The Budget on December 9th announced that from January 2010 the rates of student grants and scholarships will be reduced by 5%.
It will apply to all existing and new grant-holders.

A change to sick leave for teachers was announced in the 2010 Budget.

From the start of the 2010/11 school year, the maximum number of uncertified sick leave days allowed in the school year for teachers in primary, secondary and community and comprehensive schools will be reduced to seven days. This is the same number of days available for teachers in vocational schools and community colleges.

The 2010 Budget has announced the following reductions in Public Sector pay:

Public Servants earning over 200,000 will have a 15% pay reduction.

Public Servants earning from 165,000 to 200,000 will have a 12% pay reduction.

Public Servants earning from 125,000 – 165,000 will see an 8% pay reduction.

Other Public Servants with salaries under €125,000 will have:

A 5% reduction on the first 30,000 of income.

A 7.5% reduction on the pay between 30,001 and 70,000

A 10% reduction on the pay between 70,001 and 125,000.

These changes will have the following affect on pay for Public Sector workers:

Someone earning  25000 will now get  €23,750
A person on €50,000 wil be cut to €47,000
Someone on a salary of €100,000 will now be on €92,500
A salary of €250,00 will be cut to €212,500

It is interesting to see the take home (net) pay figures for some of these high earners. For example – someone earning €70,000 gets a net pay of  €41,272.
A gross salary of €138,000 will result in a net pay of €68,613. These figures are for single people with full rate PRSI.

New Prescription charge of 50c per item for Medical Card Holders.

Prescriptions are currently free to medical card holders. In the Budget 2010 a new charge was announced of  50 cent  per item.

This charge is subject to a monthly ceiling of €10 per family

This charge is expected to save €25 million a year. It looks like it will take effect from April 2010.

Update – Prescription Charges from September

The December 9th Budget for 2010 announced an increase in DPS Threshold of €20

The monthly threshold for the Drugs Payment Scheme is being increased from €100 to €120.

Budget 2010 -
The increase in VAT at the last budget is being reversed from Jan 2010

The standard VAT rate will go down from 21.5 per cent to 21 per cent.

The standard rate of VAT will be reduced from 21.5 to 21 per cent with effect from 1 January 2010. This decrease will apply to all goods and services which are currently subject to VAT at 21.5 per cent

The December 9th Budget – as forecast here – revealed that  a car scrappage scheme which will apply in Ireland  from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2010. The scheme will provide for up to  €1,500 reduction in Vehicle Registration Tax on a new car bought where a car of 10 years age or more is scrapped.

The Scrappage Scheme will run from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2010.

See Details of Scrappage Scheme Extension to June 2011

VRT relief of up to €1,500 will be available.

The VRT relief will be provided where a new  car is purchased with emission Bands Category A or B (i.e. with CO2 emissions of 140g/km or less) and an old car is scrapped.

The car being scrapped:

Must have been registered in the State in the name of the purchaser of the new car for at least 18 months prior to the date of scrappage,

Must be 10 years old or more from the date of first registration,

Must be scrapped after 9 December 2009,

Must be scrapped within 60 days of the date of the new car being registered, or have been scrapped within the previous 60 days of the date of the new car being registered,provided the date of scrappage is after 9 December 2009.

Must have a valid NCT certificate of roadworthiness, or one that has expired no more than 90 days prior to issue of the Certificate of Destruction; or documentation to indicate that it has been presented for and failed an NCT roadworthiness test in the previous 6 months;

Must have been insured for use on the road for at least 12 months in the 18 months prior to the issue of the Certificate of Destruction.

Being ‘scrapped’ means that the old car has been taken to an official End of Life Vehicles (ELV) authorised treatment facility and a Certificate of Destruction is issued by the facility in respect of the car.

Reductions on alcohol duty announced: The cuts in excise duty will result in an average drop in prices as follows:

12c reduction on a pint of beer and cider.

40c reduction on a measure (half glass??)  of spirits. (About €2.80 on abottle)

60c reduction on a bottle of wine.