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THE BUDGET’S SOCIAL welfare package will focus on vulnerable groups, including carers, those with a disability, working families and pensioners, according to Minister Heather Humphreys.
The social protection minister said she is also planning to extend the hot school meals programme to all primary school children.
She told reporters she wants to accelerate the rollout, stating she is working with schools that have expressed interest.
“I’m very aware that when you go to the supermarket, the cost of doing the weekly shop is considerably higher than it was some time ago. And so these are all things that I will take into consideration,” she said.
The minister said the social protection budget will be largest in history, at €1.2 billion.
Humphreys would not be drawn on pension payment hikes, only stating that in the last two budgets the pension increased by €12 each year. She intends for the social welfare package to be progressive, she said.
Finance Minister Jack Chambers said cost-of-living package will be considered as part of this year’s budget, but added that a decision would be made closer to the time of budget day.
“I think an intervention of the scale we’ve seen in previous years wouldn’t be appropriate for budget 2025. We have the flash inflation rate of 1.5% in June. We acknowledge as well though, that many people still need support. And that’s why in addition to the social protection package… there may be requirements for additional supports for for families as part of budget 2025. And but I don’t think it’ll be to the scale of previous years,” said Chambers.
Asked about possible changes to inheritance tax, something Fine Gael backbenchers have been advocating for, Chambers acknowledged that for many people, “it’s an imposition on them”.
However, he would not speculate on what the calibration of the tax package will be.
“We have significant work to do on that and making sure we prioritise different measures as part of budget 2025. I’m not going to speculate on what that will be or what measures will or won’t be included,” he said.
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Congratulations and a fantastic idea.
I only wish this was around when I was in school.
I spent years typing in basic code from computer weekly for simple games, and there was nobody else doing it at the time and I dropped it after school. Would have taken a different path if this had been around.
Well done, hobby today, career tomorrow.
perhaps something like this could be done for adults too? i know id be interested
@Abi, I just did a crash course in scratch programming, you can download it free from scratch.mit.edu, check out a few videos on how to do it and you can look at what others have made and how they made it, and you can copy and evolve their code, ideas etc.. works a bit like Lego, the more you play with it the better you get. It’s quite basic at the start but you can do some cool stuff once you get good
Fair f*cks to him. Also, there’s Enda Kenny, as usual embarrassing everyone like your cheesy Dad at Christmas dinner.
Well done James. I’ll be bringing my young fella along to the cork dojo in September. he’s only 7 but already made a simple game and a calculator in Python :)
Well done, I’m firmly convinced everyone has their ‘speciality’, be that an academic thing, a caring thing, or an arty thing, etc…all should be applauded in equal measure, all are of equal importance, in the greater scheme of things. This is a superb idea, fair fu.ks to you, you’ll go far and so you should’
A simple solution to a complex problem. Brilliant. Pity this couldn’t be encompassed in the schools curriculum and genuinely teach this stuff to the kids a few times a week, not for an hour a week by someone who’s a few years from retirement and afraid of computers. He’s right, he and others like him are filling a void in our educational system that has been there for years. The trouble is now that he’s doing it, the void will still be left there.
Great idea, we’ll done James.
Great success story congratulations James . Great to see someone who enjoys teaching and passing on a skill that could be life changing for some of the children .maybe the next bill gates is out there amongst them. Continued success for the future
That picture was taken at a special sitting of the CoderDojo which took place in the Dail. We are the first country to hold a “class” in their parliament buildings as far as I gather. CoderDojo is amazing and it’s scary how much some the kids know at them. God help the lecturers in third level when the kids eventually meet them.
Would love to be able to attend something like this. Shame I’m well out of school :(
absolutely brilliant idea and badly needed in Ireland. got to say the pic of cash-in-kenny made me sick because this stuff should be part of the everyday curriculum imo. govt are totally dragging their feet on this to the detriment of Ireland.
I think dojo came from the Japanese meaning of “place to learn” and then coder as in they are training to become “Ninja” Coders. I would imagine it was an interesting process picking that name.
I agree this is a great idea. I think it should be kept outside the education system and sponsored/funded like a charity. This will allow the people running it full freedom to let it develop in any direction it wants. I love the idea that google has given it a facility to use. The kick a kid must get out of walking into that building like that. It gives it a real buzz feeling.
I never thought of it that way, I guess you have a point there Robert, I still think if these folks are giving up their time to fill a void in our education system, the least the state can do is help them, maybe with equipment or premises.
I have to ask, where did you get the name CoderDojo from?
I cannot understand why you got a single down vote, why would people be against such an overwhelmingly positive idea? Does anybody stand to lose anything?
people scrolling down on mobile devices tapping the thumbs up/down by accident, I suspect as much as 50% of the ups and down’s here are unintentional.
Such an uplifting story. Well done and may you continue to grow.
This is a great idea, and it has really taken off. Well done James!
Well done. A brilliant idea.
Would work for all ages
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