LIVE UPDATES: Budget 2026 and reactions at a glance
Measures for the Budget 2026 were announced today at the Dáil by Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe and Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers.
The total budget package will remain as outlined at €9.4 billion with the government planning to implement €1.5 billion in tax cuts.
An overview of key elements that have been outlined are as follows:
The National Minimum Wage is going up 65 cent to €14.15 per hour.
The VAT rate on hospitality will be reduced from 13.5 per cent to 9 per cent from July 2026.
There will be a ten euro across-the-board increase to core weekly welfare payments including the old-age pension.
A “Christmas bonus” double payment is likely and child support payments will increase by eight euro for kids under 12 and €16 for those aged 12 and over.
The income disregard for the carers’ allowance is also expected to increase by €375 for a single person up to €1,000 and €750 for a couple, up to €2,000.
In regards to childcare and disability, a significant increase in spending on disabilities is on the cards estimated at €500 million.
VAT rate for completed apartments is cut to 9 per cent from 13 per cent from tonight until end of 2030 to encourage development.
The price of a packet of 20 cigarettes is increasing by 50 cent, with a pack now just under €19.
The rent tax credit is being extended for three years while the mortgage interest credit is being extended for two years.
The €5,000 VRT relief for EVs has been extended to the end of 2026.
The weekly fuel allowance rate will go up by five euro and has been extended to those eligible for the working family payment.
Motorists are facing a rise of just over 2 cent per litre at the fuel pumps on the back of the increase in carbon tax charges.
Reactions .....
VFI
The Vintners’ Federation of Ireland has sharply criticised this, saying it fails to deliver for the thousands of traditional pubs now fighting for survival and leaves food pubs waiting months for promised support.
While the decision to cut VAT on food services is welcome, the VFI says delaying the change until mid-2026 is unacceptable.
Food pubs face their toughest trading period in the first half of the year and will now have to endure another six months of crippling costs before any relief arrives, at the very moment when new cost burdens such as the January increase in minimum wage will take effect.
VFI Chief Executive Pat Crotty said: “This Budget is a bitter blow for traditional publicans, even allowing for the vital reduction in the hospitality VAT rate.
"Food-led pubs must somehow survive the hardest months of the year without the VAT support they were promised, while the thousands of traditional pubs, who don’t serve food and form the backbone of rural Ireland, get absolutely nothing."
The VFI is calling on Government to bring the VAT cut forward to January 2026.
INMO
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has said Budget 2026 lacks the ambition required when it comes to scaling up staffing and capacity in our public health service.
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: “The announcement today that the Government only intend to hire an additional 3,300 staff into our public health service next year demonstrates a lack of awareness into the severe staffing crisis in our hospitals and in the community.
“In cutting the VAT rate for the hospitality sector, the Government has failed to heed last week’s advice from the Fiscal Advisory Council who said that the Government could hire 11,400 additional nurses rather than cut VAT for the hospitality sector."
"This budget has done very little for working nurses and midwives when it comes to cost-of-living supports - no help with rising energy costs, no tax relief on trade union subscriptions, a mere €500 reduction in student fees and no reduction in childcare costs."
There will be money for “thousands” more childcare places and wage increases for those working in the sector.
Department of Agriculture
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD announced details of his Department’s 2026 Budget.
With an additional €170 million secured, bringing his Department’s Vote to over €2.3 billion, Minister Heydon said: “Budget 2026 will provide very significant supports to farmers, fishers and foresters. I am determined to protect and grow Ireland’s agri-food sector and the significant contribution it makes to our rural and national economy.”
The 2026 Estimates provide a gross vote of €2.302 billion for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. This includes a Capital Programme of €335 million, and Current Expenditure of €1.967 billion.
Minister Heydon said: ‘‘Budget 2026 provides for a 9% increase in funding when compared to 2025 and highlights the Government’s strong commitment to the sector.”
Unite Union
In further responses to the announcement of Budget 2026, trade union Unite warned today that many workers will be running to stand still following the government’s decision to focus on tax breaks for builders and burger chains rather than inflation-proofing income tax bands at a time when workers are facing an ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
The union also strongly criticised the government’s continued reliance on market subsidies rather than expanding public provision of vital services such as childcare and housing.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Budgets are about choices, and the government chose to listen to poor-mouth employers rather than boost workers’ living standards."
“Much of the tax envelope has been gobbled up by profit-boosting VAT cuts on hospitality and apartment construction, leaving nothing for indexing tax bands to preserve workers’ incomes."
“Following the decision earlier this year to postpone the Living Wage and defer improvements to sick pay, it is clear employers have taken up residence in Government Buildings."
Chambers Ireland
Chambers Ireland has also responded to Budget 2026, describing it as “a budget of two halves”.
Chief Executive of Chambers Ireland Ian Talbot said that Budget 2026 offers welcome commitments on infrastructure and housing but leaves some questions unanswered for the business community.
TG4
TG4 welcomed the significant increase in its annual grant for 2026.
The Department of Culture, Communications and Sport has sanctioned €5.4m or a 9 per cent increase from the exchequer for TG4 next year for more high-quality Irish language content, children’s programming and expanded news services bringing its total funding to €65.4m.
This is the second highest increase for TG4 in recent years.
TG4 Director General Deirdre Ní Choistín said: "TG4 is going from strength to strength due to increased investment from government in recent years. Our audience has grown steadily as a result of this investment."
"To date this year, TG4’s audience share is now at 2.3%. We hope to continue to build on our audience engagement in 2026 and provide high-quality content for our audiences on all platforms."
Macra
Macra President Josephine O’Neill has issued a mixed reaction to Budget 2026, welcoming key investments and supports for rural communities and the agriculture sector, while strongly criticising the Government for once again failing to deliver meaningful measures to support generational renewal.
Ms. O’Neill said: “There are aspects of today’s Budget that deserve to be acknowledged and welcomed.
The extension of essential agricultural tax reliefs that Macra had sought including the 100 per cent Young Trained Farmer Stamp Duty Relief, Farm Restructuring Capital Gains Tax Relief and Farm Consolidation Stamp Duty Relief along with Accelerated Capital Allowance for Slurry Storage which are now extended up to the end of 2029 provides certainty and stability to farm families who are trying to plan for the years ahead.
These measures recognise the pressures that family farms are under and the need to maintain competitiveness while facing rising costs and market volatility.”
Macra has also welcomed the allocation of €85 million towards the TB eradication programme, a long standing and costly burden on Irish farmers.
The organisation also welcomed the announcement of additional funding for the National Broadband Plan, a necessary support to young people and young farmers living and working in rural Ireland.
However, despite these positive developments, Macra has expressed deep frustration and disappointment at the Government’s ongoing failure to tackle generational renewal.
One Family
One Family welcomes the announcement of some evidence-based, targeted measures in Budget 2026, but highlights missed opportunities from government to deliver all actions needed to tackle child poverty and family homelessness.
Strategic increases to the Child Support Payment and expansion of Fuel Allowance to those in receipt of the Working Family Payment are very welcome measures.
It is also welcome that Back to School Allowance has been extended to children aged 2-3.
However, Karen Kiernan, CEO of One Family, said that: "The failure to increase other targeted payments, such as the Back to School Clothing & Footwear Allowance or the income disregards to One Parent Family Payment and Jobseekers’ Transitional Payment is extremely disappointing.
Doing so would have helped the one-parent families most impacted by cost-of-living crisis, in a targeted way, and the while the Child Support Payment and Fuel Allowance expansion are extremely welcome, further targeting was needed to tackle the poverty and deprivation that many one-parent families are experiencing.”
ICMSA
Commenting on the Budget 2026 announcements and expressing his disappointment, the President of ICMSA, Denis Drennan, said that the unanimous position of all involved in the farm and agri sector was that the Government had to begin addressing the looming crisis around succession and generational renewal on the family farms that were the foundation for Ireland’s €16 billion agri-food sector.
The ICMSA President said while welcoming the extension of the tax reliefs on Slurry Storage, Stamp Duty and Capital Gains Tax reliefs, they represented an extension of very important existing reliefs. There were, he pointed out, no new initiatives. In relation to expenditure, Mr Drennan noted the retention of dairy beef initiatives and the additional funding for the TB Action Plan that, he stressed, must work while being fair to farmers.
Mr Drennan said that the overwhelming feeling of farmers would be disappointment and that disappointment would focus on the failure to deal with income volatility.
Irish Hairdressers Federation
The Irish Hairdressers Federation (IHF) has welcomed the news from Minister Paschal O’Donohoe that VAT within the hairdressing industry will be reduced from 13.5% to 9%.
“We welcome the Minister’s commitment to reducing VAT within the hairdressing industry to 9%, which is indeed good news for our sector. However, this decision comes with a strong sting in the tail, as the measure will not take effect until July. Many politicians assured us during our meetings in the run-up to the Budget that this VAT change would become a reality, and while it is, the delay leaves our members in a precarious position. There are 267 days between now and July, and I fear for our members’ futures. How many businesses will need to close before action is taken sooner?”
The IHF has warned that hairdressing businesses are already struggling with some of the highest costs in Europe. Ireland’s salons face the second highest energy bills in the EU, many members continue to carry warehoused debt liabilities to Revenue, and insurance premiums remain punishingly high. In addition, the sector is bracing for the introduction of pension auto-enrolment in early 2026, which will further increase costs.
Lisa Eccles added: “We are very aware of the cost-of-living crisis, and many of our members are reluctant to increase prices for their customers at this time. While today’s announcement is welcome, it is also tinged with disbelief and disappointment. Our industry needs support now, not months from now.”
Irish Farmers Association
IFA President Francie Gorman said that the farming measures in Budget ’26 are decidedly underwhelming in the context of the increasing cost of doing business in Ireland, which has not been addressed in today’s Budget.
On the allocation for the tillage sector, he pointed out that the €50m must be viewed in the context that €20m of this is for ongoing schemes with €30m for a tillage support scheme similar to last year, the details of which are yet to be decided.
“The tillage sector is going through a major crisis. The announcement today will go some way towards providing support to growers, but it will not be near enough to alleviate the serious crisis in the sector,” he said.
Francie Gorman said the Minister for Agriculture confirmed to him that there would be no reductions in the beef and sheep schemes.
Family Carers Ireland
Family Carers Ireland says Budget 2026 includes some positive measures but offers little comfort to families already under financial strain.
The increase in the Carer’s Allowance income disregard to €1,000 for a single person and €2,000 for a couple is a significant and welcome step forward and will bring thousands more family carers into the net. However, a clear roadmap for the full abolition of the means test has not been provided. The €10 rise in core payments including Carer’s Allowance and Carer’s Benefit falls far short of meeting the ongoing increases in food, energy, and household costs.
Among the measures announced today are a €20 rise in Domiciliary Care Allowance to €380 per month, confirmation of a Christmas bonus, and a €5 rise in the Fuel Allowance to €38 per week. The Budget also provides €130 million to adapt 17,000 homes for older people and people with disabilities with no obvious increase in the maximum grant available. We await details on whether there will be any adjustments to existing tax credits.
While these measures will offer some relief, they do not address the wider financial pressure facing many caring families. The absence of any increase in the Carer’s Support Grant is disappointing. Rising living costs continue to outpace the value of these supports, leaving carers without the recognition or security needed to sustain care in their homes.
AsIAm Autism Charity
AsIAm, Ireland's Autism Charity, expressed disappointment with Budget 2026, stating that it fails to provide the essential financial supports required to address the significant and ongoing cost of living crisis faced by the Autistic and Disabled community.
"While Budget 2026 contains some positive steps, it has ultimately failed to meet the scale of the challenge that Autistic people and our families face every single day," said Adam Harris, CEO of AIAm. "Modest increases to core payments will not break the appalling link between disability and poverty in Ireland. The phasing out of previous one-off payments means many of the most vulnerable in our community will be financially worse off, not better."
The organisation had called for a 10% increase across social welfare payments, estimated at a cost of €2.09 billion, to allow disabled people to participate with dignity in society. The announced increases fall far short of this. When last year's one-off payments are considered, this year's modest weekly increases will not mitigate the overall loss of income for many individuals. This financial setback will be felt acutely in the homes of Autistic people across Ireland, ensuring the state remains one of the worst-performing EU nations for poverty rates among disabled citizens who are unable to work.
While acknowledging some welcome measures, the organisation has warned that the failure to introduce a dedicated Cost of Disability Payment, combined with insufficient increases in core social welfare rates, will result in a net income reduction for many disabled people compared to last year.
AsIAm welcome the increased investment in Disability Services and supports for disabled students but awaits further details which will be clearer in the coming days and weeks. AsIAm welcomed changes to the income disregard threshold for carers as a positive step but reiterated its call for the complete abolition of means testing for carers by 2027.
Social Justice Ireland
“Today’s Budget gives worrying indications of this government’s priorities in the coming years. The failure to index social welfare payments to wages, and to adequately increase the weekly rate copper-fastens already widening income divides and condemns vulnerable households to a winter of prolonged hardship with persistently high food and energy prices.”
“Government has prioritised an election promise made to the hospitality sector over commitments made to vulnerable groups such as carers, children and households in poverty. The budget failed to sufficiently broaden the tax base, and address the underlying fiscal deficit, leaving our growing and ageing population without plans for childcare, education, pensions, social welfare, health and home care, home help, housing adaptation, disability and community care” – initial response from Social Justice Ireland to Budget 2026.
European Anti-Poverty Network
The European Anti-Poverty Network EAPN (Ireland) has categorised Budget 2026 as ‘another wasted opportunity’, stating that ‘tinkering at the edges will not cut it, when it comes to poverty eradication and public service delivery.
EAPN’s Policy & Communication Officer Clare Daly, said, ‘ With an unrelenting cost of living crisis, and a catastrophic housing emergency for so many people, a few crumbs, in a few directions, will unfortunately not deliver the type of change that is necessary. The €10 increase in social welfare is a far cry from the minimum of €16 suggested by all experts. This budget was an opportunity to advance the principle of income adequacy, an amount below which nobody should be expected to live, through either quality employment or state supports. The Government chose not to go there. This will ensure that families will continue to be burdened with huge costs.
The amount of money you have, only has value in terms of its purchasing power, and Ireland’s over-reliance on the private sector for essential public services means that both citizens and the state are paying over the odds for childcare, housing, health cover, transport, energy costs, every single sector. The complete failure to consider a wealth tax, and a financial transactions tax, are all examples of what could have been done to broaden the tax base and introduce progressive taxation measures designed to deliver income adequacy, state housing and public services.’
Paul Ginnell, EAPN’s Director, said 'Budget 2026 again perpetuates the state’s subsidisation of the private sector in relation to the delivery of housing. Reducing VAT on apartments, furthering exemptions from the Residential Zoned Land Tax and reducing corporation tax for certain building costs is the same approach that has got us to the present juncture. We need serious investment in public housing, social & affordable on state land under the stewardship of the local authorities. Rather than, ‘Investing in our future', as claimed, this budget is failing to invest in it! Its only impact will be the continuance of all of the inequality and problems that prevailed before it - expect more homelessness, more expensive housing, and growing numbers of those in poverty."
Irish Property Owners Association
The IPOA is deeply disappointed with the lack of provisions made for property owners in the private rental sector. Today’s Budget announcement offers little hope at a time when countless landlords are leaving the sector, as they face incoming restrictions from March 2026.
In the pre-budget submission for 2026, the IPOA provided a number of simple, costed, and achievable solutions to increasing landlords retention. None of those provisions were taken into account by the Government. This included:
Increasing the annual allowable claim to be made under the Residential Property Rental Income Relief (RPRIR);
Reducing capital allowances write off to 4 years;
Making rollover relief available when investing in another property;
Abolishing close company surcharge;
Treating rental income in the same manner as income to a trading business;
Expanding the range of expenses for tax deductibility;
The IPOA welcomes the Government’s decision to extend the Rent Tax Credit for three more years at €1,000, which is a crucial support that helps tenants address rising rental costs in an increasingly strained rental market.
The IPOA acknowledges the importance of providing tax deduction to landlords to support the regeneration of rental housing stock, but this measure is wholly inadequate to support existing landlords who need immediate support to remain in the market.
Likewise, the VAT reduction on the sale of completed apartments to 9% may improve housing delivery, but landlords will see none of that benefit. If landlords continue to leave, there will be none left to invest in the rental market!
Budget 2026 fails to recognise that landlords will be significantly restrained in the management of their properties from March 2026, with many left unwilling or unable to continue operating in the rental market.
Small landlords play a crucial role in supporting government policy by providing housing, and this budget was nothing more than a missed opportunity to recognise the importance of small landlords in the rental market.
With little incentives for landlords, the Government are allowing the narrative to persist that landlords are part of the problem in the housing crisis, not part of the solution. Budget 2026 should have prioritised measures to encourage investment in the rental sector to address the landlord exodus and ensure the stability of the housing market.
The IPOA urges the government to re-evaluate these tax relief provisions and consider substantive incentives to address the housing supply imbalance that currently exists, including reviewing the tax and regulatory environment.
Hardware Association Applauds VAT Cut, Urges Government to Keep Listening to Industry in order Reach Housing Targets.
Hardware Association Ireland
Hardware Association Ireland (HAI) welcomed the Government’s decision to reduce VAT from 13.5% to 9% on apartments. This was one of the Association’s 30 recommendations to support the hardware and construction sector and help accelerate the delivery of housing.
Chief Executive of Hardware Association Ireland, Martin Markey, commented on the announcement saying: "Today is a great day for our sector. We strongly welcome this decision and look forward to continuing our engagement with Government to demonstrate how we can work together to address Ireland’s housing shortages. It is vital that Government listens more closely to the hardware and construction industry if we are to make housing targets a reality next year.”
HAI also noted that the Government has previously adopted several of the Association’s recommendations, demonstrating the value of close collaboration between policymakers and the construction sector.
The Association said the VAT reduction would ease some of the cost pressures facing the sector while helping to stimulate housing delivery at a time when supply is urgently needed.
Society of St Vincent de Paul
The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP) welcomes targeted measures for families in today’s Budget 2026 announcement but say much more is needed to reduce the burden on families already in poverty or those at risk of poverty.
“Any increase which gives people more to pay for essentials is welcomed, particularly as costs continue to rise, however when we look at how it affects people the numbers show us that people today cannot afford to buy the same items they were able to buy in 2020. While some targeted measures will have a positive impact, the amounts have fallen short of what people need to buy essentials and for the government to tackle consistent poverty” says the Society.
SVP says that according to the March 2025 CSO SILC data consistent poverty in the general population has risen from 3.6% to 5% since March 2024. Among children the increase is worse going from 4.8% in March 2024 to 8.5% this year. and for one parent families the situation is even worse again with consistent poverty now at 11%.
ALONE
ALONE, the organisation that supports older people to age at home, has said that although the pension and fuel allowance have increased, older people living alone are still at risk of poverty this winter and over €300 worse off compared to last year. Today’s Budget does not remove the risk of poverty for older people in need – particularly those that live alone.
Reacting to Budget 2026, ALONE CEO Seán Moynihan said: “This was always going to be a tough budget, with the government warning in advance that last year’s one-off measures wouldn’t be repeated. To that end, we welcome the increases in Housing Adaptation Grants, which will go some way towards allowing people to age at home safely and comfortably and increase the number of grants to 17,000 per annum. We also welcome the increase in home care hours to 1.7m but await exact funding details. We will analyse the increased health investments further to gauge the impact on older people.”