Middle-income families will be prioritised in Budget 2024 along with workers who pay too much tax, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has told a private Fine Gael meeting.
Mr Varadkar also promised a similar welfare package to that which was announced last year. When cost of living measures were put aside, the Government last year spent more than €1 billion increasing welfare payments by €12.
At a Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting on Wednesday evening, the Taoiseach said with the expected extra budget surplus, this year’s and next year’s budgets will have three main aspects: spending, a tax package and setting finance aside.
Figures released earlier this month showed that a surplus of some €10 billion is expected this year, rising to €16 billion next year. By 2026, if no policy changes are made, the surplus will be €20 billion.
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Mr Varadkar told Fine Gael politicians that the “priority” in the next budget will be middle income families and “earners who pay too much tax”.
He also said there will be a welfare and pension package which will “hopefully be similar to last years.”
Mr Varadkar said there will “come a time when revenues fall off and nobody in the country wants to return to the position of cutting pay, services and investment as happened with the last recession. We should never forget that our national debt dwarfs any surplus and interest rates on Government debt are rising.”
Fine Gael members were told that they will be able to give their views on Budget 2024 at a future meeting in June.
Mr Varadkar also spoke about this week’s housing package, which seeks to ramp up the renovation of vacant homes and to cut the cost of building through subventions. The Taoiseach said the country is “now experiencing the highest draw down on first time mortgages since 2005”.
He said more than 1,000 homes are being bought by local authorities as part of the tenant in situ scheme.
The meeting also heard that house prices in Ireland have “almost certainly peaked” and the average house price is expected to fall this year.
Senator John Cummins said Sinn Féin and the Social Democrats have to be “taken on” about their opposition on the Help to Buy scheme.
Mayo TD Michael Ring raised the issue of zoned land tax being applied to farmers despite the fact they have sought to have land dezoned. Mr Varadkar told the meeting that it is an issue and he has taken it up with Cabinet colleagues with a view to finding a solution.
Mr Varadkar also said that 88 Irish citizens have been evacuated from Sudan so far with more to come out.
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