The Detroit Tigers signed Gleyber Torres in the offseason, hoping the infielder could help boost their offense. On Friday night, he showed what he could do with the bat. Unfortunately, his offensive contribution is not what fans are focusing on as Detroit chases a win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Torres came up to bat […]
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THERE are numerous money changes hitting thousands of Irish bank accounts next month.
Thousands of households across the country are set to see a new social welfare boost, price hikes and payment cuts as April hits.
One major social welfare scheme is set to be cut by hundreds next month while various insurers and businesses will hike their prices.
Electricity bills are set to go up for some whilst Sky, Eir and Laya set to make a price change to their services.
And next month will also see social welfare payment dates change in a once-off shake up.
Here, we have outlined all the money changes that are expected to affect your bank account next month.
Around 700,000 Irish customers will have to pay more for their health insurance.
Laya Healthcare confirmed that it will increase its premiums by an average of seven per cent from April 1st.
The insurer, which increased premium rates in October and April last year, blamed the cost of delivering healthcare hitting new highs.
And the combination of all three increases could see the cost of policies rising by more than 17 per cent.
Health insurance broker Dermot Goode of TotalHealthCover.ie. said the cost of renewing a plan will vary based on each policy.
But he warned that the same plan for a family of two adults and two children will rise by between €98 and €375 from this latest hike alone.
SSE Airtricity said household electricity and gas prices will increase from April 2, 2025.
The price change is in response to rises in external costs, including network charges and wholesale energy costs.
Customers will pay an extra €171.55 for electricity and €113.15 per year for gas.
This change will see a typical electricity customer’s bill increase by 10.5 per cent, while a typical gas customer’s bill will rise by 8.4 per cent.
This will result in an additional €0.47 per day on the average electricity bill and €0.31 per day on the average gas bill.
Dual fuel household bills will increase by 9.5 per cent on average, equivalent to around €0.78 per day.
SSE Airtricity has reduced its prices three times since 2022 and took the decision to forego profit in 2023, instead returning funds to customers.
The weekly €33 social welfare boost issued to 409,721 Irish households is also set to end next week.
The cash, which is worth a total of €924, started on September 23 last year and will finish up on April 4 2025, it has been confirmed.
Those eligible can choose to receive 28 weekly payments of €33 throughout the winter season or two lump sums worth €462 each.
And Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary confirmed that over 9,000 more households were newly qualified for the payment under new rules that came into place three months ago.
Thousands of Irish homes could be affected by broadband, TV, and phone usage price hikes.
Customers of Eir, Sky, Three and Vodafone are set to see the price increase come into effect.
This will be the third April in a row when customers have been forced to fork out on their plans.
Originally, the yearly increase was based on the rate of inflation plus another three per cent on top of that.
But both Eir and Vodafone have now changed to a fix annual charge for every April.
Vodafone’s broadband plans will increase by €3.50 a month each April going forward.
And its broadband and TV plans will go up by €4.50 a month each April.
But the price hikes won’t go down well with everyone, as they fall in line with “price signalling” under CCPC guidelines.
Sky customers are set to see their costs rise by up to €96 a year from the start of April, with broadband products to rise by €4 a month – or €48 a year – with the exception of the Sky 1Gb Fibre option.
There will then be a €3 rise per month on TV base packs, with a €2 rise per month for Sky Kids.
However, customers could also see an increase of €8 per month, leading to a total rise of €96 per year, which the rises are capped at.
The Accommodation Recognition Payment is paid out to over 19,000 Irish households who have housed Ukrainian refugees in their property.
However, Minister for Children, Disability and Equality Norma Foley has brought a proposal to cabinet to cut the ARP from €800 to €600 per month.
The proposals will go before the Dail and Seanad before kicking in next month.
The Pay-Related Jobseeker’s Benefit will be rolled out from March 31, providing a huge boost for thousands of people.
It will be available for those who become fully unemployed on or after March 31 and have enough pay-related social insurance contributions, also known as PRSI.
As part of the requirements for the social welfare payment, you must satisfy three main PRSI contribution conditions to avail of it.
The first condition is that you must have paid at least 104 PRSI insurable employment contributions at Class A, H or P.
The second condition is that you have paid at least 4 PRSI insurable employment contributions at Class A or H in the 10 weeks before applying.
The third condition is that you must have paid at least 26 PRSI insurable employment contributions at Class A or H in the 52 weeks before your first day of unemployment.
There are fears 80,000 Irish jobs could be lost amid US tariff chaos, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has revealed.
US president Donald Trump is set to announce his EU tariffs package next week on April 2.
Minister Donohoe warned the “worst case scenario” could see between 50,000 and 80,000 jobs that would have been either created or kept within the Irish economy lost.
The tariffs package due to be announced by the US next week could see 25 per cent tariffs imposed on products coming from the EU, as well as pharmaceutical companies potentially being hit.
The Finance Minister also indicated tax cuts outlined in the programme for Government may not go ahead if severe tariffs do come in.
He said the plans outlined in the General Election “wouldn’t be the right thing to do” in the case of an economic shock.
It comes after he warned that it’s “correct” to rule out a bumper package of cost-of-living supports in this Budget 2026.
Speaking last week Mr Donohue said record €2.6billion Social Protection package including 10 lump sum payments won’t be repeated in this year’s budget.
The government has confirmed that every single cash boost will be paid out early ahead of Easter.
All Intreo centres, local branch offices, post offices and banks will be closed on Easter Monday, which falls on April 21.
They will reopen again on Tuesday but thousands of people expecting money to land into their accounts on Monday have been warned that the cash will hit four days early.
This is to account for Good Friday and many businesses also closing.
Anyone who is due to get a payment on Monday should expect the boost to land into their accounts on Thursday, April 17.