News

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

With just days to go and negotiations on some aspects of the budget down to the wire here is everything we know so far about what to expect when Paschal Donohoe presents Budget 2018 on Tuesday. Tax cuts A cut to the much-hated USC and a tweaking of income tax bands will be included in […]

Q: I have an early-stage food business and I am looking for an investor as I need to fund additional equipment etc? Can you direct me? A: This is a classic case of the chicken and the egg. In many cases, investors won’t invest in an early-stage business as they will need to see proof […]