Budget 2025 measures you might have missed including €300 lump sum for thousands

Budget 2025 was announced on Tuesday and heralded as a "giveaway" thanks to a number of high-profile measures, including a €250 energy credit, €12 hikes to Social Welfare payments, two double Child Benefit payments and changes to income tax.

There were a number of other measures announced that didn't make as many headlines, while a number of other money changes took effect on Tuesday, including in the price of fuel and the amount of PRSI workers lose in their wage slips.

Aside from two double Child Benefit payments to be made to parents before Christmas, a number of other Social Welfare 'lump sums' were announced in the Budget.

A €400 lump sum will be paid to those in receipt of the Working Family Payment while there will be double payments for lone parents in October and Christmas. There will also be a €100 Child Support Payment lump sum for those eligible. Living Alone Allowance recipients will receive a €200 lump sum.

While pensioners will receive a €12 weekly hike, they will also be able to avail of changes to free travel. Over 70s will now be able to bring any companion with them on public transport for free, not just a carer or partner. Many of them will also receive a lump sum of €300 in an extra fuel allowance on top of their weekly entitlement in November. This scheme will also be extended to over 66s with a means tested eligible income of €1,036 for a couple or €536 for a single person. 

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In housing, the Government's rent tax credit will rise from €250 to €1,000. The Help To Buy Scheme which gives prospective homeowners some of their previously paid income tax back as a boost to their deposit has been extended to the end of 2029.

The Government also aimed to tackle smoking and vaping in Budget 2025. The price of a 20-pack of cigarettes has been hiked by another €1 to around €18. A new tax of 50c per ml on vape liquid was also announced and will be introduced next year.

Away from the Dáil chamber, the price of petrol and diesel will rise by 2c a litre from midnight on Tuesday, making Ireland's diesel the most expensive in the EU and petrol the fifth most expensive.

Despite the Government announcing €250 in energy credits in Budget 2025, much of that amount will be wiped out by recent increases to levies on electricity bills which came into effect on Tuesday. That means households will shell out €100 a year more in extra network charges and €40 a year in the Public Service Obligation (PSO) levy on electricity bills.

Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) is also rising from this month and will go up by 0.7% over the next five years. The first increase this month will take a further €45 from the wages of someone earning around €45,000 a year.

Health insurance is also going to get more expensive with VHI, Laya and Irish Life Health all hiking premiums. Some plans will go up by a whopping 25%, meaning some policy holders will be paying out more than €500 more a year than they are now.