Mr. John McGeady:

Gabhaim buíochas leis a choiste as ucht an cuiridh. We are wealthier than at any time in our history and yet almost 630,000 people are living below the poverty line, 190,000 of whom are children. More than 16,000 people have had to resort to emergency homeless accommodation in the most recent count. This is a count that keeps on rising. These are the stark realities of life in Ireland in 2025 for many people. Budget 2026 must be guided by the principle of fairness.

Social Justice Ireland welcomes the programme for Government commitment to “continue the focus on addressing poverty and social exclusion”. We also welcome the Government’s commitment to run progressive budgets. In this first budget of the new Government's term, investment in social infrastructure, the development of a broad and stable tax base and the protection of vulnerable groups should be prioritised.

Despite a backdrop of global trade uncertainty, Ireland is in a strong economic position. However, we are concerned about the sustainability of the Government’s fiscal position. When expected corporate tax windfalls are excluded, the underlying position is that the budget is in deficit. At a time of continued economic growth, this gives rise to serious concerns about long-term resourcing as well as our exposure to a potential fiscal event.

It would be helpful if, in addition to the summer economic statement, the Government outlined in the budget documentation its plan to fund appropriate levels of current and capital expenditure growth and how the required resources can be generated in a sustainable manner. Ireland’s infrastructure and social services have been inadequate in areas such as housing, public transport and healthcare for years. It is projected that the population will increase by 200,000 by 2030 and will exceed 6 million by 2040. We must be realistic about what this means in the context of the demand on resources. Budget 2026 should outline a medium-term plan of one-off investments funded from one-off corporate windfall revenues to deliver social and affordable homes and upgrade our water and energy infrastructure. The best way to prepare for the future is to invest today.

In terms of our fiscal position, as well as the underlying deficit, it is concerning that the underlying Government revenue, excluding windfall gains, is at its lowest level relative to national income since 1980. Budget 2026 should outline a clear plan for the anticipated decline in windfall revenue over the long term. As a policy objective, Ireland can remain a low-tax economy but it should not be incapable of adequately supporting our economic, social, and infrastructural needs. We propose that Government set a per capitatax take target as a first step towards planning for a sustainable, broad tax base. Over the coming years, we suggest Ireland's overall tax take should reach a level equivalent to €26,866per capitain 2025 terms.

The Taoiseach has reiterated the commitment to reduce child poverty on numerous occasions. This requires a recognition that children experiencing poverty belong to families living in poverty. Addressing child welfare requires the Government to address poverty and deprivation wholesale. Data from the CSO's survey on income and living conditions, SILC, tells us that without social transfers, 31% of the population would have been below the poverty line in 2024. Notwithstanding the impact of social welfare, work done by the Vincentian MESL research centre shows that social welfare rates are inadequate to provide a minimum essential standard of living. Social welfare must provide an adequate safety net to lift people out of poverty and allow a household to provide for a basic but decent standard of living. As the Government rightly moves towards permanent, targeted measures, rather than once-off, temporary measures, we recommend it benchmark social welfare rates against average earnings and increase the core social welfare payment by €25 to assist those households most impacted by persistent high prices.

Finally, budget 2026 must be used to realise the Government's commitment to delivering progressive budgets. Looking at permanent tax and welfare changes from 2020 to 2025, budgetary policy led to a widening of income gaps between those on low and high incomes. Reversing the growing rich-poor gap must begin in budget 2026. This requires benchmarking of social welfare rates and progressive tax policies.

Our full range of recommendations is set out in our budget choices briefing, which has been shared with the committee. We welcome members' questions.