Syndicated News

A total of €2.3bn has been allocated to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine for 2026. Aside from the €85m in additional funding for bovine TB eradication, there will be a €20m increase in spending on the ACRES scheme, with funding to reach €280m in 2026. The scheme supports over 53,000 farmers in

The Government has announced a weekly increase of €10 per person in a range of social protection payments from 2026, including: the State pension, disability allowance, carer’s allowance, jobseeker’s allowance and one-parent family payment. A Christmas bonus of a double payment for recipients of long-term social welfare schemes will be paid again this year. The

Minister Jack Chambers today has confirmed that he is allocating €1.5 billion to the Department of Culture, communications and sport. This will “build on the progress we have made,” he said. The minister announced that in terms of the Arts, the government is committing to deliver a “successor scheme” to the basic income scheme for

Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers has announced an increase in the standard capitation rates paid to all schools. This will include, on a per pupil basis, €50 for primary and special schools (from €224 to €274), and €20 for post-primary schools (from €386 to €406). In addition, Mr Chambers said the Department’s €1.6bn capital

The duty on a pack of 20 cigarettes will be increased by 50c as part of Budget 2026. Excise duty on other tobacco products will be raised on a pro-rata basis, Minister for Finance Pascal Donohoe told the Dáil. Smokers’ group Forest noted that the latest tax hike will push the cost of a pack

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has said Budget 2026 will “invest in our future” while also securing current jobs, prosperity and stability. As he began his Budget Day speech in the Dail chamber, he said the first budget of this coalition Government’s term would deliver for citizens and “tackle the serious challenges of meeting our

The Government has committed over €5bn in capital investment for housing delivery next year. This is in addition to investment by the Land Development Agency and Approved Housing Bodies. In his budget speech, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe announced €200m of additional external funding for Home Building Finance Ireland, which provides finance to homebuilders across

Carbon tax is to be increased to €71 per tonne of CO2 emitted and will be applied to auto fuels with effect from tomorrow, and to all other fuels from 1 May 2026. The Government said the additional revenue arising from the carbon tax increase is estimated at €121m in 2026, and the full-year additional

The Minister for Finance has announced that as of 1 January 2026, the national minimum wage will increase by €0.65 per hour to €14.15 per hour. Linked to that, the ceiling for the USC 2% rate band will be increased by €1,318 to €28,700. “This increase will ensure that full-time workers on the minimum wage

League of Ireland academies are set to receive €3m in funding from the Government. The details of Budget 2026 will be revealed later, but RTÉ Sport understands that the funding will fall short of the €4.45m requested by the FAI in their pre-budget submission. The administration of the multiannual funding is expected to come through