energy prices as well as increased grocery prices, senior coalition figures had already indicated that the one-off measures to tackle the cost-of-living crisis will be of a smaller scale than last year.
The Government has defended this move by saying inflation has moderated and wage increases across the economy have outpaced rising prices since last year.
The public are expected to see the first benefits of the reduced cost-of-living package before Christmas.
However, one-off electricity credits are expected to be smaller than the three €200 energy credits in Budget 2023.
#Budget2024 will be announced in the Dail tomorrow from 1pm. For a bit of a behind the scenes look at what’s going on, head over to my Instagram account (paschalthetd) pic.twitter.com/iil71rUhMg
— Paschal Donohoe (@Paschald) October 9, 2023
Government figures have signalled the budget will also include pension and welfare increases, alongside a further rise to the minimum wage.
Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys confirmed that welfare rates will increase for pensioners, carers, people with disabilities and working families in Budget 2024.
A cut in the universal social charge (USC), mortgage interest relief and measures to help both landlords and renters have also been widely floated.
It is additionally expected to feature supports for businesses, farms and additional funding for gardaí.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said there will be a focus on children throughout the budget, particularly in the areas of social protection, education and childcare.
Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman had previously pledged to halve childcare fees across two years.
Last year’s budget delivered a 25 per cent cut, but it has not yet been confirmed if the second 25 per cent reduction will kick in this year.
One of the largest issues looming over the pre-budget negotiations was the €1 billion overrun in the Department of Health, with Tánaiste Micheál Martin saying that population growth in Ireland over a short space of time had led to an increased demand for health, education and childcare services.
Mr Martin said on Monday: “Above all we want to protect for the future and we want to provide finances to ensure that people’s entitlements into the future are secure”.
Green party leader and Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan told reporters on Monday that Government will have temporary supports to deal with the “high energy crisis period”, adding that energy credits would not be “that dramatically different” to those announced last winter.
Mr Ryan said a PRSI increase was being examined as “the right thing to do”.
“We need some tax raising measures. We have to get the balance here. The economy is at full tilt – we have to protect people from the cost-of-living impacts but at same time, we have to make sure that we maintain sustainable public finances.”
Minister McGrath will begin his Budget 2024 speech in the Dáil at 1pm, followed by Minister Donohoe at 1.45pm and opposition replies from 2.30pm.
