Killarney

<h3>Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath delivered a €4.7bn package for Budget 2022. What can we expect?</h3>
<p>* An increase in the national minimum wage by 30 cent to €10.50 per hour<br />
* A 50c increase for a packet of cigarettes<br />
* Free GP care for children aged six and seven<br />
* €5 increase in the weekly rate of Fuel Allowance<br />
* €5 increase in weekly social welfare payments<br />
* €5 increase in weekly payments for pensioners<br />
* Living Alone Allowance to be increased by €3<br />
* The reduced VAT rate of 9 percent for the hospitality sector will remain in place to the end of August 2022<br />
* Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) to remain in place in a graduated form until April 30, 2022<br />
* Income tax deduction amounting to 30 percent of the cost of vouched expenses for heat, electricity and broadband for remote workers<br />
* Recruitment of up to 800 new trainee Gardaí and 400 Garda staff, 1,165 additional SNAs</p>
<p>&#8220;We are now entering a new phase where we will recover from the pandemic, restore our public services and living standards, repair our public finances,&#8221; Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe TD, said during his speech.</p>
<p>&#8220;Public spending next year will amount to €87.6 billion – the Government has been steadfast in its commitment to keeping this amount below the ceiling laid out in the Summer Economic Statement. Our medium-term strategy sets out that over the next two budgets we will: restore our public services, phase out temporary COVID-related spending, and repair our public finances.&#8221;</p>
<h4>Key Points</h4>
<h3>Health</h3>
<p>* free GP care for children aged six and seven<br />
* threshold for the Drug Payment Scheme lowered to €100<br />
* €250 million to tackle hospital waiting lists<br />
* free contraception for women aged 17-25<br />
* €30 million to allow patients greater access to high-tech drugs<br />
* expanding dental access to medical card patients</p>
<h3>Social</h3>
<p>* National Childcare Scheme universal subsidy extended to all children aged up to 15<br />
* €5 increase in weekly social welfare payments<br />
* €5 increase in weekly payments for pensioners<br />
* Living Alone Allowance to be increased by €3<br />
* Fuel Allowance increased by €5<br />
* Parent&#8217;s Benefit increased by 2 weeks to 7 weeks from July 2022<br />
* introduction of a Youth Travel Card for those aged 19-23</p>
<h3>Housing</h3>
<p>* 11,820 new social homes will be delivered through build, acquisition and leasing programmes. 9,000 of these will be new build homes<br />
* €18 million for the delivery of Traveller accommodation<br />
* 11,000 grants to adapt the homes of older people and people with a disability<br />
* 14,800 new households to have their housing needs met under the Housing Assistance Payment and Rental Accommodation Scheme, in addition to supporting almost 82,000 existing tenancies under these schemes</p>
<h3>Education and Training</h3>
<p>* 1,165 additional SNAs, bringing the total number of SNAs to almost 19,200<br />
* an additional 350 teachers to reduce school staffing schedules by 1 point for all primary schools<br />
* 7,600 places in Further Education and Training courses in key skills areas of the economy<br />
* 980 additional special education teachers working in special classes, special schools and mainstream settings to support children with special educational needs<br />
* off-the-job training places for 7,000 craft apprentices impacted by COVID-19<br />
* a €200 increase in the maintenance grant payment in the Student Support Scheme<br />
* recruitment of up to 800 new trainee Gardaí and 400 Garda staff</p>


What's in today's Budget?

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