Students are set to be given a cash boost to help meet the cost of this academic year under today's budget.
All full-time third level students will be given a €250 bonus at a total cost of €50 million.
A €50m one-off hardship fund is being set up under #Budget2021 to cater to full-time third level students who have been financially hit by the circumstances of last few weeks. Will mean universal payments of approx €250pp, either through SUSI grant or refund from €3k reg fee
— Gavan Reilly (@gavreilly) October 13, 2020
Details are being worked out but it may come as a top-up to the SUSI grant payments or through colleges if they paid fees.
Today's budget is set to start at 1 pm today and will aim to handle the fallout from COVID and Brexit.
Here's what we know so far:
- A €7.50 a tonne increase in a carbon tax will hike the cost of fuel.
- Filling a tank of diesel will cost about 1.50 more, a tank of petrol 1.30.
- There will be 90c extra on a bag of coal, 20c on a bale of briquettes, and home heating oil is set to increase.
- This will be offset for the most vulnerable by increases in the living alone allowance and the fuel allowance.
- Changes to VRT will make buying a polluting car more expensive, and changes to motor tax will mean those with older or more polluting cars will end up paying somewhere between 10 and 50 euro more a year. 90% of people will not be impacted by the motor tax changes.
- And the cost of a pack of cigarettes will go up 50c, but alcohol will be left unchanged.
- Multi-billion euro fund for businesses forced to shut because of the COVID crisis.
