MEMBERS OF Wexford’s business community gathered at the Talbot Hotel on the morning after Budget 2017 was announced to hear of how adjustments introduced may impact on their bottom line.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers partner in Wexford, Billy Sweetman, was among the leaders to speak at the breakfast briefing hosted in association with Wexford Chamber.

Fine Gael Ministers Michael Noonan and Paschal Donohue presented details of Budget 2017 to the Dáil the previous day.

A modest budget of €300 million had been available to the Ministers for spending on tax adjustments.

Additional expenditure of €900 million was announced, however, as this figure represents just two per cent of the annual budget spend, its impact is forecast to be modest.

While people in several sectors of society made certain gains on the day, the announcement of a €5 increase in the State pension from March 2018 had many proclaiming this year’s was a ‘Grey Vote Budget’.

Others soon likened measures announced to a ‘Fiver Friday Budget’, alluding to Joe Duffy’s monthly discount deals radio show.

Universal subsidies are to be introduced in respect of all children aged six months to three years, while a new Single Affordable Childcare Scheme will give means-tested subsidies to parents of childred aged between six months and 15 years.

Fishermen in Wexford will be in line to benefit from a €1,270 income tax credit, announced on the day.

Some 800 new Gardaí and 1,000 additional nurses and midwives are to be recruited, while 2,400 additional teaching posts were also announced.

Farmers are also set to benefit from measures introduced, which include a new, flexible, low-cost loan fund to be established for farmers to improve cashflow and reduce the cost of short-term borrowings.

In exceptionally poor years, farmers are to be allowed to temporarily ‘step out’ of income averaging.

Sheep and sheep farmers were other, perhaps unlikely, winners on the day, when details of a targeted animal welfare initiative were announced.

Smokers were the ones to lose out, with a 50 cent price hike applied to a packet of cigarettes.

A tax on sugar-sweetened drinks, meanwhile, is set to be implemented in April 2018 after public consultation.

Budget 2017 presented the Finance Minister with an opportunity to reaffirm the stability of Ireland’s tax policy in the wake of Brexit.

The retention of the nine per cent VAT rate in the tourism and hospitality sector will give continuity of mission to many Wexford enterprises.

Read more in the Wexford Echo.