The big points.

This is what's in store from Budget 2017. Pensions and all social welfare payments will go up while there's going to be additional jobs for teachers, nurses and gardaí. Cigarettes are going up in cost by 50 cent and a sugar tax is on the way. On the plus side, spending on education, housing and health will all be boosted in 2017. Here's all the main details:

• All weekly social welfare payments, including the carer's and disability allowance, will rise by €5 in March.  An 85% Christmas bonus will also be paid to Social Welfare recipients in 2016.
• Cigarettes will be going up by 50 cent. It will now cost €11 for a pack of 20.
• Pensions have risen by €5 per week.
• 4,500 additional public servants are to hired including nurses, gardaí and teachers (2,400 new teaching posts have been mentioned)
• 800 new gardai to be hired in 2017.
• There's going to be a tax on sugar, sweets and drinks. It will be implemented from April 2018 and will be similar to the one that exists in the UK.
• Measures were taken to address the problems in the rental sector and one scheme should help students. Landlords get an extra 5pc in mortgage interest relief, while homeowners can rent a room out for €14k a year without paying tax.
• €1.2bn will be allocated for housing,  including 47,000 new social houses.
• First-time buyers receive a tax refund of up to 5% of the value of newly built homes with a €20,000 cap over four years. The help-to-buy scheme includes houses valued at up to €600,000.
• Affordable childcare schemes will see a subsidy made available to all parents from Sept 2017.
• An additional €497m will be allocated to healthbringing the budget up to €14.6bn
• Third level education sector is to get an extra €36.5m in funding for 2017.
• €15m to aid the National Broadband Plan
• Reduction of the current 20% rate of Capital Gains Tax to 10% on disposals of qualifying assets up to a limit of €1 million in chargeable gains.
• .5% of universal social charge has been chopped off the three lowest rates.
• There will be no change to Ireland's corporation tax rate of 12.5%.
• DIRT (the Deposit Interest Retention Tax) will be reduced by 2% every year for the next four years.