Well the budget may be an hour away but it's all kicking off already. Click below to access the live blog and make sure you keep refreshing the page for all the latest updates.
The main points from this years budget:
- Social welfare cut by 4% (€8)
- Children's allowance cut by €10 per child with an additional €10 cut for the third child
- Public service pay cap of €250k
- Tax bands and credits cut by 10%
- Petrol levy up 4c from midnight
- Diesel levy up 2c from midnight
2302 You can view the Minister for Finance's full statement as well as all of the budget documents online - click here to access the files
1928 Brian Lenihan now speaking at a press conference - watch it live on Sky News
1921 Three people have been arrested at government buildings for public order offences
1917 Ryanair has panned the governments decision to reduce the travel tax from €10 to €3, saying that it will still strangle the tourist industry. They want the fee abolished.
1855 The cut in child and unemployment benefits has not gone down well - Facebook and Twitter are alive this evening with calls for the government to go now
1819 Third level fees to increase by €500 to €2000; Student grants down by 4%
1817 First time buyers will now be liable for the 1% stamp duty
1806 Protesters outside calling for the Corrib Gas Line to be nationalised - one banner reads that over €540bn of gas has been given away
1801 RTÉ's evening bulletin is now on air. The 4% cut in social welfare will equate to about €8, but no cut will apply to 18-21 year olds who only receive €108 per week
1702 More statements in the Dail now from Labour's Joan Burton on RTÉ Two; Budget analysis with Brian Dobson on RTÉ One and Vincent Browne on TV Three. More from me later!
1700 "Fine Gael want the IMF out if here"
1655 Says that the budget is incoherent; Easy on the rich and harsh on the poor
1653 Suggesting dropping the lower VAT rate from 13.5% to 12% to stimulate jobs in the service industry
1651 Now asking what is planned for TD's - will the same pay cuts apply to them as will apply ministers (10% cut)
1648 Noonan is now questioning why extra cuts were made for third children only
1645 Noonan is now calling the Brian Lenihan saying that he has indicated that he will combine the social and income levy, he does not state what rate the new levy will be
1640 Fine Gael's Michael Noonan is calling on Brian Cowen to come out tomorrow and explain exactly what that €4 billion in cuts will be as the budget document does not list them
1631 Some other points that I missed - no change in the tax on alcohol or cigarettes; Total bank losses to exceed €70bn or over 45% of this years GDP
1629 The speech has ended and we will now hear replies from the other main parties - Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Fein
1621 Petrol up 4c per litre from midnight; Diesel up 2c per litre from midnight; Car scrappage scheme to continue; VRT exemption to continue for hybrid vehicles
1620 The €10 travel tax will re reduced to €3 from March 1st 2011. Will be reviewed at end of 2011 and could revert to €10 in 2012 if visitor numbers do not respond
1619 New incentive for spending to make homes more energy efficient
1616 Stamp duty to be applied at a rate of 1% up to €1m and 2% over €1m for residential property
1613 Corporation tax will remain at 12.5%
1608 Income levy to be combined with health levy - will make one charge; All tax credits will be reduced by 10%
1606 The 10% cut to new entrants in the public service will apply to judges
1604 Those in the public service will receive a maximum of €250k in salary
1602 All ministers will face a reduction in salary - Cowen by €14k and ministers by €10k
1557 There will be a €10 reduction in children's allowance with an additional €10 reduction where there is a third child
1556 There will be no reduction in the state pension; Social welfare to be cut by 4%
1552 Redundancies have fallen 30% on last year; Manufacturing up 12% in Q3
1550 GDP to increase slightly this year; Exports increase 7% in the first half due to global demand pick up
1546 And here we go...
1530 Things turning ugly between Brian Cowen and the Labour party as they try to score points off each other.
1524 Pre budget sparring is currently going on in the chamber with Brian Cowen defending the EU/IMF bailout yet again
1515 Some of the announcements expected today include:
- A cut in social welfare payments
- A widening of the tax bands
- A cap on the pay of semi-state CEO's
1506 Viewers in Ireland can watch live coverage of the budget on RTÉ or TV3. There will also be news specials later this evening with a full round up.
1503 Ministers are in Dail Eireann since earlier today. Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan arrived early this morning on foot to avoid the press
1445 There is a heavy Garda presence at government buildings at the moment and protesters have already started to arrive
- Posted on the road using BlogPress from my iPhone
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