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Government delivers Budget 2014

Tuesday, 15 October 2013 15:21

Ministers Michael Noonan and Brendan Howlin have delivered Budget 2014 in the Dail. In his opening address, Minister Noonan said that the economic sovereignty is almost restored and the budget will help to complete that task. He also blamed the Fianna Fáil government for the sacrifices people have made in recent years. (Click above for audio) The main points of Budget 2014: - from midnight - 10 cent on a pack of 20 cigarettes, 10 cent on a pint of cider/beer and a standard measure of spirits and 50 cent on a 75cl bottle of wine - no changes to the price of petrol, diesel and home heating oil and gas - no increase in income tax or Universal Social Charge in 2014 - standardise the rate of maternity benefit to €230 euro per week for new claimants from January - no change to monthly rate of €130 for child benefit - jobseekers allowance will be reduced to €144 to those reaching 25 from January 2014 - allocating €3 million to fund the roll out of free GP care for children aged 5 and under as first step to free gp care for all - reduced VAT rate of 9% will remain in place for the tourism sector. - air travel tax reduced to zero from next year - a tax incentive scheme for homeowners who spend between €5000 and €30,000 on renovations over the next two years - all payments to the survivors of the Magdalene laundries will be tax exempt - comprehensive suite of measures is being put in place to help homeowners in arrears - 0.6% pension levy introduced to pay for the jobs initiative in 2011 will be scrapped at end of next year but be replaced by 0.15% for future difficulties.

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