Free under-5 GP care and maintenance of class sizes part of budget deal

Free GP care for the under fives and maintaining class sizes will be part of a €2.5bn package of tax hikes and spending cuts for next year, after a deal was last night hammered out between Coalition parties.

Budget 2014 will also include a new bank levy which is set to collect €150m from lenders who benefited from the €440bn blanket guarantee.

The fuel allowance for elderly people, the respite care grant, and free travel pass are all safe from cuts, but there is still uncertainty over rent allowances and other housing related payments. Following an impasse between Health Minister James Reilly and Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin on the size of the adjustment in the Department of Health, agreement was reached yesterday morning, paving the way for a final budget plan to be agreed last night.