Budget 2023 | Renters’ credit and third-level fee cut expected to be unveiled

A tax credit for renters and double welfare payments are among the measures expected in Budget 2023, which will be officially unveiled in the Dail at 1pm on Tuesday.

In what could be one of Ireland’s most significant budgets in years, the pressure is on the coalition government to get the balance right as bills for energy, fuel, groceries and housing soar.

One measure expected to be announced has already been labelled as “a serious disappointment”.

The Government had indicated during the summer that the Budget would be worth 6.7 billion euro, but on Sunday it published a white paper that indicated it had a surplus of 4.4 billion euro, mostly due to the overperformance of corporate tax.

A one-off package of measures to help people with inflationary prices is, as of yet, uncosted – with ministers indicating less than two weeks before Budget Day that it had yet to be decided how much of the surplus should be used to help people with the rising cost of living.

Among the one-off measures to be announced are energy credits worth 600 euro in total, with one payment to be paid out before Christmas to help with spiralling bills.

Carers and people with disabilities are due to get one-off payments of 500 euro, while renters are reportedly in line for a 500 euro tax credit.

A double payment of social welfare and child benefit is expected, as is a reported 12 euro increase in the core social welfare payments – the latter of which has already been labelled as “a serious disappointment” by stakeholder groups.

The Government has pledged to help people with high childcare costs as a core part of Budget 2023, and is to announce that fees will decrease by 25% next year, with Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman to push for a further 25% reduction in 2024.

The forthcoming budget is also to reduce third-level fees, with the student contribution charge reported to drop by 1,000 euro for all students.

A widening of the highest tax band is expected so that the top rate of 40%, which currently applies to those earning over 36,800 euro, will kick in at a higher wage. Tanaiste Leo Varadkar’s suggestion for a new 30% tax band rate will not be in Budget 2023.

Schemes to help businesses keep the lights on during the energy crisis are also to be announced.

The Fuel Allowance, currently worth 33 euro a week, is expected to be expanded to include a larger cohort than the current 370,000 eligible people for the payment.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe indicated earlier this month that while budget measures targeting those most at-risk of energy poverty and most in need of help are “important”, he added that “we are facing into a broad challenge at the moment, and the mix here is something that we will work on”.