IRISH BUDGET 2022

Last updated: 12 Oct 2021 02:35 Posted in:

Ireland's Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has presented his 2022 budget to the Dáil on the 12 October 2021.

Whilst the Minister told the house that Ireland was now entering a "new phase" after the Covid-19 pandemic, the Budget 2022 was set against a backdrop of significant economic uncertainty and the route to recovery.

Key Measures

Health

free GP care for children aged 6 and 7
threshold for the Drug Payment Scheme lowered to €100
€250 million to tackle hospital waiting lists
free contraception for women aged 17-25
€30 million to allow patients greater access to high-tech drugs
expanding dental access to medical card patients

Social

National Childcare Scheme universal subsidy extended to all children aged up to 15
€5 increase in weekly social welfare payments
€5 increase in weekly payments for pensioners
Living Alone Allowance to be increased by €3
Fuel Allowance increased by €5
Parent's Benefit to be paid for 7 weeks (an increase of 2 weeks) from July 2022
introduction of a Youth Travel Card for those aged 19-23

Housing

11,820 new social homes will be delivered through build, acquisition and leasing programmes. 9,000 of these will be new build homes
€18 million for the delivery of Traveller accommodation
11,000 grants to adapt the homes of older people and people with a disability
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

Education and training

1,165 additional SNA's, bringing the total number of SNA's to almost 19,200
an additional 350 teachers to reduce school staffing schedules by 1 point for all primary schools
7,600 places in Further Education and Training courses in key skills areas of the economy
980 additional special education teachers working in special classes, special schools and mainstream settings to support children with special educational needs
off-the-job training places for 7,000 craft apprentices impacted by COVID-19
a €200 increase in the maintenance grant payment in the Student Support Scheme
recruitment of up to 800 new trainee Gardaí and 400 Garda staff

To find out more about the measure and new taxation provisions announced in the Budget, register for AIA's free webinar, Irish Budget 2022.

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