Welfare recipients are set to receive a “triple whammy” of financial assistance in the budget including a double once-off payment in the Autumn, thanks to the buoyancy in the public finances.
It is also expected the cost-of-living package in the budget to help struggling families could reach €2 billion though that will depend on how expensive the public sector pay deal will be, senior Government ministers have said.
As the Irish Examiner reports, with public finance now likely to run a surplus of €5 billion at year-end, there is a growing sense that a majority of the windfall revenues will be put into savings or used to pay down the national debt.
The likely triple whammy for welfare recipients will include a double once-off payment in the autumn; a permanent increase of at least €10 to all welfare rates; and the Christmas bonus.
It has been stated that a once-off double child benefit payment to all parents at a cost of €170m is a “near certainty”.
The child benefit increase would see parents get €280 one-off payment if they have one child or €560 if they have two. Parents with three children could get €840 if the policy is agreed by Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath.
Senior Government sources from across the coalition have also made clear that the introduction of a 30 per cent tax rate is now “all but abandoned”.
“While nothing is formally off the table, the 30 per cent rate is not going to happen. It would cost €500 million. What will happen is an increase in the entry point to the top rate of tax," a source said.
Senior officials will return to their desks next week with departments due to present their list of pre-budget demands to Mr McGrath in the coming days.
While he has signalled a willingness to go beyond the 5 per cent pay increase for public sector workers, it has been made clear that a 9 per cent increase is “not achievable”.
To meet current public sector wage demands could cost the State at least €1.6 billion if agreed to by the Government.
