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median price of a house in Laois has gone up. According to the property price register, it has gone up 16.8% in one year. The Minister gave out a lot of figures, but the reality is that the target given by his Department, which I have here … needs to be expanded to meet the demands of households whose incomes are over the threshold for social housing but do not qualify for or cannot get a mortgage. These workers and households are the real squeezed middle, typically trapped in private rented accommodation and paying sky-high

cost of doing business. Working with the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Dara Calleary, we have increased the weekly earnings threshold for the lower rate of employer's PRSI from €552 to €600. This means that more workers, particularly those on the minimum wage and slightly above … onwards. He is also increasing the associated tax credit available for five years from €5,000 to €10,000 for succession partnerships registered from and including 1 January 2027. VAT on respiratory vaccines for livestock will be reduced from 23% to 9%. In 2027, we will

medium enterprises, SMEs, and to ease the PRSI impact on employers from an increase in the national minimum wage, the Minister for Social Protection will increase the employer PRSI threshold from €552 to €600 per week for 2027. This will represent a saving to businesses on employers PRSI … preferences when purchasing a new car. In the first eight months of this year, more than one in every four new private cars registered in Ireland was electric, which is higher than the European Union average. In August, the number of new electric cars

living crisis. The legislation before us shows the Government’s priorities. I will start with income tax because that is where most workers will fail to feel the budget. The Minister of State’s officials in the Department of Finance examined the impact of this budget’s income … measures. They described these measures as "regressive" and said the tax package "disproportionately benefits higher-income households". That is not me or the Social Democrats talking but what the Minister of State’s Department said in its budget documents. According to those documents, people earning between

provides additional supports through childcare services relief, rent-a-room relief, microgeneration income and third level education fees. Together, these measures will help workers and families to retain more of their hard-earned income and ease the day-to-day costs they face. This Bill goes beyond supporting … Bill itself, which is substantial, running to 79 sections and 238 pages. Section 2 increases the entry point to the 3% universal social charge, USC, rate from €28,700 to €30,300, ensuring lower and middle-income earners benefit from wage growth and minimum wage increases without facing