Budget Basics: The key terms and numbers you need to know

Next Tuesday, Minister for Finance Jack Chambers and Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe will deliver their budget speeches.

All budget speeches are closely watched for details about policies and promises, but if you've not been a close listener to the discussion of the nation's finances, it may start to sound complicated.

With that in mind, here's a breakdown on the basics, and the background to what's expected.

The Budget Package

The Government proposed a budget package of €8.3 billion in its Summer Economic statement. That means they said they are to allocate that amount of money in the 2025 Budget to additional spending, or cuts in taxes.

Of that €8.3bn, €6.9bn is proposed for spending increases - to be spent on public services and the likes - and €1.4bn is allocated to tax changes.

However, of €6.9bn in spending, the vast majority is what's called 'pre-committed'.

Pre-committed

In each Budget, the ministers set out plans which play out in the public finances over coming years, not just in the headline Budget year. To make good on commitments made in previous budgets can mean allocating additional money each year.

This is money that would be required regardless of whether or not the government announced any new policies or tax changes, and is referred to 'pre-committed spending'.

Of the €6.9bn set out for additional spending in 2025 in the Government’s plans, €5.1bn of it is pre-committed. That leaves €1.8bn for spending related to new policies.

It is announcements about spending of that €1.8bn, and the specifics on tax changes, that are expected to make most of the budget headlines.

The tax changes will be announced by Minister for Finance Jack Chambers, while Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe will deliver details on spending.

Giveaway?

The ministers have said they won't be delivering a "giveaway budget" but all the politicians, activists, and lobbyists - not to mention anyone using public services, receiving social welfare or paying tax - may be listening closely for word on whatever changes they have been seeking, for months if not years.

A bite of the Apple?

Journalists and campaigners will also be waiting for word on what the Government intends to do with the €14bn in extra cash the national account will soon receive following the conclusion of the Apple tax case.

In recent weeks, after a multi-year legal process, courts in Europe concluded Apple owed Ireland the money in back taxes.

Read: RTE's Business Editor Will Goodbody explains the history of the Apple tax case

That money is outside the €8.3bn budget package plan announced previously, but the Taoiseach has said some information will be given on plans for it around budget day.

He has said it will be used for infrastructure and investments for future benefit, and not on day-to-day spending.

With an election looming and cash coming, there may be a temptation to deviate from the proposed package.

However, it is a big spending bonanza that the likes of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council is warning about. They are the economists appointed to advise on budget strategy.

Even before the Apple case concluded, the council was warning that the €8.3bn plan could represent too much government spending, which could drive up prices and cause economic problems for the future.

‘Striking the balance’

Paschal Donohoe has said Budget 2025 will be about "getting the balance right between keeping our public finances safe and getting ready for the risks of tomorrow."

That is a statement about priorities and planning, but budgets are also about politics, and with an election looming, many experts expect Budget 2025 will be about all three.