Budget 2022: At A Glance

12th October 2021

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THE GOVERNMENT HAS unveiled its Budget for 2021, announcing how it plans to spend a €4.7 billion package.

Here is a highlight of some of the main points (adapted from The Journal.ie)

The Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) is to remain in place until the end of February.
An increase of €5 in the main weekly welfare payments.
Weekly pension payments will also increase by €5.
The Living Alone Allowance (for those on pensions) will increase by €3 per week.
Parents Benefit is to be increased by two weeks to seven weeks from July 2022.
The Back to School Allowance will be increased by €10.
Fuel Allowance payments are set to rise by €5 per week – this kicks in from tonight.
The full Christmas bonus will be paid to welfare recipients.

Each of the personal tax credits, employee tax credits and income tax credits will be increased by €50.
The ceiling of second USC rate band to is to be increased from €20,687 to €21,295.
The national minimum wage will increase by 30 cents to €10.50 per hour.
The reduced VAT rate of 9% for hospitality businesses will remain in place until the end of August next year.
There will be an income tax deduction amounting to 30% of the cost of vouched expenses for electricity, heating and broadband in respect of those costs incurred while working from home.
There will be no increased excise duty on alcohol and there will be a 50 cent excise relief for independent small producers of cider and other fermented drinks.
Excise duty on a packet of 20 cigarettes will increase by 50 cent.

A zoned land tax is to be introduced to encourage the use of land for building homes.
An additional 14,000 Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) tenancies will be delivered.
Relief for pre-listing expenses for landlords will be extended for another three years to encourage landlords to return empty properties to the market as quickly as possible.
As previously announced by the government, some 9,000 new build social housing units will be delivered next year as well as over 4,000 affordable homes.

The carbon tax will be increased by another €7.50 this year to €41 per tonne.
A tax disregard in respect of personal income received by households that sell surplus electricity that they generate back to the grid.
An extension of the €5,000 vehicle registration tax relief for battery electric vehicles to the end of 2023.

Funding of €500 million for Covid measures such as testing/tracing and vaccination.
Free GP care is to be extended to children aged six and seven.
The threshold for the drugs payment scheme has been lowered, meaning the maximum someone will pay for approved prescribed drugs will be €100.
Access to free contraception for women aged 17-25 from next August.
19 additional critical care beds will be funded next year.
€105 million for disability services, including supports for school leavers and those inappropriately living in nursing homes.
€37 million for the expansion of mental health services

For those aged 19-23 the cost of public transport is to be halved – this will be rolled out from the middle of 2022 with a new Youth Travel Card.
€360 million is being provided for active travel and greenways.
€60 million in funding for the aviation sector to provide capital and operational grant schemes as well as supports for regional public service obligation services.
€108 million in maritime funding, including spending on safety training, equipment and systems for the Irish Coast Guard.

Funding for 980 additional teachers and 1,165 SNAs.
A reduction in class sizes.
€4 million to extend the hot school meals programme.
Additional administrative principals in special schools and mainstream schools with two or more special classes.
The Susi maintenance grant for higher educations students will be increased by €200.

Funding for an additional 800 gardaí and 400 Garda civilian staff will be provided.
€6.7 million will be available to the Youth Justice Strategy to support the development of early interventions.
A funding package will be provided to extend legal aid for victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.