Budget 2025: What Does It Really Mean for You?

The 2025 budget is here, bringing changes that will impact us all in different ways. From salary increases to new tax policies and investments in key areas like housing, healthcare, and education, it’s important to understand how these adjustments will shape our lives over the next year.

If you’re wondering how these changes will affect your paycheque, the minimum wage is set to increase by 80 cents, bringing it up to €13.50 per hour. This gives full-time workers an extra €1,424 a year. The income tax threshold has also been raised to €44,000, meaning you’ll be able to keep more of what you earn before moving into the higher tax bracket. The current income tax threshold is €42,000 as per Revenue.ie

And let’s not forget the Universal Social Charge (USC) cut, which has dropped to 3%, offering a bit more relief in your monthly income.

With the basics covered, let’s dive into the details—starting with housing, one of the biggest concerns for most of us.

Housing and Householders:

If you’ve been watching the housing market, you’ll know it’s been challenging for buyers and renters alike. Thankfully, the 2025 budget brings some much-needed relief to both groups. Whether you’re a first-time buyer planning to step onto the property ladder or a renter seeking extra support, there are a few key aspects you should know about.

• Help to Buy Scheme extended until 2029.
• Renters’ tax credit increased to €1,000 for singles and €2,000 for couples.
• Mortgage interest tax relief extended for another year.
• Stamp duty on bulk home purchases raised from 10% to 15%.
• Stamp duty on homes over €1.5m increased to 6%.
• Pre-letting expenses relief extended to 2027.
• €7.8bn for Housing for All, including €2bn for 10,000 new social homes.
• €100m for home adaptation grants for older people.
• €90m to retrofit 250,000 social homes next year.

With all these changes, if you’re considering buying a home or need advice on your mortgage options, now might be the time to chat with one of our mortgage advisors. Visit Member First Credit Union Mortgages to learn more.

Families

As the cost of raising a family continues to climb, this year’s budget offers some welcome relief to parents and carers. Whether it’s a newborn, a foster placement, or providing care to a family member, there’s a lot of positive news for families in this budget.

• Baby boost payment: A double child benefit payment in the first month of your baby’s life.
• Double child benefit payments in November and December.
• €280 newborn grant for children born after January 1st.
• Maternity, paternity, and parents’ payments increased by €15.
• Foster carers to receive an initial placement allowance.
• €200 lump sum for those receiving the living alone allowance.
• €400 lump sum for recipients of carer’s support, disability, blind pension, and domiciliary care allowance.

Raising a family can feel like juggling a dozen tasks simultaneously, but these added benefits should help lighten the load. While financial support for families is a key part of the budget, education is another area that’s seeing some vital investment.

Education

A good education sets the foundation for future success, and this year’s budget shows a solid commitment to supporting students and their families. From free school books to more special needs assistants in classrooms, plenty of initiatives aim to make learning more accessible.

• Free school books for Transition Year, 5th, and 6th-year students.
• 1,600 more special needs assistants to support students with additional needs.
• €52m for school transport to ease access to education.
• The hot school meal programme will be extended to all primary schools by 2025.
• The school meals holiday hunger pilot project will launch next year.
• €78m for 6,800 apprenticeships in 2025.
• €1.3bn for school building projects, supporting new and ongoing construction.

Education is one of the key aspects of this budget. As one of Ireland’s largest credit unions, we keep education and supporting educational institutions central to our community approach. Member First Credit Union is committed to helping students and families through our Education Scholarship Scheme. With the MFCU Education Loan, we help them cover all the education-related expenses beyond fees. 

Health

Regarding healthcare, the budget has introduced some vital updates that could significantly improve access to critical services. The government’s investment is designed to meet the population’s growing needs, whether through additional hospital beds, more home support hours, or expanded mental health services.

• €25.76bn total health allocation to improve healthcare services.
• 495 additional hospital beds, bringing the total to 18,000.
• 600,000 more home support hours to provide care at home.
• Free IVF services and hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
• Funding for mental health services, including youth services and community counselling.
• Tax exemptions for women impacted by the CervicalCheck scandal.

After tackling health, the focus naturally shifts to how we move around. Let’s look at the budget’s investment in travel infrastructure and public transport.

Travel

To create a more sustainable and accessible transportation system, the 2025 budget invests heavily in public transport and infrastructure. With announcements like free public transport for children and extending the temporary fares initiative, reduced public transport costs will continue until 2025.

• Free public transport for children aged 5–9.
• €1m per day for cycling and walking infrastructure.
• Temporary fares initiative extended until the end of 2025.
• €99m financing package for Port of Cork to support renewable energy growth.
• €3.9bn for the Department of Transport, including retrofits for low-emission public transport.
• €300 lump sum for fuel allowance recipients in November.

With transportation made easier and greener, let’s move to how the budget supports carers and provides extra assistance for those in need.

Carers and Support

The budget also delivers some much-needed assistance for carers and those who require additional support. Whether you’re caring for a loved one or benefiting from state support, these changes should help ease the financial burden.

• Carer’s allowance means test disregard increased to €625 for singles and €1,250 for couples.
• Domiciliary care allowance increased by €20.
• Carer’s support grant increased by €150, bringing the total to €2,000.
• Free travel companion pass for those over 70 qualifying for free travel.

From caring for loved ones to caring for the planet, let’s now look at how the budget invests in the environment and infrastructure for a greener future.

Environment and Infrastructure

Sustainability is more than a buzzword—it’s a necessity. The 2025 budget strongly emphasises greener initiatives, from increasing carbon taxes to investing in energy-efficient upgrades. The following are the key announcements for this category.

• Carbon taxes on petrol and diesel will increase, with taxes on other fuels delayed until May 2025.
• VAT on heat pumps was reduced to 9% to promote energy-efficient homes.
• €469m from carbon tax allocated for community energy upgrades, including solar panel schemes.
• New incentives for electric commercial vehicles starting in 2027.

Give a pat on your back to make it this far. This shows how aware you are of reading about the 2025 budget. The budget is of great importance to all of us. Let us know if this year’s budget is packed with measures designed to make life a little easier or if you were expecting much more?

If you found this helpful, share it with your friends and family—because everyone deserves to understand how these changes might affect their future!