Mortgage interest and cost of living package dominate readers’ budget questions

The prospect of help with surging mortgage interest rates was the topic that grabbed the imagination of Irish Times readers in Budget 2024.

But there was also significant interest in grants and fees at third level and the timing of the various one-off cost of living measures.

Overall, the Irish Times/PwC Budget Q&A received more than 300 queries across a range of issues raised by the speeches of Minister for Finance Michael McGrath and Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe on Tuesday.

The dominant theme was undoubtedly the mechanics of the mortgage interest relief – a tailored measure designed to help those who have suffered the biggest hit from 10 European Central Bank interest rate rises over the past 16 months.

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People remain confused over whether they will be eligible for up to €1,250 in once-off relief on the measure which applies only to 2023.

More detail is likely to emerge in the Finance Bill, which provides the legislative backing for measures announced in the budget and which is scheduled to be published on Thursday next week.

The last cost of living package was also of intense interest for readers, notably the timing of lump-sum payments promised to welfare recipients and the energy credits that will trim €450 from winter energy bills in all households in the early part of next year.

Another element of the cost of living package to draw reader interest was Mr Donohoe’s announcement that he was giving a once-off reduction of €1,000 in the €3,000 student contribution fee paid by most third-level students.

That attracted a series of queries from people wanting to know whether that applied to the current 2023/24 academic year – something subsequently confirmed by Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris – and how to secure a refund if they had already paid the full fees.

[ Mortgage interest relief: How do I apply and how much can I save? ]

Landlords were teasing out precisely what the new Rented Residential Relief will mean in practice, especially where certain properties were under shared ownership. Again further detail seems certain to appear in the Finance Bill.

Then there were the questions about what was not in the budget. Retrofitting loomed large in this regard and there was little to say to readers except that the budget was largely silent on the issue, with no hint of any additional funding to support energy efficiency in private homes.

The reaction among business owners was also muted, with few finding much cheer among the measures announced by Mr McGrath and Mr Donohoe on Tuesday. The general view appeared to be that any benefit coming their way would be more than offset by the cost of the 12 per cent rise in the national minimum wage.