We've had more numbers thrown at us today than that time a monkey got loose in the calculator factory we were being given a tour of. Budget 2018 has been announced by the government and it's safe to come out from under the bed now. It would seem there hasn't been anything too awful to digest.
Given the fact the economy is still on the up there was a conservative increase in spending in various areas but among the bad news (although it's for your own good) for some will be the introduction of a sugar tax and another increase on the price of cigarettes. Here's a breakdown of a few different announcements which could impact the lives of young people:
Health
Sugar Tax
As put forward in last year's Budget, the government is bringing in a sugar tax on fizzy drinks - or minerals as your granny might call them. This tax will be 30c per litre on drinks with 8g of sugar per 100ml and 20 cent per litre on drinks with between 5 and 8 grams of sugar per 100 millilitres.
Cigarettes
Same old story, the fags are rising in price from midnight. They'll be increased by 50c per pack of 20, bringing the price of packet to around €12.
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VAT rate on sunbed services
In light of the proven link between the use of sunbeds and skin cancer, they're raising the VAT on sunbed services from 13% to 23%.
Mental Health funding
Thankfully there will an increase in the amount of funding made available for mental health services. The exact amount was not specified but it's rumoured to be around €35m.
Education and Jobs
Teaching jobs
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There will be 1,300 new teaching posts made available in schools over the next year, with a plan to bring the pupil teacher ratio at primary level down to 26:1. For students there will also be enhanced career guidance provision as part of a further €43m investment in the sector.
Special Needs Education
The government will be investing €1.7bn in special needs education, including the hiring of 1,000 new SNAs.
More Gardaí
An 800 extra Gardaí will be recruited in 2018, including the addition of 500 civilians.
Social Welfare and Tax
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Social Welfare payments
€5 a week in all weekly social welfare payments from last week of March next year. They will also be a Christmas bonus given out of 85% to all welfare recipients.
Income Tax
The entry point for the higher rate of increase tax will rise by €750 from €33,800 to €34,550. Also if you're a young farmer your 1% stamp duty will not be rising. Rahoo rahoo rahoo!
Minimum wage increasing
The minimum wage will rise to €9.55 per hour and the changes to USC charges below will also have an impact on the pay packet of minimum wage workers.
USC rates
The 2.5% USC rate will drop to 2% and the ceiling for earnings paid at this rate will increase from €18,772 to €19,372. The 5% USC rate is also lowering to 4.75%.
Rainy Day Fund
The government has announced that they're introducing a rainy day fund of €1.5bn over the coming years. However they did not specify if this will work like a college student's rainy day fund where we can dip into it every now and again for an unplanned night out.
