Give it away, now: From tax cuts to SSIAs, some of the biggest giveaway budgets of the past [Video]

Charlie Mc Creevy and Brian Cowen pictured in 2002. Gareth Chaney / Photocall Ireland! Gareth Chaney / Photocall Ireland! / Photocall Ireland!

WHILE RUMOUR AND intrigue surround the date of the next general election, one thing we can be pretty sure of is that next week’s budget is going to play a big part in it. 

Budget 2025 is Finance Minister Jack Chambers’ first, but it’s the fifth and final one of the three-party coalition. It’s therefore the final big chance the government has to influence the finances of the country and the pockets of the citizens. 

So whether we’re weeks away from the election or months, all the talk has been that it’s likely to be a ‘giveaway budget’.

Basically, that the government will loosen the purse strings and spend lavishly by either cutting taxes or giving money back to people via social welfare.  

This might sound like a no-brainer, as in can the government not just do this every year? 

Well, the Finance Minister and officials also balance spending decisions …