Category: Syndicated

‘I wanted to retire by 50 so I could enjoy life. My advice? Start saving’

Beryl Dunne, an IT manager who lives in Bray, Co Wicklow, is semi-retired and said she had to ramp up her payments so that she could retire when she wanted. “I wanted to retire by 50 so, health-wise, I could enjoy life. Also, I felt that by the time I came to retire the State […]

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Explained: Why women are losing out on their pension payments

Changes to the way the State pension payment is calculated were introduced in 2012. The new rules hit women hard. They are typically losing around €35 in payments. And they will not get the full €5 rise in the State pension announced in this week’s Budget. Personal Finance editor Charlie Weston looks at all your […]

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The winners and the losers after Paschal’s ‘safe and steady’ Budget

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has delivered his first Budget and it’s safe to say it was a bonanza for nobody, but who has fared the best? WINNERS: Social welfare recipients Social welfare recipients are set to receive a €5 increase to their weekly payments. While the amount has been criticised by some, it is the […]

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Nama: we won’t blacklist borrowers for loans

Nama’s top bosses have moved to pre-empt criticism of the agency’s new role managing the Government’s latest housebuilding fund, including telling the Irish Independent they’ll work with builders regardless of any previous disputes. Since 2009 most of the country’s main builders have had some or all of their debt in Nama and in a significant […]

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Only 31 homes added to 2018 house building targets – Sinn Fein

The Government has been accused of only adding 31 homes to house building targets for next year. While Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe admitted some of the numbers in the Budget on social housing had been announced before, Sinn Fein said one of the headline figures had been unveiled in the middle of last year. The […]

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10 things you’ll hear an Irish person say on Budget Day

It’s the one day when the most popular thing for Irish people to talk about is not the weather. Budget Day gives us an incredible amount of mileage to air our views to anyone who will listen. Which mostly involves plain old giving out. Here are ten of the things you’re likely to hear next […]

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No fireworks’ and no ‘big bonanza’ in Budget 2018 – Leo Varadkar

Budget 2018 will have ” no fireworks” and no “big bonanza”, according to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. But he said the series of tax and spending measures will ensure the country’s books are balanced, as well as giving a little back to hard working families. Speaking on his way into government buildings ahead of Cabinet, Mr […]

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Telephone Allowance gets priority over Bereavement Grant in Budget 2018

The Telephone Allowance is to be brought back from October 2018, Independent.ie has learned. A decision was taken to prioritise the allowance which was abolished in 2014 over the restoration of the €850 bereavement grant. Independent Alliance ministers had sought both payments to be included in today’s budget but were told by Finance Minister Paschal […]

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Budget 2018: Modest tax cuts, €5 welfare hikes from March on cards as discussions down to wire

Tomorrow’s budget will be the first of a series that will attempt to gradually increase living standards over a number of years, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said. Mr Varadkar is seeking to cast Budget 2018 as the beginning of a period of continuous but affordable reductions in tax and increases in spending. The Taoiseach told […]

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Everything you need to know ahead of Leo’s first budget

Budget 2018 will prove an important test for Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and will be his first chance to show what the government has in store to further his vision for a ‘republic of opportunity’. Here is everything you need to know ahead of the big day. His name is on it: Sixteen weeks after he […]

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