Lorraine HigginsSenator

After many difficult years, Budget 2015 enables us all to move to a newphase where we can begin restoring living standards for Irish families.

It will primarily benefit low and middle-income earners, working familiesand vulnerable groups. Labour is delivering for them through both taxand welfare changes in a fair and equitable manner. We are prioritisingessential investment in public services such as health and social housing.We will provide additional assistance to help with the cost of waterservices.

This Budget will also see us continue our unrelenting drive to help peopleback into work, with measures specifically designed to assist jobseekerswith families return to work. For 2015, we are delivering a Budget thatwill mark a decisive shift towards shared prosperity.

Best wishes,

Senator Lorraine Higgins

TOWARDS SHARED PROSPERITYBUDGET 2015:

� Tax relief for low and middle income earners

� Significant investment in job creation, housing and education

� Vital supports maintained and spending increased

HIGHLIGHTS OF BUDGET 2015

BUILDING SOCIALRECOVERY

Investing in education is a key Labour priority and in Budget2015 we have ensured that the improving economicsituation will help enhance education services:

� New Teachers & SNAS: An investment of €88m in 2015will ensure 1700 new teachers and SNAs will beemployed in our schools during 2015. There will be 900new classroom teachers in primary and second-levelschools, 480 resource teachers and 365 SNAs.

� Class Sizes: For the fourth year in a row, Labour hasprotected the class sizes in our schools.

� Back to School Costs: A second tranche of €5m will be provided in a three-year additional investment in schoolbook funding for our primary schools, on top of the €15m already invested each year

� Free Broadband for schools:We are investing €3m to ensure the high-speed broadband which has been installedin all post-primary schools is available to them free of charge

� Early Childhood Education: Under Budget 2015, we will spend €600,000 on the immediate recruitment of thefirst ever team of early childhood education inspectors to greatly improve the quality of early childhood education.

EDUCATION - 1700 NEWTEACHERS AND SNAS

In Budget 2015, investment in the building of new family homes is a priority:

� Over €2.2 billion has been allocated for housing provision for the next three years under an unprecedented multi-annual plan.

� In 2015 alone, over €800 million has been allocated for the housing programme– the first major investment in housingsince 2009 and a 40% increase in spending on 2014 levels.

� This dramatically increased investment will deliver 7,500 family homes in 2015 and a total of 40,000 family homes by2020.

� Spending on homelessness services will increase by over 20% to €55 million.

€2.2 BILLION HOUSING INVESTMENT

BUDGET 2015:

Christmas can be a time of greater financial strain for families. Under Budget 2015, we have secured a Christmas bonusof 25% for all recipients of long-term social welfare payments, including pensioners, families with children and peoplewith a disability. This payment will benefit over 1.16 million people.

25% RESTORATION OF THE CHRISTMAS BONUS

Many families have been under financial pressure over the past number of years. Budget 2015 will see an increase of €5in Child Benefit, from €130 to €135 a month to help support children and raise living standards for families. 613,000families will get this increase from January. The funding for the School Meals Programme is also to increase by €2millionto €39 million in 2015.

SUPPORTING FAMILIES: €5 EXTRA ON CHILD BENEFIT

Under Budget 2015, an extremely progressive tax package hasbeen secured that focuses the relief on those who most need it- low and middle-income workers. Tax is being reduced for lowand middle-income earners to ensure that those at work takehome more and begin to benefit from the recovery. This is asignificant step forward in targeting reliefs at low and middleincome earners and ensuring that, proportionately, they gainthe most:

� A further 80,000 low paid workers are being taken out ofUSC with an increase in the entry point to €12,012

� Cut in lower rates of USC from 2% to 1.5% and from 4% to3.5%

� The standard rate band of income tax has been widened by €1,000 to €33,800 to take 33,000 people out of the toprate

� The marginal rate of tax has been cut by 1% for workers earning from €33,800 up to €70,000.

� For high earners over €70,000 the marginal rate remains unchanged.

TAX RELIEF FOR LOW ANDMIDDLE INCOME EARNERS

Budget 2015 provides an extra €3 billion in resources for the domesticeconomy. This will help to drive the already strengthening domestic economicrecovery and support an additional 50,000 jobs next year, withunemployment set to fall further to 10% by the end of 2015.

� To support the successful Pathways to Work programme in 2015, €1.6billion will be made available to provide approximately 300,000 work andtraining places.

� €12 million has been allocated for the JobPath initiative which matchesthe long-term unemployed with appropriate training and employmentopportunities.

� The number of JobsPlus positions has been doubled to 6,000 with a focuson young unemployed people.

The Back to Work Family Dividend is a newincentive under Budget 2015 to helpjobseekers with families return to work, whileretaining the child-related portion of theirsocial welfare payment on a tapered basis overtwo years.

This includes those who move to self-employment, such as back into theconstruction sector, and those on One ParentFamily Payment. The scheme will be worth€1,550 per child in the first year ofemployment or self-employment and half thatamount again in the second year.

BACK TO WORKFAMILY DIVIDEND

BUDGET 2015: PRIORITISING WORK

Constituency Office:Piggott Street, LoughreaOffice: 091 842200Email: lorraine.higgins@oir.ieWeb: www.lorrainehiggins.com 06

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� Water Support Payment: All recipients of the Household Benefits Package will see a new Water Support paymentof €100 to help older people and other vulnerable groups meet the cost of water services. This will be a quarterly€25 payment and will be paid directly to the householder

� Water Support Payment: Any Fuel Allowance recipients who are not in receipt of the Household Benefits Packagewill also receive an additional payment of €100 per year.

� 653,000 households will receive this payment of €100 per annum to assist in paying their water charges

� Medical Need: People with medical conditions where additional water is essential to their needs will have theircharges capped.

� Tax Relief: Income tax relief will be available at the standard rate in respect of water charges up to a maximum of€500 per household per year. The Water Charges Relief will be worth up to €100 per household per annum.

WATER SUPPORTS

Over €3 billion has been allocated to support older people and services forpeople with disabilities under Budget 2015. As well as the new €100 per yearwater support payment for the Household Benefits Package this includes:

LIVING ALONE ALLOWANCE INCREASEThe Living Alone Allowance will increase by €1.30per week, bringing the rateup from €7.70 to €9. This is the first increase in this payment since 1996,and will benefit over 177,000 people. This increase will help provide for agreater level of income adequacy for both pensioners and people withdisabilities living alone.

ENDING THE PENSION LEVYPensioners have made a very significant contribution to supporting anddeveloping economic recovery over recent years. The 0.6% Pension levy wasintroduced to help fund the Jobs Initiative and clearly played an important role in the positive jobs’ trend with 72,000new jobs having been created since the peak of the crisis in 2012. As a result of the recent emerging economic recovery,the 0.6% Pension Levy will end in 2014 and the additional 0.15% Pension Levy will expire at the end of 2015.

SENIORS ALERT SCHEME€133m is being invested under Budget 2015 in Community programmes, including €46m for the Social Inclusion andCommunity Activation Programme. This includes funding for Seniors Alert, which supports the provision of monitoredalarms to enable older persons, of limited means, to continue to live securely in their homes with confidence

PENSIONERS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

@LorHiggins

Senator Lorraine Higgins