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Budget 2018: Here are the main points you need to know

How does this year’s Budget affect you?

TheJournal.ie / YouTube

PASCHAL DONOHOE BEGAN his first Budget as Finance and Public Expenditure Minister by saying the announcement would “build on progress that would have seemed impossible only a few short years ago”.

Earlier on today the Taoiseach promised to put money back in the pockets of “taxpayers, working people, families, pensioners, people on welfare” and to bring in “measures to reduce the cost of living”.

But just how does this year’s Budget, delivered this afternoon, affect you?

Read on to find out…

Donohoe said the Budget would promote fairness and allow for sustained improvements in the standards of people’s lives.

Describing the state of the economy as he began his speech, he said that, at 6.1%, unemployment was at its lowest point since 2008. The Budget, he said, was part of a process that would help minimise the exposure of the Irish economy to outside risk – including events like Brexit and possible changes to US trade policy.

He would be raising additional revenues worth €830 million, Donohoe said, giving a total Budget Day package of €1.2 billion. Expenditure will receive an additional €898 million and there will be tax reductions worth €335.

Social welfare

  • There will be a €5 increase in all weekly social welfare payments, including the State pension
  • This will kick in at the end of March 2018
  • The Christmas bonus payment of 85% will again be paid to all social welfare recipients in 2017
  • Also from March, payments under the One Parent Family Payment and the Jobseekers’ Transitional Scheme will be increased by €20 per week
  • A new weekly telephone support of €2.50 announced for people in receipt of both the living alone allowance and the fuel allowance

Need more details on today’s social welfare announcements? Find them here.

Income taxes

  • The point at which an income earner attracts the higher rate of income tax will rise next year by €750 per annum
  • The entry point to the higher rate for single earners will increase from €33,800 to €34,550
  • Donohoe will be reducing the 2.5% USC rate to 2% and increasing the ceiling for this new rate from €18,772 to €19,372
  • He will be reducing the 5% rate of USC to 4.75%
  • There will be a €200 increase in the Earned Income Credit, bringing it to €1,150 per year from 2018. According to the Department, “This increase will benefit over 147,000 self-employed individuals generating economic activity across the country”
  • There will be a further increase of €100 in the home carer credit, bringing the value of the credit up to €1,200 per year
  • The USC may be on the way out. A working group is to be set up “to plan, over the coming year, the process of amalgamating USC and PRSI over the medium term”

You’ll find more detail on all today’s tax announcements here.

Housing

  • An extra €500 million will be provided to the direct building programme 
  • This will see an additional 3,000 new build social houses by 2021 – that’s 3,000 more than the target originally set out in the government’s major housing and homelessness plan Rebuilding Ireland
  • Additional funding for a scheme that secures non new-build social homes will lead to an increase of 4,000 homes next year
  • The Housing Assistance Payment scheme will be increased by €149 million
  • Up to €750 million of the NTMA-controlled Ireland Strategic Investment Fund will be made available for commercial investment in housing finance. The funds are to be made available to a new vehicle to be known as Home Building Finance Ireland or HBFI
  • Funding for homeless services – including providers of emergency accommodation and other supports – will be increased by a further €18 million to over €116 million
  • The vacant site levy will more than double from 3% to 7% on land not sold by 2019. The message to so-called land hoarders: “You need to get on to developing your lands urgently.”

Mortgage interest relief (the tax back scheme to help those in negative equity) will be also be cut on a phased basis, starting next year. You can find further details of today’s housing announcements here.

Rainy day fund

  • Donohoe pledged to establish a Rainy Day Fund in 2018 and transfer €1.5 billion to it from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund

We’ve been hearing about this Rainy Day Fund for a while now. Here’s a quick explainer on it.

Stamp duty

  • The level of stamp duty on commercial property transactions will increase from 2% to 6% from midnight tonight, as had been widely flagged

Health

  • There will be a reduction in prescription charges for all medical card holders under 70 from €2.50 to €2 per item with cap of €20
  • Donohoe also announced a reduction in the threshold of the Drugs Payment Scheme, down from €144 a month to €134.

Cigarettes

  • Excise duty on a pack of 20 cigarettes will rise by 50 cents, with a pro-rata increase on other tobacco products. This will increase the price of a regular brand packet of 20 to €12
  • This kicks in at midnight tonightmore detail here

Sugar tax

  • As promised last year, a sugar tax is on the way in 2018 - at a rate of 30 cent per litre on drinks with over 8 grams of sugar per 100 millilitres
  • There will be a reduced rate of 20 cent per litre on drinks with between 5 and 8 grams of sugar per 100 millilitres
  • The sugar tax will kick in in April next year

Sunbeds

  • Donohoe plans to increase the VAT rate on sunbed services from 13.5% to 23% – more on that here

Education

  • Donohoe pledged an additional 1,300 teaching posts in schools in 2018
  • As part of this hiring drive the pupil-teacher ratio will be reduced to 26:1
  • There will be a rise in the number of Special Needs Assistants – a 1,000 increase will bring the total number to over 15,000 next September

Gardaí

  • An additional 800 gardaí will be hired next year
  • 500 civilian workers will also be recruited

Childcare

  • The free pre-school programme will be further developed – ensuring entitlement to the full two year service from September 2018

Vat rate

  • The VAT rate in the tourism and services sector will not change

Brexit loans

  • Donohoe confirmed the State would launch a Brexit loan scheme for SMEs 
  • Up to €300 million will be made available at a ‘competitive rate’

You can read the entire Budget at the government’s dedicated site here. And you can find further coverage on TheJournal.ie  throughout the day.

Tomorrow, when you’ve had time to digest the facts and figures, TheJournal.ie will host a special one-off Facebook Live with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister Donohue.

Kicking off at 8pm from Facebook’s Dublin HQ, we will be putting some of your concerns and observations to the Taoiseach and the minister, and digging into the thinking behind the decisions made for the country and what it means for our collective future. Here’s how to get involved.

More: All weekly social welfare payments to increase by a fiver from March >

Revealed: Taoiseach’s new communications unit to cost €5m next year >

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112 Comments
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    Mute Keelan O'neill
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    Oct 10th 2017, 1:28 PM

    This time next year we’ll all be millionaires.

    625
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    Mute Paul Coughlan
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    Oct 10th 2017, 3:52 PM

    @Keelan O’neill: penny miiionaires – no cents to that

    58
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    Mute Stephen Kearon
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    Oct 10th 2017, 1:55 PM

    Govt says we’re at full employment, yet they reward work shy by increasing job seekers allowance! Would have been far fairer to increase job seekers benefit alone

    441
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    Mute Franklin Roosevelt
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:16 PM

    @Stephen Kearon: Aren’t you the Fianna Fail fella that charged the taxpayer €3,250 to host a website? For a year?

    While advocating for the government to cut spending?

    Stephen, please go take a walk westwards towards the Atlantic. And don’t turn back.

    149
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    Mute Aine
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:17 PM

    @Stephen Kearon: agree, you should be entitled to two years of social welfare maximum between the ages of 18 to 30.

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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:45 PM

    @Aine: You are, they force you into PT state work after 2 years now

    16
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    Mute Stan
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    Oct 10th 2017, 7:05 PM

    @Ryan Carroll: Trying to stay on the dole is a full time job itself as they make everyone do pointless courses over and over again with the threats of instant cut offs if you don’t attend one of FG’S buddies privately ran “job activation clubs”

    11
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    Mute Rob Cahill
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    Oct 10th 2017, 1:46 PM

    That Vat rate on tourism should come with a clause that you lose it if you fail to pass it on to the customer.

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    Mute Catherine Mc
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:12 PM

    @Rob Cahill:
    And to the workers !

    171
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    Mute Michael Murray
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    Oct 10th 2017, 3:58 PM

    @Rob Cahill: dont disagree at all, but exactly how do you police your suggestion?

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    Mute Rob Cahill
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    Oct 10th 2017, 4:52 PM

    @Michael Murray: Hotels are hugely over priced here, Not that hard to see who is ripping people off.

    20
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    Mute thelynchmob
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:29 PM

    Ahhhh…the Christmas bonus for welfare recipients. How lovely of them!! Looking forward to their announcement of a bonus for the people who actually go out and break their b*llox to work and pay their taxes.

    511
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    Mute JayK
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    Oct 10th 2017, 3:23 PM

    Begrudging people a few quid for Christmas. You’re literally Scrooge, the miserable old miser.

    94
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    Mute Brian
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    Oct 10th 2017, 3:31 PM

    @JayK: multiply that few quid by 1000s of scroungers and it adds to a huge amount of money.

    Sick to death of people not working contributing a cent to society getting housing, double payments etc at the states expense.

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    Mute Theunpopularpopulist
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    Oct 10th 2017, 3:31 PM

    @JayK: a few quid €10,000 unearned, untaxed income per year.

    A Christmas bonus is a kick in the teeth to those of use who pay for it.

    126
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    Mute karl
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    Oct 10th 2017, 4:30 PM

    @thelynchmob: what about those who have paid heavy tax for about 40 years and because of poor health cannot work ? Smarmy git !

    39
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    Mute Flip off
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    Oct 10th 2017, 4:47 PM

    Then they wouldn’t be on jobseekers. Smarmy moron

    48
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    Mute Mo
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    Oct 10th 2017, 5:06 PM

    @Flip off: “welfare recipients” you do know that isn’t just job seekers like for example pensioners, disabled, lone parents, family income support – idiot!

    19
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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Oct 10th 2017, 5:09 PM

    People need to loose this idea of Group A pays and Group B takes

    The system does not work like that. Excluding the lifers who are a small group, everyone pays into the pool and everyone takes out of it in different ways.

    90% of those on jobseekers paid tax and or PRSI and USC so why should they not get it? They did “earn” it, they paid into an insurance system and are getting back out of it. Do you have a problem collecting the insurance if you crash your car?
    Just because you are not on welfare does not mean you don’t take from the pool. Every. Last. One. of us takes from it we all went to school, we all get free or subsidised healthcare (depending on income), many of us went to university and got free tutition some got grants on top of that, all parents get childrens allowance, soon everyone will have a medical card.

    Stop thinking of yourselves as mayrters who pay for everyone else, we pay for you to, we all pay for each other at different times. When I go back to FT work I’ll be paying for someone elses sick pay and jobseekers and I’m fine with that.

    61
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    Mute Michael Geraghty
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    Oct 10th 2017, 5:14 PM

    @JayK: the country is close to what’s considered full employment! The ones left are give or take long term and choosing not to work. They don’t deserve to be rewarded

    31
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    Mute Mo
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    Oct 10th 2017, 5:23 PM

    @Ryan Carroll: well said Ryan this whole social class system of them v us is sickening and Leo’s patronising privilege made it even more acceptable to blame everything on the “lazy” work shy its just disgusting – keep the chattering class pitted against each other then they don’t notice the bigger things like TD salary increases, Bank that we bailed out not paying any tax for a decade, Apple tax but of course it’s the job seekers that are to blame for the state of the nation!

    23
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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Oct 10th 2017, 6:27 PM

    @Michael Geraghty: Micheal its not that simple.

    The ones “left” are not a static group that are the same people month and month and year to year they change, most get a job within 6 months and are replaced by new people who lost a job or company closed etc and then they get a job and move on.

    You are talking about a tiny group of people who are on it long term.

    7
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    Mute Frank Dubogovik
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    Oct 10th 2017, 6:42 PM

    @thelynchmob: never got 1 cent extra or a card even a text from my employer at Christmas! !!!!!
    It’s the sugar tax makes me laugh. .

    Pure nanny state

    7
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    Mute thelynchmob
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    Oct 10th 2017, 7:04 PM

    @JayK: nowhere in my comment have I begrudged people of a few quid at Christmas. I’m just stating the fact that those who actually go out to work to pay for these bonuses, get nothing! Why can’t us contributors get a token of gesture at Christmas, like tax relief in our wages over this period. But sure who am only a miserable old scrooge to think this!

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    Mute Rosemarie Martin
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    Oct 10th 2017, 8:06 PM

    @thelynchmob: I agree with you, those that work hard, but what about those who did, and are now OAPs, Carers who work their B—-xs off too, and 5euro will not help with rising cost of rents, [for OAPs], those who don’t have off shore accounts, properties to let, their own houses, are living on the grid, with rising esb, Gas costs, not nice on them either, and you wouldnot like it either . Just saying.

    3
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    Mute Stephen Adam
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    Oct 10th 2017, 9:38 PM

    @Rosemarie Martin: I have to say Rosemarie that there is more responsibility to being a citizen than just paying taxes. You have a duty to vote responsibly for the good of the nation. The older generation did not do so. Decades of FF FG cronyism and give away budgets have left us in this state.

    I really don’t have a huge amount of sympathy for the generation that broke the country and complained about it now. Perhaps if you’d voted for better men and women and in the national interest the country would be in a position to look after its citizens now.

    4
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    Mute conriel
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    Oct 10th 2017, 1:51 PM

    Iam going to up give smoking, get rid of the sunbed, stop drinking sugary drinks, Then set up an SME, join the guards , get building houses, I will not sell any of my commercial properties, and finally Iam going to get me an electric van, Boy that was great Budget, Iam laughing all the way to the Bank!!

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    Mute Stapleton
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    Oct 10th 2017, 1:57 PM

    @conriel: brilliant. Love this comment ha

    57
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    Mute Paul Coughlan
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    Oct 10th 2017, 3:55 PM

    @conriel: can I join you providing you leave out the bank

    13
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    Mute Jenny Parkinson
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    Oct 10th 2017, 3:15 PM

    So I work full time, pay tax, pay a mortgage. I have to pay all my bills and if I need to go the doctor pay for this also. I am €7 ‘better off’ a month. Yet someone who is on the dole, gets a medical card, gets help with bills and rent is at least €20 better off. Great system!!!!

    308
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    Mute ian kennedy
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    Oct 10th 2017, 3:29 PM

    @Jenny Parkinson: and they say people on the dole are uneducated and stupid

    77
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    Mute Conor church
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    Oct 10th 2017, 4:53 PM

    And they will get a Christmas bonus!

    41
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    Mute Mo
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    Oct 10th 2017, 5:10 PM

    @ian kennedy: apart from YOU who else says that you patronising, sanctimonious, ill educated dick. Wtfu.

    6
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    Mute Michael Geraghty
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    Oct 10th 2017, 5:15 PM

    @Mo: if you are educated or have a skill. You really shouldn’t be unemployed. It’s kind of self explanatory really

    7
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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Oct 10th 2017, 5:20 PM

    Jenny you are leaving out the key fact that our income is much much smaller than yours hence why we NEED help more than you. Some of us are sick, some of us have a disability, some of us had our company close from underneath us. You are still better off financially than anyone on social welfare but for a small class who have 10 different allowances. The average income for take home pay in Ireland is €800, so comparing that to €200 eve if you include rent allowance that some have it’s apples and oranges.

    -It’s €5, the €20 is only for two specific schemes.
    -Everyone pays all their bills you don’t get no bills because you’re on welfare dunno where you got that idea. Pensioners and Disabled get a small subsidy, jobseekers don’t get anything off bills.
    -Not everyone gets help with rent that’s actually quite hard to get (I was refused it and i was on disability with life threatening illnesses and an huge record of unbroken PRSI and USC payments stretching back to 16)
    -You will get a medical card eventually, starting with kids universal public healthcare is being rolled out they’ve already started with the under 6′s under 12s are next, and on after that in phases.

    IMO the middle in Ireland unlike the rest of Europe gets screwed over badly because of means testing most countries do thing like healthcare unviersally so we have a middle class that pays for everything but is entitled to get very little of what they pay for, that needs to change but attacking those weaker on lower incomes won’t help that.

    23
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    Mute Mo
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    Oct 10th 2017, 5:27 PM

    @Michael Geraghty: more rubbish seriously mate have you never heard of rural Ireland where the jobs are few and the infrastructure doesn’t exist!

    3
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    Mute Franklin Roosevelt
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    Oct 10th 2017, 1:42 PM

    €149 million on the Housing Assistance Payment is a waste of time.

    That’s basically just a transfer from the taxpayer to the people with plenty of rental houses that are the donors, party members, and elected representatives of Fine Gael.

    It only benefits the landlords in this housing market that has chronically short supply.

    Build far more than 3,800 social housing units, then the state can have years and years of revenue from those streams too.

    The free market has failed us utterly with regards to housing.

    118
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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Oct 10th 2017, 1:54 PM

    @Franklin Roosevelt: FG won’t build social housing because they know their voters don’t live in it.

    In general, FF, SF and Independent voters either live in them now, their parents did and they have or are trying to get a private rented space or mortgage, or someone in their family did. People on low incomes or newly middle class don’t generally vote centre-right because those are the people always complaining about the help they are getting. THey won’t admit it in public but they do behind the scenes, “why throw money at people who will never vote for us?”. They also have the inside the bubble attitude (as their voters do) “well i got a mortgage i don’t see why they can’t”. They have a voter base that does not see shades of grey, if your life is not like theirs it must be because you were lazy

    75
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    Mute Colin Anderson
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    Oct 10th 2017, 1:57 PM

    @Franklin Roosevelt: is not the free market that has failed us…. As you rightly point out the flaw is the HAP scheme itself…. There is no free rental market now thanks to this massively under thought out scheme…. The state has now skewed the rental market I artificially … Do you know in Dublin your taxes are contributing to HAP payment of up to 1950 per month? No wonder rents are going through the roof….. Like the last property (sale) bubble our state has intervened in a free market and it’s gone pear shaped….

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    Mute Franklin Roosevelt
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:19 PM

    @Colin Anderson: yes, the HAP payment that was introduced in 2014 is the problem with our current housing system.

    What will you tell us next? People on the dole crashed our economy?

    18
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    Mute Theunpopularpopulist
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    Oct 10th 2017, 3:31 PM

    @Franklin Roosevelt: no but an annual social welfare bill of 20 billion does put it under a lot of strain.

    18
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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Oct 10th 2017, 5:22 PM

    @Theunpopularpopulist: Most of that 20billion is pensions

    Were going through demographic trends making more of us older and disabled that’s a trend that started in the late 80s (if you look at disability is has doubled over the last 15 years, the numbers, pensions are going up too)

    5
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    Mute Colin Anderson
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    Oct 10th 2017, 5:28 PM

    @Franklin Roosevelt: do you agree with state funding inflated rental? How could it not cause problems to offer subsidy from state coffers higher than free market dictates? Average 3 bed rental is not 1950 (though not far off) yet HAP goes this high…. Fingal area.

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    Mute Sean
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    Oct 10th 2017, 11:02 PM

    @Colin Anderson: the State could provide their own housing but decided long ago it was the more expensive and more hassle than it was worth option. So now it gives tenants money to rent from landlords in the private sector instead. Now you could argue that it sets a floor for rents and I wouldn’t disagree with you. But the alternative is that the State must provide this accommodation so the money still gets spent. It’s not a saving.

    1
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    Mute Gavin R
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:01 PM

    I’m writing up my notice period to my employer, get more on the bleeding dole.

    113
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    Mute Richard Sweeney
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:40 PM

    @Gavin R: You won’t you drama queen.

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    Mute Rosemarie Martin
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    Oct 10th 2017, 8:08 PM

    @Gavin R: I agree, it is sad when there is little incentive to work. Social housing works best for those who have lots of kids. Another can of worms.

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    Mute Stephen Kelleher
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    Oct 10th 2017, 1:45 PM

    Major cop out on the vat rate for hoteliers…

    77
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    Mute Fred Jetson
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:01 PM

    Main point we need to know is that the bloated welfare budget is about to balloon even further. Why don’t we just go the full way and declare ourselves a communist state where the government takes care of you from cradle to grave.

    93
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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:13 PM

    @Fred Jetson: Most of that 21b goes on pensions and disability which is hardly communist in fairness.

    Jobseekers is time limited now and there are tonnes of rules and checks. Childrens Allowance goes to everyone. It’s not an extravagant set of benefits by any means in European terms it’s quite moderate actually.

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    Mute Andrew Mockler
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    Oct 10th 2017, 1:39 PM

    sunbeds hah hahaha!!!
    oh god brace yourselves for more bottle orange umpa lumpas walking around

    162
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    Mute Vonnie Ni Ghralaigh
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    Oct 10th 2017, 1:58 PM

    @Andrew Mockler: Surely less given that they won’t be able to afford it anymore!

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    Mute Kieran Stafford
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:00 PM

    @Andrew Mockler: would it not be less with the vat rate increasing

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    Mute Brian Nolan
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:06 PM

    @Kieran Stafford:
    I presume that’s why he said bottle orange…

    46
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    Mute Mick Power
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:06 PM

    @Kieran Stafford: Andrew said the bottle ones

    22
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    Mute Fozz
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:09 PM

    @Kieran Stafford: no, more because the deluded will spray on that orange crap instead.

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    Mute john
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    Oct 10th 2017, 3:55 PM

    When is the middle class going to get a Christmas bonus

    55
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    Mute Peadar Cleary
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    Oct 10th 2017, 4:19 PM

    @john: ask your employer

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    Mute john
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    Oct 10th 2017, 5:12 PM

    @Peadar Cleary: it’s ok for you get your bonus on the welfare

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    Mute Megan Ward
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    Oct 10th 2017, 5:31 PM

    @john: We get it from our employer. Some of us, anyway. Take it up with your boss :)

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    Mute Rosemarie Martin
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    Oct 10th 2017, 8:11 PM

    @john: John your comment just drives a further ridge between class, privilege and education, people from Ballymun and Sherrif Street rarely get jobs in afflient companies.
    Middle class don’t put their names down for social housing, hence huge mortgages, so snobbery has a price. You don’t need the Xmas Bonus and neither did I when I worked.

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    Mute Toon Army
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:00 PM

    Bit of nothing for everyone. Well done Pascal.

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    Mute Eamo Hansen
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:05 PM

    The most impressive part of all this is Donohue’s ability to change his shirt and tie for every photo.

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    Mute Acedeuce
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    Oct 10th 2017, 1:37 PM

    “there really is a fantastic atmosphere around the budget.. Everybody’s ecstatic” – dane fine Gael tyghe / Joseph mcplunkett /Billy wiggle / Jose mosse etc etc

    33
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    Mute willypearson
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:49 PM

    No mention of mental health

    43
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    Mute Sean Baylon
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    Oct 10th 2017, 4:27 PM

    @willypearson: thats the problem.. people don’t talk about it enough..

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    Mute Kevin Slater
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    Oct 10th 2017, 1:44 PM

    Aw I can’t wait to get my €149,000,000 HAP!

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    Mute Paul
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    Oct 10th 2017, 1:49 PM

    Good to see rainy day fund stays.

    19
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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Oct 10th 2017, 1:58 PM

    @Paul: Imagine if we’d had one from 1997 to 2008 and put half the surplus into it instead of endless tax cuts and extra rates on welfare, then say spend half the remainder on public service improvements and the other half on finishing transport 21.
    Would have been 20-40b in it. It would have meant far less borrowing OR far less cuts when the global crash hit.

    We’d have been in a far better position. Of course ironically, if Bertie had done that, the public would have been outraged at him “hogging” the money and replaced him with FG and Labour and same thing would have happened anyway. Hope we learned enough to keep a reserve fund this time.

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    Mute Stephen Adam
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:11 PM

    @Ryan Carroll: we learned nothing at all. Not a damn thing. Public sector pensions stratospheric? Check. Capital infrastructure negligible? Check. Caving to unions? Check. Narrowing the tax base? Check? Same old same old party hacks? Oh you better believe that’s a check.

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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:15 PM

    @Stephen Adam: Something around 2/3 of the new spending since the troika left has gone on PS pay hikes which absolutely sickens me, they have permenant jobs that are nearly impossible to be fired from, can we not spend that on transport 21 or on more beds in health?

    Internationally in the US they’re back to bank deregulation (Europe not dumb enough to follow suit, YET)
    Here we are back to 10ers on welfare and tax cuts…the very two habits that left us overexposed to the global crash last time.

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    Mute Stephen Adam
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:24 PM

    @Ryan Carroll: Absolutely. Same gombeenism. What does amuse me though is that they’re damaging their own interests – the lack of housing, infrastructure, health and modernisation in our cities couple with high tax and punitive rent is a major disincentive to their believed FDI.

    Ironically had they toughened up and spent on infrastructure, high rise living and reducing the housing crisis they’d be much better placed to attract financial businesses moving due to Brexit.

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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:56 PM

    @Stephen Adam: Transport 21 and going up not out should be our no1 priorities

    If the irish insist on a garden and won’t consider an apt let them pay for it. We need city density for proper transport planning we need metros and subways this crap of building houses along rail lines subsidised at 500euro a passenger is ridiculous.

    EVeryone in politics disagrees with me on this but I think our systems to blame, if we had mixed member PR with a party list as well as candidates for areas I think there would at least be some in parliament with more policy focus nationally than worrying about the bypass in their own back yard. We have 158 seperate kings worrying about their own separate kingdoms nobody thinking of the national picture

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    Mute Stephen Adam
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    Oct 10th 2017, 4:49 PM

    @Ryan Carroll: national focus is an enormous problem. No one gives a damn. Parish pump is the name of the game. And no one agrees with you inside the machine cos that’s the game they know how to play.

    Accountability has to be created. Reform Seanad which then have to confirm Ministers based on plans, qualifications and timelines. If they don’t meet them as outlined (without good reason) Seanad can remove them. Suddenly Ministers required to solve national problems or lose their jobs.

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    Mute Stephen Adam
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    Oct 10th 2017, 4:52 PM

    @Ryan Carroll: People do pay for those houses with gardens. In fact they pay too much. Problem in this country is that it’s the only option. Many would embrace condo/apartment High rise living within a walk of the CC. Traffic decreases, house prices in the suburbs decreases. Land value on commuter belt decreases. Public transport problems eased. Everyone’s a winner. Except land speculators.

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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Oct 10th 2017, 5:26 PM

    @Stephen Adam: I run into two problems inside politics when I try to convince people of this stuff:

    1. Rural politicos with a chip on their shoulder about Dublin saying “dublin gets everything”

    2. They don’t want a list system partly because they think it will make politicos more unresponsive that they’ll become party hacks sucking up to HQ (who decide how far up the list you are thus your odds of getting in) and voters will loose influence but I think it will just give national focus, we could do the German system of mixed member PR that way we keep constiutent reps and have a national list, or we could make the Senate useful by having every seat other than unis and Taoiseachs nominees be one national list.

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
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    Oct 10th 2017, 5:26 PM

    @Stephen Adam: Would you really embrace a high-rise flat served by one lift? Who are these people, childless fit bachelors who don’t like gardens or pets?

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    Mute Stephen Adam
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    Oct 10th 2017, 6:31 PM

    @Fiona Fitzgerald: I’m sorry Fiona but you’re living in the 30s. Modern cities go up because land is expensive and finite. Because it’s massively costly to create transport networks that device an ever widening metropolis. Because extended commutes severely damage quality of life. Because of pollution. And so on.

    The reality is we have lots of workers in their 20s and early 30s that work in the city centre and don’t have families. You think they want to live 45 mins from work? What about our foreign nationals who live here but don’t intend to buy a house here?

    The reason the Irish will embrace condo/High rise living? 1) it’s cheaper 2) we have no choice

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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Oct 10th 2017, 6:41 PM

    @Fiona Fitzgerald: You can have kids and live in an apartment there is no automatic need for a garden when you have kids, there are plenty of parks around and plenty of apts have green spaces for their residents only
    If the lift breaks you call the company and they come fix it that day that’s how it works at my building anyway

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    Mute Stephen Adam
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    Oct 10th 2017, 7:40 PM

    @Ryan Carroll: the voting system definitely needs to be looked at it. But as ever turkeys won’t vote for Christmas – how does a Kenny or a Healy Rae get elected without the local issues to deliver on?

    The problems with the list system are as you mentioned but again I’d have the Seanad directly elected, entirely independent based, 2 x 4 year terms max and their responsibility is to hold the Dail to account beginning with confirming Ministerial appointments.

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    Mute David Lawrence
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:41 PM

    So the increase in band only applies if you’re a single earner or married but separately assessed? Married and jointly assessed skipped over?

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    Mute Nick Allen
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    Oct 10th 2017, 3:29 PM

    @David Lawrence:

    Don’t be daft

    1
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    Mute David Lawrence
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    Oct 10th 2017, 3:56 PM

    @Nick Allen: no need to be rude… I’m asking the question because the calculator does not apply the change in bands to jointly assessed couples. Presume a simple error.

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    Mute GDDExpert
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    Oct 10th 2017, 4:18 PM

    20 cents on 5 grams of sugar per 100 ml. Milk just missed out. It’s 4.9 grams of sugar per 100ml.

    13
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    Mute Tom
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    Oct 10th 2017, 4:22 PM

    Leo: So they give us pretty much half of what they earn right?
    Simon: Yeah.

    Leo: And we give them a small bit of that back once a year?
    Simon: Yes

    Leo: So we can make it look like we’ve done them a big favor?
    Simon: Exactly! Everybody wins..

    12
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    Mute Jen Doyle
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:59 PM

    Can anyone expand on the childcare point? Have they made changes to the really badly thought out 2 year entitlement? Which incidentally you can only avail of if your child was born in certain months

    13
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    Mute Ailish ♡
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    Oct 10th 2017, 5:49 PM

    Still no mention of mental health, on world mental health day.

    12
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    Mute irishred
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    Oct 10th 2017, 4:59 PM

    Sorry,,so if ya never worked,,and I don’t mean those that are sick or unable to work,,the sofa workers,jobshy ones they should be told,if you haven’t paid xyz tax in your lifetime you are only getting half the state pension. This may get them off there arse to get to work.

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    Mute Adrian
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:43 PM

    Haha. Rainy day fund for when they’ll eff up again, and that’s guaranteed! It’s probably under the instruction of the EU who are calling it a different name, like the insurance fund because we know yer awful politicians and we don’t want to be bailing ye out again!

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    Mute irishred
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    Oct 10th 2017, 4:56 PM

    So the jobshy gain again!! Laughable,when it comes to stuff like state. pension,talk is it will be gone by the time I retire,26yrs..so here is my idea,I have never claimed benifits. Hopefully never will. I have paid my taxes for last 24yrs.So for people who have worked all their life,if they were to have paid say €400k in taxes they get extra let’s say €50 a week..thou if you never worked

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    Mute Paul Culligan
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    Oct 10th 2017, 5:05 PM

    I think I’ll join the Work-shy.

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    Mute Gerard McConnell
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    Oct 10th 2017, 5:36 PM

    The seven year period owners must retain qualifying assets to enjoy full relief from Capital Gains Tax is being reduced to four years. There’s the vultures sorted while the hard pressed working people get the crumbs again. Social welfare going up, trying to sway the Sinn Fein voters on that. How about a system where you get welfare for a specific period of time only throughout your life, say 3 years max, instead we’ve welfare lifers that will always just take from the state. Sickens me.

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    Mute Michael Power
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    Oct 10th 2017, 5:00 PM

    And nothing to help carers

    5
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    Mute Jason Clancy
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    Oct 11th 2017, 1:24 AM

    I work in an industry that 365 days of the year and I have worked a lot of xmass I’ve been working since I’m 14 were Is my xmass bonus yet I get strapped in tax for working my bollics off, I love what I work at and never will I be without a job but I hope ye all enjoy yer bonus from my hard work

    4
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    Mute Jonathan Power
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:07 PM

    WoW 30% per litre on sugary drinks !!! Boy that’s stiff.

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    Mute Jonathan Power
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    Oct 10th 2017, 2:08 PM

    @Jonathan Power: 30 cent per litre I mean, nearly the same thing. Geez they’ll be rich when you see the amount of sugary drinks sold in supermarkets.

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    Mute Dave Sherman
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    Oct 10th 2017, 3:10 PM

    @Jonathan Power: just watch how the non sugary drinks will get the same price uplift as the sugary ones.

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    Mute Jonathan Power
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    Oct 10th 2017, 3:51 PM

    @Dave Sherman: and it’ll be hit every year in the budget Dave. It’ll become their new reliable along with fags and petrol

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    Mute Frank Dubogovik
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    Oct 10th 2017, 7:33 PM

    @Jonathan Power: lol…..if you’re the ” designated driver” for a night out you’ll spend more than the bucks swilling back a few pints

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    Mute prop joe
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    Oct 10th 2017, 5:58 PM

    So nothing is being done about the housing crisis just a promise of 4k houses in the next few years. Nothing of any substance, no location , no time when they’ll be complete. Raising welfare and lowering taxes is a recipe for disaster.

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    Mute Paul Maher
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    Oct 10th 2017, 10:49 PM

    Sugar tax is great idea. USC and Tax bands disappointing though. Property measures interesting and am interested to see how this pans out. Good to be nudging land owners to get their property out on the market. Let’s see how that progresses things… Rome isn’t bought in a flat pack…

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    Mute Father Hody Commody
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    Oct 10th 2017, 7:44 PM

    Heard Murphy the wheezing Minister on Pravda earlier. Asked simple questions and each time thought he had to go into listing 2021 mode. So quick he tripped himself up all over the place.
    An absolute waste of space. Why is he a minister at all?

    1
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    Mute James Sunny Brown
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    Oct 10th 2017, 11:05 PM

    3000 houses to be built, 100,000 on the housing list, FG do not do social housing and haven’t done it for decades.
    Mortgage interest relief cut to 50 % from 75% and to be phased out, every person with a mortgage is going to feel this.
    Great little country we live in, sheep keep voting the same muppets into government.

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    Mute Tiger Benson
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    Apr 27th 2018, 11:16 PM

    Poor CREDIT score loan seekers can’t be kicked out.
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    Mute David O'Brien
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    Oct 10th 2017, 5:44 PM

    What a complete load of cow shite

    3
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    Mute Tiger Benson
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    Apr 27th 2018, 11:13 PM

    Poor CREDIT score loan seekers can’t be kicked out.
    http://aplusindependentfinancial.mw.lt/ XX
    you can make more re search/inquiries about a capital financial DEP
    their service offer Business Loans, e-Visa purchase, personal Loans and other financial assistance but am 100% sure about the loaning sector…+1 (347) 450-3342 fo better still send your first mail to
    aplus_independent_financial @ hotmail.com take off space(s)

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    Mute John Maor
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    Jan 17th 2018, 11:23 AM

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    Mute Dennis G Baker
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    Feb 28th 2018, 11:28 PM

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    Mute Stefan Hnendrick
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    Mar 1st 2018, 9:07 AM

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    Mute Amuta Emi
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    Feb 28th 2018, 11:42 PM

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    Mute Dan Te
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    Mar 24th 2018, 10:30 AM

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