Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To support those most in need, a special one-off payment of €400 will be made before Christmas to those who receive the carer’s support grant, disability allowance, blind pension, invalidity pension and domiciliary care allowance.

This is a budget that makes concrete progress in ensuring that Ireland is one of the best places in the world to be a child. A double payment of child payment, worth an additional €140 for each child, will be made to all qualifying households before Christmas. A double payment of the foster care allowance will also be made this year. To ensure that our supports are targeted to the families that need them most, I am also announcing that a €400 lump sum payment will be made to recipients of the working family payment later this year. For the first time, this budget provides for a lump sum payment to each child in receipt of the qualified child increase. To assist families with the costs of education, I am announcing an extension of the fee waiver on school transport services for a further year, an extension of the fee waiver for students sitting State exams, and a €60 million capitation payment for schools so they can continue to meet increased running costs and funding for supports for the most disadvantaged groups. I am also providing a one-off reduction of the student contribution fee by €1,000 for free fees students, a one-off reduction of approximately 33% in the contribution fee for apprentices in higher education and an increase in the postgraduate tuition fee contribution by €1,000 for student grant recipients. Recognising that rising costs also impact businesses across the country, I am today announcing a scheme of business supports worth €250 million.

This represents a package of supports over this year and next worth €2.3 billion. The payments I am announcing are clearly substantial. They are needed because the cost of living, as we all know, is still rising. They are, however, of a lower value than a year ago because the cost of living is not rising as fast as it was a year ago. Prices are high, but inflation is falling, and wages and core payment rates are increasing to fill that gap. These supports reflect that.

It is right that temporary challenges are addressed with temporary measures. They cannot become an unaffordable element of ongoing spending. These payments by nature are changing as the level of inflation falls.

EXPENDITURE STRATEGY

I now want to outline our broader approach to public spending. It is based on a commitment to safe public finances. The Government can deliver further cost of living measures because we have run budget surpluses and our public debt is manageable. While we cannot meet every demand, we do our best to meet most needs for today and tomorrow. This budget is a further step in that direction. In devising our strategy, we ask ourselves if we should spend the current receipts from corporation tax, or plan for progressive growth in public services while retaining exceptional receipts to invest in and for future generations.

We entered this year in a strong position. Our resilience in the aftermath of the pandemic and energy price shocks is mostly due to the public spending policies the Government pursued over the past number of years. These policy choices did not happen by accident. To maintain this balanced and planned approach while smoothing the impact of inflation, the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, and I announced plans in the summer economic statement for an overall budgetary package of €91.2 billion for 2024. This includes an additional €5.3 billion over what was announced this time last year and €1 billion more than had been initially planned for 2024.

In capital, an additional €900 million is being made available under the national development plan, NDP. This will support the delivery of the most ambitious and greenest infrastructure plan in the history of our State. Some €250 million from the corporation tax receipts that we believe to be temporary in nature will further support this ambition and accelerate the delivery of projects that are almost at completion. This is part of a programme of additional capital investment of €2.25 billion over the years 2024 to 2026. These core plans are in line with what was announced in the summer economic statement.

In addition to the temporary cost-of-living measures that I have already outlined, I am announcing further non-core funding of €4.5 billion. This will support the response to exceptional circumstances, including the ongoing impact of Covid-19 on our health services and our humanitarian response to the war in Ukraine and the increased demand for international protection in our country.

The past year and a half have seen a dramatic increase in the number of people arriving to our shores seeking our help. Ireland has always been a welcoming country and I commend communities across our country for opening their hearts and their homes and welcoming those fleeing war. The selfless acts of kindness the Irish people have demonstrated during that time to those seeking support and protection highlights the best of our nature. Taken together, these measures will put in place the building blocks for further improvements in the delivery of our public services and will support a fair and equitable response to the needs our people face today.

CHILDREN

TACKLING CHILD POVERTY

This is a budget for building a better future for our country. This starts with making our country one of the best places on earth in which to be a child. Ending child poverty remains a core ambition of this Government and a child poverty unit is now established in the Department of the Taoiseach. In August, the Government published a programme plan on child poverty and child well-being to transform the lives of our youngest citizens and that plan is reflected in this budget. We will continue to improve our understanding in this area, and I have allocated an additional €1 million to the Central Statistics Office, CSO, for the growing up in Ireland survey to meet this goal.

In addition to direct supports to family income that I outlined as part of our cost-of-living package, I am announcing the following permanent changes to our social protection payments, specifically targeting the well-being of children: I am raising the qualified child increase by €4-----

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