Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I think there is cognisance in broader society and the economy that we are at a point of significant uncertainty, which has to frame the cautious nature of how we approach budget 2026 and also the medium-term position. We are surrounded by significant risk. That means that whatever we decide to do with regard to additionality needs to be prioritised within the Government. Separately, we had a good engagement at the national economic dialogue about infrastructure, the concern about the deficits in particular parts of the economy and how we can overcome some of the barriers.

It was a useful engagement. It allowed the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and me to set out the country's changing economic context and the need for us to manage the medium-term position such that whatever decisions we make can be sustained into the medium term. Everyone expects us to manage that carefully. It was useful to have engagement from across different elements of society and hear what they want to see prioritised in budget 2026.