BUDGET 2027

Work HARD, Get AHEAD,

Build MORE, Deliver BETTER

👷🏻‍♀️ WORKERS & WORKING FAMILIES 👩‍👩‍👧‍👧

💶 Higher income tax threshold increased from €44,000 to €46,500, with tax credits up €125.

👶 Maximum childcare cost reduced from €735 to €550 a month from September for children up to senior infants.

🏠 Rent Tax Credit increased to €1,150 for a single person and €2,300 for a couple from September.

🍼 Maternity, Paternity, Adoptive and Parent’s Benefit increased by €10 to €309 a week.

👨‍👩‍👧 Working Family Payment thresholds increased so more families qualify.

💰 Minimum wage increased from €14.15 to €14.94 an hour.

📈 New Investment Account launching next year with a €50,000 tax-free threshold.

🎓 Student contribution reduced by €150 from September.

🏡 Inheritance tax thresholds increased across all three categories.

🔑 Help to Buy relief increased from €30,000 to €35,000.

♀ Free contraception extended to women up to age 37.

⚡ ENERGY COSTS ⚡

🚫No carbon tax or excise increases this winter.

🛢️ Home heating oil: Carbon tax reduced, saving around €86 on a 1,000-litre fill this winter.

🔥 Gas heating: Carbon tax reduced, saving around €65 for up to 610,000 homes.

📅 Long-term certainty: Further carbon tax increases on home heating oil and gas paused until

  2030.

⛽ Petrol & diesel: Current excise cuts extended until spring 2027.

💡 Energy bills: 9% VAT on gas and electricity continued until 2030.

💶 Fuel Allowance: Increased by €5 to €43 a week, worth €1,204 a year to 470,000 households.

👤 Older people living alone: Fuel Allowance income limit increased from €534 to €641.

🔧 Boiler replacement: New €2,000 boiler scrappage grant.

🔋 Home batteries: New €600 grant for home battery storage.

☀️ Solar panels: €1,800 grant extended to homes built before 2025.

🏠 Warmer Homes Scheme: Fully funded solar panels and battery systems.

🚗 Electric vehicles: VRT relief extended until the end of 2027.

🚜 Green diesel: No carbon tax increase until May 2027 at the earliest.

🚛 Hauliers: Diesel Rebate Scheme extended until the end of 2026.

🌾 Farmers & hauliers: Further fuel supports, plus fertiliser and fodder aid for farmers.

🌱 Cleaner fuels: Steps towards more favourable tax treatment for farmers and hauliers using

  HVO.

These measures build on €1.3 billion in interventions already made to support households and businesses through the global energy crisis

 🧑🏾‍🍼PARENTS, CHILDCARE & EDUCATION 👶

👶 Maximum childcare cost reduced to €550 a month from September for children up to senior infants, saving over €1,800 a year.

🧸 Childminder tax relief increased from €15,000 to €20,000.

🍼 Maternity, Paternity, Adoptive and Parent’s Benefit increased by €10 to €309 a week.

🏫 Funding for 1,600 more teachers, 1,353 SEN teachers and 2,339 SNAs.

📚 Continued funding for free primary and post-primary schoolbooks.

🍎 Continued funding and improvements for school meals.

🤝 €5 million to expand DEIS Plus and 100 extra home-school community liaison coordinators.

🗣️ Further expansion of the Education Therapy Service.

💶 School capitation increased by €50 per primary pupil and €40 per post-primary pupil.

🎓 Student contribution reduced by €150 from January.

🏠 Home Carer Tax Credit increased by €100.

👴🏻 OLDER PEOPLE & CARERS 🧓

💶 Weekly pensions increased by €10, bringing the State Contributory Pension to €309.30.

👤 Living Alone Allowance increased to €25 a week.

🔥 Fuel Allowance increased to €43 a week, with wider eligibility for older people living alone.

🏠 An additional 1.8 million home-support hours, bringing the total to 28.5 million in 2027.

🎄 Christmas Bonus double payment in December.

🧱 Increased investment in the Warmer Homes Scheme.

🔧 Five additional Care + Repair service locations.

🍲 Meals on Wheels funding increased to over €10 million.

🤝 Weekly carer’s payments increased by €10.

💰 Carer’s Allowance income disregards increased to €1,150 for a single person and €2,300 for a couple.

💉 Phased introduction of a major shingles vaccination programme for over-65s.

♿ PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES ♿

💶 New €500 Cost of Disability Payment.

⬆️ Weekly disability payments increased by €10.

💼 Earnings disregard for Disability Allowance & Blind Pension increased to €175 a week.

🤝 Wage Subsidy Scheme minimum hours reduced from 15 to 8.

🎄 Christmas Bonus double payment in December.

🏠 An additional 489 residential places and supports.

🧑‍🦽 Funding for 134,000 home-support hours and 57,000 personal assistance hours.

👧 An additional 150 multidisciplinary posts in Children’s Disability Network Teams.

🛏️ Approximately 14,700 additional overnight and day respite stays.

🌅 Over 1,500 additional day-service places.

🚗 New Vehicle Adaptation Scheme launching in early 2027.

👧🏼 STUDENTS & YOUNG PEOPLE 🎓

💶 Student contribution reduced by €150 from January.

📈 Every SUSI grant increased by 4.5%, worth up to €357 for eligible students.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 For eligible families with two or more children in college, the €500 SUSI contribution grant increased to €750 per child.

🏠 Households earning €120,000–€150,000 with two or more children in college to receive €500 off each child’s student contribution.

☀️ Students can earn up to €8,830 without affecting their SUSI grant.

🧾 Improved third-level fee tax relief for parents with two or more children in college.

🏘️ HOUSING & INFRASTRUCTURE 🚊

🔑 Help to Buy relief increased from €30,000 to €35,000.

💶 €7.7bn in current and capital funding to increase housing supply and support home ownership.

🏚️ Work accelerated on a 7% derelict property tax from 2028.

🏗️ Increased funding for local authorities to build housing and infrastructure.

🏡 Over €1 billion to support delivery of 15,000 starter homes.

♿ Over €750 million for housing adaptation and retrofitting.

📋 €66 million to support streamlined approvals under the new Planning Act.

🚧 €53 million to help accelerate housing delivery and infrastructure development.

💼 BUSINESSES 🏪

🤖 €300 million to prepare workers for AI, plus €2.3 million to expand the new AI Office.

📈 New €1 billion Scaling Fund to help Irish SMEs grow.

🚀 Funding for Start Up Ireland to support 1,000 new Irish start-ups.

💡 Extended Local Enterprise Office energy-efficiency grants for microbusinesses.

♨️ Heat pump grants increased to cover up to 45% of costs.

☀️ Microgeneration and solar thermal grants increased to cover up to 45% of costs.

⚡ Continued 9% VAT on gas and electricity.

🧾 Enhanced Reporting Requirements changed from real-time to monthly reporting.

👥 Higher Employer PRSI threshold increased from €552 to €600, saving around €650–€700 per employee.

🔬 R&D tax credit changes to benefit smaller businesses.

💶 Capital Gains Tax reduced from 33% to 31%.

📉 Exit tax on unrealised investment gains reduced from 38% to 35%.

💼 Investment and entrepreneurship tax reliefs extended, with continued corporation tax relief for start-ups.

🧠 Knowledge Development Box extended for five years.

🤝 Work Placement Experience Scheme top-up increased by €25.

🏥 HEALTH, EDUCATION & COMMUNITY 📚

🛏️ Hundreds of additional and replacement beds across acute, community and mental health services.

🎗️ More cancer monitoring and follow-up care closer to patients’ homes.

🏥 New surgical hubs in Waterford, Limerick and Galway, with plans advanced for Sligo and Letterkenny.

🩺 Funding for 10 additional operating theatres across surgical hubs nationwide.

🗣️ Approximately 6,000 additional counselling sessions annually, bringing the total to 15,000.

🏫 €1.6 billion to build and improve schools, with around 1,000 projects on site in 2027.

🚌 Funding for at least 140 new or enhanced public transport services.

🏅 Progress on the National Velodrome and Badminton Centre and the National Cricket Centre.

📮 €15 million for the post office network.

🎭 Continued investment in Crawford Art Gallery and the National Concert Hall Discovery Centre.

🍻 New €15 million scheme to support rural pubs.

🚜 FARMERS & FISHERS 🎣

⛽ Fuel Income Support Schemes extended by five months for farmers, agricultural contractors

  and horticulture producers.

🌱 €46.1 million in exceptional aid for farmers facing higher fertiliser and energy costs.

🌾 €54 million for tillage, including a €30 million support package, €10 million for protein aid and

  €14 million for straw incorporation.

💧 Further funding for Farming for Water, with the scheme reopening for applications.

🏗️ Record €93 million TAMS allocation for on-farm investment.

🤝 Succession tax partnership relief doubled from €5,000 to €10,000, with the minimum three-year

  asset-transfer wait removed.

🐾 Extra animal welfare funding, support for more dog wardens and increased TB compensation

  ceilings.

🐟 Additional fisheries supports to implement recommendations from the Berkery report.

🦺 Farm safety equipment allowances extended and expanded until the end of 2029.

🔐 SECURITY & OUR FUTURE 🛡️

💶 An additional €1 billion invested in long-term funds to meet future challenges.

🏗️ €275 billion infrastructure investment programme to support the country’s long-term needs.

🛡️ Record defence capital funding for projects to protect critical infrastructure.

🪖 Funding for 400 new Permanent Defence Force members.

👥 Almost 100 additional civilian and civil service roles in defence.

🔧 Increased funding for defence modernisation and better conditions.

👮 Funding to recruit an additional 1,000 Gardaí in 2027.

For more information, please see www.FineGael.ie