The Government is amidst final stages of establishing plans regarding a massive tax and spending package that surpasses €5 billion. This is in preparation for the final budget before the upcoming general election, a report by the Sunday Business Post indicates. Jack Chambers, the Finance Minister, has been finalising the Summer Economic Statement, setting out spending limits for the 2025 Budget. This will be published on Tuesday and will be worked out together with Paschal Donohoe, who is the minister for public expenditure.
As the Coalition’s final budget is taking shape, it is expected to carry a tax package that aligns closely with the €1.15 billion from the previous year. In addition, the Coalition plans to lift core spending by at least €4 billion. This move is designed to secure popular support ahead of the anticipated polls later this year or early in 2025.
Non-core expenditure for next year is also predicted to have an allowance of about €4.5 billion, which was delineated in the Stability Programme Update this past April. Much of this fund will be used for persistent Covid-19 measures and support for Ukrainian immigrants.
The Sunday Times reported that Fine Gael has instructed all potential candidates for the general election to be chosen by the end of September. This directive is one of the earliest manifestations that the coalition is getting ready for a poll this year. The national executive of Fine Gael, which governs the party, has urged that all Dail selection conventions be held by September 22 in order to fast-track its general election preparations.
Simultaneously, Fianna Fail is thought to be prioritising its candidate selection process with a multitude of conventions set to take place in the coming month and drafting of the party’s manifesto has already commenced.
Following the introduction of new laws to coax US companies to bring back overseas earnings, Microsoft has relocated over $300 billion to the US from Ireland, according to the Sunday Business Post. The tech behemoth, along with other giants, has been exploiting Irish-based businesses to transfer hefty dividends to their parent companies. Recent financial statements reveal that since 2018, Microsoft Round Island One Unlimited Company, an Ireland-based business, has disbursed over $300.8 billion (€277 billion) in dividends to its parent company in the US.
In 2018, the highest amount of dividends disbursed during the year amounted to $108.65 billion. However, by 2023, this figure had plummeted to $38 billion.
Uisce Éireann, formerly recognised as Irish Water, has recently admitted that it requires additional financial support from the Government for the production of essential new water projects due to the sharp rise in construction costs, as per reports by the Sunday Independent.
Insiders from the industry argue that in order to keep up with the growing demand for water and sewerage services from both the new housing sector and the industry, the water utility requires an extra €500m each year, in addition to its €1bn-plus capital budget.
Additionally, payment behemoth Stripe, under the ownership of Limerick brothers John and Patrick Collison, has selected One Wilton Park adjacent to the Grand Canal in Dublin as the site for its new Irish headquarters, as reported by the Sunday Times. The deal, which was finalised last Friday, enables Stripe to triple the size of its office space in Dublin, from 4,400 sq m to 14,500 sq m.
This suggests that the fintech firm plans to employ around 1,500 people in Dublin. The firm is already a significant employer in Ireland, with nearly 50 vacancies in functions such as engineering, sales, operations and others.