The Department of Environment plans to spend €4bn on social and affordable housing in the next three years.

The Government is to invest €1.2bn in third level education in the next five years. The investment will include 35 major building and development projects.

The number of people in Ireland logging onto the net jumped by more than 50% yesterday during Finance Minister Brian Cowen’s budget speech.

The new Abbey Theatre will be built in Dublin’s docklands as part of a revamp of several of the country’s leading cultural institutions, the Government confirmed today.

A €150 package outlined in the Budget was the biggest ever increase in services for the elderly, the Health Minister said today.

The Conference of Religious in Ireland has welcomed the social welfare increases announced by the Minister for Finance Brian Cowen in yesterday's Budget.

Health Minister Mary Harney has announced details of a €150m package to fund services for older people.

Minister for Finance Brian Cowen has done little to improve Ireland's global economic competitiveness in his 2006 Budget, according to corporate tax partner at Ernst and Young, David Smyth.

Employers and trade unions have criticised the lack of initiatives in yesterday's budget to boost pension coverage in Ireland.

There has been a mixed response to the Budget for 2006, which was presented to the Dáil yesterday by Minister for Finance Brian Cowen.

Budget 2006 will have a moderate expansionary effect on the economy next year, according to stockbrooking firm Goodbody.

Childminding Ireland has welcomed Minister Cowen's Budget, which it believes acknowledges the contribution played by Childminders in the childcare sector for the first time.

Trade union leaders tonight accused Minister for Finance Brian Cowen of missing the big picture in his second Budget.

Wealthy individuals will no longer be able to use tax relief schemes to avoid paying any tax, it emerged tonight.

A carer from the home county of the Minister for Finance tonight said she was furious with the meagre scraps the Budget had to offer.

Business leaders criticised Minister for Finance Brian Cowen for the poor targeting of the increased spending announced in his second budget.

The zero increase in cigarette tax has left cigarettes here cheaper than in Britain, it was claimed tonight.

A €150m package of measures will be put in place next year to support the care of elderly or ill people in their own homes and communities.

Brian Cowen’s budget – long tipped to deliver on childcare – has satisfied many of the needs faced by working mothers, one businesswoman said today.

In reaction to today’s Budget announcement, the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) calls on the Minister for Finance to urgently address the serious competitive disadvantage which the Irish VAT system places on business tourism.

Moves to support sustainable transport, heat and power production were today warmly received by Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI).

The Irish Small and Medium Enterprise organisation has outlined that today's Budget has missed a significant opportunity to restore Irish competitiveness.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI) has described today’s Budget as a "wide ranging package of measures addressing a number of critical areas".

The Arts Council welcomed the retention of the artists’ tax exemption scheme tonight but expressed disappointment that it is to be capped at a level of €250,000 in any one tax year.

Minister for Finance Brian Cowen delivered his second budget speech this afternoon. Here are some of the main points:

Minister for Finance Brian Cowen was compared to cartoon character Homer Simpson today as he delivered his Budget in the Dáil.

The Irish Heart Foundation has expressed disappointment at the Government’s decision not to increase tax on tobacco products.

The Simon Communities of Ireland has expressed their disappointment that the Government did not prioritise social housing in this year’s budget.

Friends of the Earth has described the allocation of €20m to a Carbon Fund by Minister Cowen in today's budget as a stealth tax on consumers.

Paddy Power punters all over Ireland are toasting Brian Cowen tonight as the Minister for Finance has effectively put the final nail in the betting tax coffin.

The Government is to give €1,000 each year to the parents of every child under six as part of a major childcare package.

The Vintners' Federation of Ireland (VFI) is bitterly disappointed by the failure of the Minister for Finance to reduce the current exorbitant excise duties on alcohol.

Minister for Finance Brian Cowen has announced the standard rate income tax band will be raised by €2,600 a year.

Heavy rain kept most protestors away from the front gates of the Dáil for today's Budget speech, but dozens of teachers gathered to protest against the lack of funding for further education and school indiscipline.

Minister for Finance Brian Cowen has moved to take more than 90,000 earners out of the tax net by increasing the standard rate band by €2,600.

Minister for Finance Brian Cowen's Budget has prioritised the family, social welfare recipients and tax breaks.

There will be an increase of €1.1bn in spending on public service pay and pensions next year, bringing the total budget to €16.4bn, under the provisions of Budget 2006.

Minister for Finance Brain Cowen has said a fourth level education system will be developed to drive Ireland’s economic and social development.

Mothers of newborn children will be entitled to six months paid maternity leave by 2007, under new measures announced in the Budget.

With his second Budget unveiled, Minister for Finance Brian Cowen is finally emerging from the long shadow of his predecessor Charlie McCreevy.

An additional 50,000 childcare places will be created in the next five years, Minister for Finance Brian Cowen has announced in his Budget speech.

Parents will receive increased child benefit allowances next year, Minister for Finance Brian Cowen has announced.

One of the biggest events in the political calendar, Budget Day is an annual ritual that has changed little over the years.

An extra €5bn will be allocated to public spending next year, Minister for Finance Brian Cowen has said in his Budget speech.