Budget 2025: 'Baby boost' of €420 for newborns, two energy credits, and carer's grant rise
The proposed 'baby boost' is a special one-off payment of €280 paid following the birth of a child on top of the existing €140, totalling €420. Picture: iStock
Families, pensioners, carers and workers will all get a slice of a €2bn cost-of-living package and €2.7bn in extra social protection spending in a pre-election Budget splurge.
Coalition leaders signed off on the budget late on Monday, with core welfare rates agreed to rise by €12 across the board, as well as two double child benefit payments before Christmas, an increase of €150 to €2,000 in the Carer's Grant, and two €125 energy credits.
A key ask of the Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman — a four-week payment of Child Benefit on the birth of a child — will be two additional weeks, bringing to €420 the first payment.
Parents currently receive €140 a month in Child Benefit. The proposed “baby boost” payment will mean a special one-off payment of €280 paid out following the birth of a newborn on top of the existing €140, totalling €420. The new payment will kick in from January 1 on a permanent basis.
While Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys had sought a €15 rise in some payments and a decoupling of Jobseeker's Allowance from other payments like the State pension, she has been rebuffed by party leaders. Tánaiste Micheál Martin said on Monday that the idea had never been seriously proposed, and a €12 increased had been “stitched in” since the summer.
Mr Martin said there was “phony spinning” over any increase to social welfare rates by €15, describing it as “completely overplayed”.
Ms Humphreys has, however, secured the largest additional social protection spending in the history of the state at €2.7bn, which will include lump sum payments in the hundreds of euro for groups including carers, those on disability, and working families.
There will also be what sources called a "major increase" in the Carer’s Allowance means test limits to €625 per week for a single person and €1,250 per week for a couple, and the Carer’s Support Grant will be increased to €2,000.
Carer’s Benefit will be extended to self-employed workers and carers will receive two double payments in October and November.
There will be 10 lump sum payments including double payments in October and December, a €500 disability support grant, a €400 carers support grant, €300 fuel allowance payment, €200 living alone allowance,€400 working family payment and a €100 child support grant.
The coalition has also agreed tax changes, increasing the income point at which the upper tax rate is paid to €44,000 from €42,000, as well as cutting the USC from 4% to 3%. Workers will also benefit from an increase of €100 in tax credits.
Additionally, every primary school will be given the hot school meal programme in 2025 and the fuel allowance age criteria will reduce from 70 to 66.
The budget will see a major expansion of the International Protection Office, as Justice Minister Helen McEntee will be given increased funding to hire around 400 new staff and invest in digitalisation. This will allow the processing of 25,000 applications in the office, compared to 14,000 this year.
Ms McEntee's spending envelope will also include a review of the Thornton Hall super-prison site, as well as 1,100 extra prison places.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly will roll-out free hormone replacement therapy (HRT) products as part of a €35m additional spend on women's health. The measure could save women prescribed HRT between €360 and €840 a year. Mr Donnelly will also announce an addtional €30m funding for new medicines.
Additionally, Mr Donnelly will announce an expansion of the publicly-funded IVF scheme.
The scheme, introduced in September 2023, will be expanded in two areas.
With the passing of the Assisted Human Reproduction Act earlier this year, couples who require a donor egg/sperm will be able to access the scheme during 2025.
The criteria will also be expanded to include couples who experience 'secondary infertility' which is when couples who already have a child later have fertility issues.
Currently, couples with an existing child cannot avail of the scheme.
Free public transport will be extended to all children under the age of nine. The 20% reduction in transport fares for adults, and 50% for young people ages between 18 and 25, will remain in place.
On top of the extension of free school books to Leaving Cert students, there will be extra funding for school building and a spend of "single-digit millions" on a storage solution scheme for schools to store students' mobile phones.
Arts Minister Catherine Martin has ringfenced €35m to extend the Universal Basic Income scheme, which sees 2,000 artists paid €325 a week extended for 2025.
A new initiative to boost inward tourism numbers at Halloween towards Cork, Galway, Waterford, and Killarney will be funded, while sports funding will climb by 10% to €230m.
The spend in defence will see hundreds of extra Defence Forces personnel recruited and the Irish Aid budget will hit record levels.
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