15:10

Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan has been on his feet delivering Budget 2016 for the Republic, writes Henry McDonald in Dublin. He has been addressing a very sombre Dail which prior to the budget being laid out heard tributes led by Taoiseach Enda Kenny for the 10 people who lost their lives in the fire in South County Dublin last Saturday and then 24 hours later the murder of an Irish police officer in County Louth.



After a minutes silence to remmeber the victims Noonan opened his budget speech by referring to 2016, the centenary year of the Easter Rising against British rule. He said the anniversary gave Ireland “the chance to reflect” on how far Ireland has come especially in recent years and how the state had faced up to the financial crash, the bail out and the recession.



Noonan’s headline give-away measure was a series of tax cuts totalling €750m which in part will be financed by a 50 cents rise in the price of a 20 pack of cigarettes.

The Finance Minister then laid out examples of how these tax cuts including slashing the hated Universal Social Charge (brought in to appease the IMF-EU during the bail out) would affect different families. These included:

Noonan displays a copy of the Budget. Photograph: Cathal Mcnaughton/Reuters

*A single person, working full time on the minimum wage, earning €17,542, will see an increase of 4.2 per cent (€708) a year

* A family with three children with parents working as a Garda and a nurse earning €55,000 and €50,000 respectively will have an additional €196 per month in their pocket

Given the importance of tourism in Ireland the Minister announced there will be no increase in the 9% VAT rate for the hospitality industry.



For pensioners, that most critical band of voters in successive elections in the Republic, the Pension Levy (a tax on pension payments) will be phased out.



These above measures are clearly designed to appeal to middle income earners, those in work, who suffered greatly during the years of austerity and the bail out when direct and indirect taxes shot up.

