Budget 2012 Ireland Two Day Blitz

By: Pat Prescott
12/06/2011 09:02 AM ET

Budget 2012 Ireland – Ireland’s two day Budget 2012 blitz is to kick off this afternoon with Minister Brendan Howlin’s outline of spending cuts.

The main cutbacks will include, Child benefit reduced to €140 for third and subsequent children, the scrapping of the €200 back to school allowance, and the closure of 40 Garda, aka police, stations, mostly in Dublin

However the annual charge of €50 for the medical card and a proposed increase of prescription charges are understood to be off the agenda.

The second half of the Budget will be announced tomorrow, which marks the 90th anniversary of the signing of the Irish Treaty and the creation of the Free State.

The auspicious date will see Finance Minister Michael Noonan outline €1.6 billion of savings through tax hikes, including a 2pc rise in VAT or sales tax,, a motor tax rise, a 3pc hike in deposit interest retention tax and a hike among the lowest bands of the Universal Social Charge.

The Irish Tax Institute has warned the Government that average workers were already reaching the tipping point following the last three years of austerity budgets, but the Taoiseach has argued that all hikes are necessary on the road to recovery.

The child benefit cuts will mean a loss of €768 per year for a family with four children.

The Government must come up with a total €12.4 billion euro between now and 2015, under the conditions of the EU/IMF bailout that took place last year.

Source: Budget 2012 Ireland

Tags: Ireland