Our annual Fantasy Budget competition proved as popular as ever with over 600 students entering. In teams of 3 – 4, students were asked to think like the Minister for Finance and critically analyse three key measures impacting individuals, Irish businesses, and foreign investment in Ireland. Finishing their submission, they propose their own Budget measure.

After a difficult process and much deliberation, our esteemed judges, Jim Power and Brendan Keenan, selected the top three teams. Congratulations to:

• 1st place: University of Galway’s Mark Dempsey, Micheál Martin Walsh and James Carroll, with lecturer Dr. Maria O’Brien
• 2nd place: UCD’s Alana Fahey, Rebekah Greevy, Maya Hafeez and Sarah O’Reilly, with lecturer Dr. Karl Matikonis
• 3rd place: DCU’s Matthew Donohoe, Liam Gaffney, Liam Kerley and Mark Sheehan, with lecturer Dr. Patrick Mulcahy

On Wednesday 29 January 2025, our President, Aoife Lavan, welcomed the three teams, their lecturers and the competition judges to our offices in Grand Canal Dock. Before digging into lunch, each team was presented their prizes in recognition of their outstanding achievement. See photos from the event on our Flickr account.

Thank you to all participants for providing such high standard submissions! You can read more about the winning submissions below.

1st Place – University of Galway

The winning team critically analysed:

• the Help to Buy Scheme extension until 2029
• the changes to retirement relief when disposals are made within the family
• the intention to introduce a participation exemption into Ireland.

For their own measure proposal, the team focussed on the property market. They suggested introducing an incremental property tax.

This proposed tax would begin with a standard rate of 0% on the first three properties owned, progressively increasing for each additional property. The primary objective of this tax is to discourage speculative investment in housing, a practice that exacerbates housing shortages and pushes prices higher.

2nd Place – UCD

The team provided insights into:

•  the impact of the increased CAT thresholds
• the introduction of a corporation tax deduction for expenses incurred from a first-time listing on a recognised stock exchange
• the introduction of a participation exemption in Ireland

As the Minister of Finance, the team would introduce an interim and immediate VAT exemption for counselling and psychotherapy services. This would address the affordability of these vital services to the significantly increased number of people in Ireland requiring access to such services.

3rd Place – DCU

The team provided analysis into:

• the impacts of the inclusion of all transition year and senior cycle students in the Free Schoolbooks Initiative
• the extension to the Employment Investment Incentive Scheme (EII) for a further two years until the end of 2026 and the increase to the maximum amount of relief an investor can claim through the EII
• the introduction of a participation exemption in Ireland.

The team recommended a reduction in the VAT rate for the hospitality sector to 9%.

In their opinion, this would help prevent business closures across the country in this sector, provide employment opportunities for younger workers and reduce operating costs for businesses.