The proposed youth tax credit in Budget 2025 would “retain talent” in Ireland, according to Enterprise Minister Peter Burke. 

The Fine Gael TD has said a €750 tax credit for people under the age of 25 should be considered in the upcoming Budget. 

He told Newstalk this credit could incentivise graduates to stay in Ireland to work rather than emigrate abroad. 

“We know the Irish economy is growing rapidly,” he said. “We have never had a greater demand for work permits right across our economy, growing every single year. 

“One of the key things I think we should be focusing on is trying to retain as many graduates in our economy as possible. 

“A huge tax credit for those under 25 would be a significant incentive that could be built upon to try and retain that key skill and talent into our economy.” 

Youth tax credit

Using the rent tax credit as inspiration, Mr Burke said the “progressive” policy would cost Ireland roughly €100 million per year. 

He said projections for the Irish economy expect it to grow by another 100,000 jobs next year – with Irish graduates the perfect cohort to take these jobs. 

“The more people that we can retain from our economy that have graduated under the Irish system, the better,” he said. 

“We should have [the youth tax credit] to try and incentivise this, trying to ensure that we retain our talent in our country and to ensure that we're trying to be as progressive as we can. 

“Obviously we have invested significantly in tertiary education now - we have so many new technical universities right across our country. 

“I think we should build upon that and try and encourage and retain as many highly skilled workers as possible in our economy to help it grow at the rate that it currently is.” 

Mr Burke noted the National Training Fund should also be expanded to upskill more workers. 

Financial Services Ireland previously said the €1.5 billion surplus for the NTF should be used to offer training vouchers for Irish firms.