The Social Protection Minister has confirmed that the additional €420 stipend for newborns proposed in the Budget will be given to parents of infants delivered in December, reports RTE.
In the past 24 hours, Heather Humphreys has been called by several mothers whose kids are expected to come in December, she said the Dáil.
According to Ms. Humphreys, they were concerned that their kids might arrive too early for the newborn award, which would be paid out in January, but too late for the double child benefit payment that month, reports RTE.
“As a mother, I do not want to see any woman miss out,” she stated, reports RTE.
The €420 grant will now be available to moms of kids delivered in December when they get their first child benefit payment in January.
“Don’t worry the Christmas babies will be looked after,” Ms Humphreys added, reports RTE.
Prior to this, the government stood by its choice to keep the hospitality sector’s VAT rate at its current level in the face of opposition from eateries and lodging facilities that threatened to close.
Barry, a takeaway operator in Durrow, County Laois, said in a phone call to RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne that the politicians in charge of the budget “should be ashamed of themselves”, reports RTE.
“I know how hard it is to run a business,” Minister of Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe retorted, but he also noted that lowering the rate would have cost up to €800 million and left other industries short.
Jack Chambers, the minister of finance, stated that a VAT decrease would not be revisited, reports RTE.
The maximum amount that a son or daughter may inherit without paying taxes was raised to €400,000 yesterday from €335,000.
Some of the current rates for grandkids, nieces, and nephews, according to Minister Chambers, are “quite penal,” reports RTE.
This morning, the pastors answered listeners’ queries live on the radio broadcast for an hour.
Just before they appear on the radio, questions about particular personal situations are given to the ministers and their advisors, reports RTE.
According to RTÉ, this is a long-standing procedure that enables the most accurate response to certain kinds of enquiries.
Ministers Chambers and Donohoe defended the Budget after the broadcast in response to objections made by the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, reports RTE.
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