As of January 1st next year, parents with newly born babies are to receive a threefold child benefit payment upon the birth of their child. This measure is part of the Budget 2025 plans. As it stands, parents receive £120 monthly for Child Benefit. Hence, the suggested “baby boost” payment implies a unique one-time payment of £360, distributed after a baby is born. This amount combines the prevailing £120 with an extra £240 payment.
Roderic O’Gorman, the Green Party leader and Minister for Children, had originally advocated for a quadruple payment. However, it was reported on Monday evening that he had secured a double payment. The Green Party is reportedly happy with a tripling of the payment.
The representatives for workers and business have welcomed the confirmation of the start date for the new auto-enrolment pension scheme. The plan is to kick-off from the first day of January and will be on an ongoing basis. It includes a weekly £13 increase in maternity and paternity benefits, a £10 rise in welfare benefits, and approximately ten lump-sum payments forming part of a living cost package.
This coincides with the Government’s plans to roll-out a substantial package approaching £1.7 billion to support households with rising living costs, in a move that many see as an election buildup.
Earlier on Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Micheál Martin indicated a weekly £10 increase in pension payments, as the final decisions on the welfare package were wrapping up. He rejected reports that his party, Fine Gael, was pushing for a £13 rise for pensioners and a smaller increment for jobseekers, describing the reports as exaggerated and baseless.
The one-time household payments included in the budget, due before the end of the year, will exceed the projected £1.3 billion, with the possibility of two double child benefit payments being issued before Christmas.
Furthermore, the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, has secured funds to hire roughly 400 new employees for the International Protection Office to speed up the processing of asylum applications.
The International Protection Office has registered an alarming surge in unresolved asylum applications which stands over 23,000 as of August. Additionally, there has been an upward swing in the count of asylum applicants requesting an appeal for their final decisions.
In the meantime, it is understood that Ms McEntee has been successful in securing dedicated funding aimed at combating domestic, sexual and gender-based aggression. This funding will also be geared towards amplifying the prison capacity and expediting the judicial system.
Provisions are in place to enrol and train 800 to 1,000 new members of gardaí, with their training allowance projected to increase from €305 to €354.
Catherine Martin, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, has also been able to extend the Basic Income for Artists scheme until late 2025. Originally, the allowance of €325 per week for approximately 2,000 artists, was to cease by next August. However, a decision on its continuation post the three-year trial will be up to the next government although €35 million has been allocated to cover the full year in 2025.
Next year, Culture Ireland will receive €8 million partially aimed at promoting Irish artists globally. Moreover, tourism supports will be dished out for projects tackling attraction challenges in certain regions and increasing visitor numbers during low season. Furthermore, funding will be allocated to encourage new business events and a fresh initiative is underway to enhance inbound tourism during Halloween, targeting cities like Cork, Galway, Waterford and Killarney.
An investment of €61m has been planned for tourism marketing in 2025 along with a €36 million backing for Fáilte Ireland to maintain and advance product development.
The total budget for sports is foreseen to cross €230 million, marking a 10 percent rise from the current year. Additional resources will be channelled towards Sport Ireland following this year’s Olympics and Paralympics success. Funding has also been allocated to the Football Association of Ireland to back inclusion programmes.