A Quick Glance At Today’s Budget.

Take A Quick Glance At Ireland’s Budget Details Announced Today.

• Workers earning the national minimum wage will see an increase of 65 cent per hour, bringing the new rate to €14.15.
  
  
• Motorists; Same will face higher fuel costs, with a 60-litre tank set to rise by €1.28 for petrol and €1.48 for diesel.
  
  
• Smokers; The cost of a 20-pack of cigarettes will increase by 50 cent, bringing the average price to just under €19.
  
  
• Social Welfare, Child benefit & Pensions; Core weekly social welfare payments, including the State pension, will rise by €10 per week. Child benefit; Same will increase by €8 per month for children under 12 and €16 for those aged 12 and over.
  
  
• Fuel allowance: Eligibility for the fuel allowance will be expanded to include recipients of the Working Family Payment, and the weekly allowance itself will rise by €5.
  
  
• Education & Grants; In education, college fees will be permanently reduced by €500, bringing the annual charge to €2,500—though this will represent an increase in real terms from the temporarily reduced rate of €2,000 in recent years. SUSI Grants; The income threshold for SUSI grants will rise by €5,000, to €120,000 per household. Capitation grants; Same will increase from €224 to €274 for primary and special schools, and from €386 to €406 at post-primary level. Special Needs Assistants; 1,717 new Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) will be appointed, bringing the total to almost 24,900, alongside 1,042 new teaching posts, including 860 for special education. Building Projects; A €1.6 billion capital investment will progress over 300 school building projects, delivering around 2,800 new places for special classes and schools.
  
  
• Hospitality: The VAT rate on hospitality will be cut to 9% from July 2026, while the rate for completed apartments will drop from 13% to 9% until the end of 2030.
  
  
• Renters; Renters will benefit from the extension of the tax credit for a further three years, remaining at €1,000 for individuals and €2,000 for couples. Mortgage interest relief will continue for two more years—€1,250 in 2025 and €625 in 2026.
  
  
• Income Tax Bands; There are no major changes to income tax bands or credits, other than an increase in the USC 2% rate band to €28,700.
  
  
• Public Transport; Reduced public transport fares will continue throughout 2026, and the 9% VAT rate on energy bills will be extended until the end of 2028.
  
  
• Defence; The Defence budget will rise by 11%, funding 50 new civilian roles, 70 additional civil servants for areas such as cybersecurity, and new body armour and ammunition stock replenishment.
  
  
• Health; The Health budget will increase to €27.3 billion, up €1.5 billion on this year, including 300 new mental health staff.
  
  
• Law Enforcement; Up to 1,000 new Garda recruits will be deployed in 2026, with further investment in immigration processing, youth diversion, and domestic violence prevention programmes.
  
  
• National Broadband Plan; A further €433 million will go towards the National Broadband Plan, while €357 million will be provided for broadcasting, including €65.4 million for TG4.
  
  
• Renewable energy; Households generating renewable energy will benefit from an extension of the €400 income tax disregard for microgeneration earnings until 2028.
  
  
• Sport; €3 million will be provided to establish League of Ireland youth academies, and the GAA will receive €1.6 million in funding for inter-county players.
  
  
• Music; From Budget 2026, income tax relief for makers of uilleann pipes and Irish harps will be extended to 2028.