Budget 2010 - Overview

Minister Brian Lenihan delivered his third budget in 14 months under enormous pressure to deliver the €4 billion adjustment necessary to reduce the budget deficit as agreed with the European Commission. The Minister has also been under continuous pressure to stimulate the economy and create and sustain jobs in the future through imaginative “tax incentive schemes” and “green jobs schemes”.

The Minister has raised the majority of the €4 billion through cuts in the spending programmes of;

Public sector pay,
Social welfare and child benefit, and
Capital spending plans.

Has the Minister got the balance right between “correcting the budget deficit” and “stimulating the Irish economy”? Only time will tell and we enclose our budget summary on the taxation measures, which we hope you will find useful for a quick reference to the main changes.