Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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Tá áthas orm labhairt leis an gCeann Comhairle agus leis na Teachtaí maidir leis an leithdháileadh de €1.51 billiún atá tugtha do mo Roinn i mbuiséad 2026 agus cur síos a dhéanamh ar roinnt de na bearta a chothóidh, a fheabhsóidh agus a fhorbróidh na hearnálacha atá faoi mo chúram.

This is the first budget for my Department in its new configuration with responsibility for arts, culture, media, telecommunications and sport. The sectors the Department will support through budget 2026 resonate with the core of who we are as individuals and as a people. They are intrinsic parts of the daily life of each and every citizen and visitor to the island, whether visiting a museum or gallery, listening to music, watching the news, attending a sports event or engaging with the wider business, cultural or sporting world using fibre broadband in every corner of the country. The sectors under the aegis of the Department not only enhance our lives through mental and physical well-being, but also provide vital employment and a significant return on taxpayer investment.

The current global challenges can seem overwhelming with continued global conflict, climate change and the rise of misinformation. Against that backdrop, the work carried out by my Department and the bodies under its aegis is critical in raising spirits and unifying people through sports experiences and participation and a vibrant cultural ecology. It is also vital in providing dependable independent media and information and readily accessible online communications. The work this Department supports serves as a guiding light when the world seems to be in shadow.

Budget 2026 provides for increased funding across all programme areas. Additional current funding of €49.8 million has been provided along with a further €81 million in capital uplift. This represents a total increase of 9.5% over 2025. The provision of €384 million for the arts and culture programme will serve to promote and develop Ireland's world-class artistic and creative strengths at home and abroad, maximising their societal, economic and reputational value for the country.

An allocation of €18.27 million will be provided for the basic income for the arts scheme and its successor. This facilitates the completion of the pilot phase to the end of February and enables me to bring proposals for a successor scheme to the Government, taking account of the quantitative and qualitative research data, public and stakeholder consultation feedback and the findings of the cost-benefit analysis carried out on the scheme. Once I have secured the agreement of the Government, I will open the new scheme for applications. It is therefore likely that it will be the second half of the year before payments under the successor scheme will begin. The application process will be opened earlier in the year.

An additional €2.1 million has been provided to Screen Ireland to support its work in making Ireland a competitive destination for major international motion pictures and the progression and development of a new strategy to grow the gaming sector in Ireland. I welcome the new measures announced by the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, enhancing the relief under section 481 for eligible projects in the visual effects industry. I have also intimated to the Minister that, in subsequent budgets, I would like to revisit the issue of regional uplift. Substantial supports have been provided up to now not only directly through Screen Ireland, but also through section 481. The producers themselves are very confident and happy not only with the Dublin and Wicklow area, but also regionally in Limerick. Places like Troy Studios have been busier in recent years and there have been a number of very important productions there.

Culture Ireland's budget has been increased to €8.8 million to help to develop and sustain Irish artists' international careers. In 2026, Culture Ireland will continue to increase funding for its showcase activity across the world as an impactful way for international presenters to be introduced to emerging Irish artists. A further significant allocation will be made in the Revised Estimate to enable Culture Ireland to present a major cultural programme next year as part of the EU Presidency.

I have made an additional allocation of €600,000 to Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, which will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2026 with Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann i mBéal Feiriste.

Continued funding for the Creative Ireland programme, delivered directly by my Department in partnership with local authorities and other Departments and agencies, will continue to unlock the power of creativity across many sectors. I have allocated an additional €4.7 million across seven national cultural institutions. This will address a number of needs in those institutions. It will also serve to expand education, learning and outreach programmes.

Almost €85 million in capital funding has been allocated to the culture and arts sector. This will facilitate a number of key projects, including the completion of the repository at the National Archives. Funding will also be provided for major redevelopments at the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork, and these are due to commence later this year. In addition, we are on track to begin the Discover Centre redevelopment at the National Concert Hall, which will provide for learning and engagement in music. A new €6 million capital works scheme will be introduced to fund arts capital projects across the country, in line with a commitment in the programme for Government.

The communications allocation for my Department has increased by over €40 million to a total of €483 million. The aim of the relevant programme is to deliver world-class connectivity and communications, ensuring that agile, responsive and resilient digital infrastructure is in place and supporting the transformation of the digital economy.

The roll-out of the national broadband plan will be ahead of schedule and within budget. I am pleased to have allocated €433 million for the plan for next year. Over 420,000 premises are forecast to be passed by the end of 2025, with approximately 4,000 new connections now being completed every month. For those who said this would never happen, these are amazing statistics. Design work has been completed in townlands across every county, with over 567,000 premises now surveyed. This programme is transformative for rural Ireland.

I have stated previously that we must ensure the security and resilience of our communications and digital infrastructure in the face of increasing threats, both from malicious attacks and extreme weather. My Department is reviewing the statutory powers available to me, as Minister, and to ComReg in relation to requirements placed on operators around network restoration.

In respect of postal policy, the Government remains committed to supporting Ireland’s post office network. In line with the programme for Government, I am allocating €15 million for the network. This will be subject to Government approval of a successor to the current scheme, but I am confident that it will be rolled out early in the new year.

Clearly, the online world has changed the nature of our postal services. It has also created challenges for the post office network. However, it also gives rise to opportunities. It is important, therefore, that the network positions itself to take these opportunities to ensure its sustainability and remain a vital service. The Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, will speak further about that in the time ahead.

On broadcasting and media, the total allocation for 2026 is €357 million. This funding will continue to promote and protect a diverse and pluralistic media sector by ensuring the provision of high-quality public service programming and public interest journalism. TG4’s public funding for 2026 is just over €65 million, which will enable increased investment in the commissioning of high-quality Irish-language content, from children’s programming to documentaries, films and drama. The increase of over €5 million compared with 2025 will enable TG4 to develop a new digital service to meet the needs of Irish speakers across the country.

In line with the Government agreement reached last year, RTÉ will receive €240 million in public funding to continue implementing its new strategy. I am also allocating funding to continue to ensure the ongoing independence and recognised integrity of our independent media sector and to help to protect a free and pluralistic media sector. An additional €4.4 million in Exchequer funding has been allocated to support media funding schemes administered by Coimisiún na Meán. Alongside this, a new provision of €1.1 million has been allocated to support the implementation of the national counter-disinformation strategy, bringing total supports to the independent media sector to €35.5 million.

Sport is a core part of what makes us Irish, as seen from our recent successes at the Ryder Cup, the World Athletics Championships and the UCI World Cycling Championships, as well as the popularity and economic success of the National Football League events held in Ireland. All the while right around the country, club championships ignite the passion of local communities. The Government is committed to supporting that passion, from grassroots level right up to elite-athlete level. Provision for the sports sector will see an increase of 25.9% in 2026. This will be reflected in investment in facilities throughout the country via the Community Sports Facilities Fund, which has an allocation of €58 million, and an additional €18.7 million for the Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund. We will launch those in early 2026.

We have also provided significantly increased funding to support Ireland’s sports organisations and programmes. This includes €3 million for the FAI, €983,000 for the GAA, €722,000 for the IRFU, €1.56 million for the Gaelic Players Association; and €1.5 million for high-performance sport. These increases will allow for the delivery of the FAI-League of Ireland academies, support the IRFU to enhance women’s rugby and go towards the much-needed development of hurling, our national game. We have a number of major sports events planned for the coming years.

I am confident that the increased budget allocation for the Department will place these sectors in good stead for the future and enable us to build on the good work already under way.

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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It is a privilege to speak on my first budget in my term as a TD. It is very clear what the budget is about. It is about investing in the future of this country and securing the jobs that fund it and ultimately make it a success. When we talk about investing for the future, we have to be realistic about the investments that needs to be made in infrastructure, energy, grid capacity and the security of the country. Also, we have to ensure we are not unduly exposed to international risks, which pose serious threats in this day and age.

I want to address the issue of VAT on homes, because there has been much criticism of the reduction of the rate from 13.5% to 9%. The purpose of reducing VAT is to create viability. When there is viability, we will end up building more homes. Not only will we build more homes, but the Government will actually receive more VAT as a consequence. Nobody has made the point that by building more homes, the Government will bring in more VAT, in addition to all the VAT charged on the goods used to the production of those homes. This is an important point. We should be cognisant of the fact that generating more VAT returns on the back of a VAT reduction is of high probability under the policy.

Let me address the matter of supporting our most vulnerable. The increases in the fuel allowance and in weekly payments for pensioners and people with disabilities will ensure we look after those in society who need support most. People understand that this was the idea behind the budget.

In education, the increase in the capitation grant has been widely welcomed by schools. A principal I spoke to earlier in the week told me the extra €50 per pupil will equate to €9,000 per year in additional discretionary funding for use within the school confines. The increase in the capitation grant was lobbied for seriously by the INTO. It has really been welcomed across schools because of the impact it will have on their ability to operate day in, day out.

The first permanent reduction in college fees in many years, from €3,000 to €2,500, will make college more affordable for students. The regular expansion of the SUSI grant will continue to bring more students into eligibility. However, an issue raised with me by a family concerns the fact that for a postgraduate degree, the income threshold drops from €115,000 to €64,000. We need to examine this. Families should not be penalised if a member of the household is proceeding to postgraduate level. A postgraduate degree is now part of the education process. It is now almost mandatory to obtain a postgraduate qualification and become a specialist in an area. We need to examine the income thresholds in this regard.

Looking at Galway, its economy and the number of incredible medtech and biomedical device manufacturers there, none of the activity in the area would be possible without research and development. Research and development is what allows so many high-paying, high-quality, highly skilled jobs to be available in the west, including Galway. Increasing the research and development tax credit to 35% was a huge step in the right direction. It creates job viability when there is considerable competition for jobs internationally, including across the Middle East, Asia and America.

My next point is on being fiscally responsible and the fear of overheating the economy. We are living in a time when Ireland has one of the highest GDPs per capita in the world. While I understand that is not a good measure for our country, it is important because we now have an opportunity to invest for our future to keep going on the trajectory we are on, where we have bigger budgets and expansionary packages and are able to implement tax measures and support people.

One small thing in the budget that I thought was really interesting was the funding allocated for the establishment of the national AI office. This is a very timely measure, with €1.4 million being allocated to establish the office. This office and the work it will do will be vital for the future of this country. We are, essentially, in the middle of a race to determine who can adopt AI the quickest and ensure it provides the greatest efficiency and productivity enhancements to their economy. Given our support and the number of technology companies that operate here, we have to show leadership and lead from the front on AI. Opening a national AI office is a step in the right direction.

The last point I will make before my time runs out is that we have a €27 billion health budget. I am looking forward to having representatives of the HSE in front of me in the meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts tomorrow. One thing we are really failing on is investing in preventative health. Prevention is the best cure and I believe we need to seriously increase our investment in preventative health.

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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The Government has broken its promises to carers. In the general election, the Government promised to abolish the means tests for carers. This was another broken promise. In this budget, so little money has been allocated that at this rate of investment it would take 30 years under Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and, in the case of the Minister of State, Independents, to abolish the means tests. This is a horrible betrayal of carers. Carers in my constituency tell me they do not even bother to apply for the carers allowance because they know they are going to be over the threshold. I said it before and I will say again: I think this is a direct plan by the Government because it does not want people to apply for the carers allowance. There are other carers in my area who either will not go back to work because they are afraid to go over the threshold or they will not take a promotion in work. This is creating a glass ceiling for carers who give so much back to our society. Sinn Féin will continue to fight for carers and to put the Government to the cosh so that every carer gets the recognition and respect they deserve. Sinn Féin simply does not break its promises.

The budget announced last week condemns people with disabilities and households to poverty. This is a fact. It is not only us saying it because other agencies have come out and supported this statement. The Government has actually shown its true colours. There was all that expert policy advice and the Government still chose to cut the cost of disability supports to the value of €1,000 for a person with a disability. On top of this, the Government has decided it is not worthwhile to keep the real value of the disability allowance in line with inflation. The prices for people with disabilities go up as they do for the rest of us. When the cost of milk, bread or petrol goes up, it goes up for people with disabilities as well. Yet they are being subjected to more cutbacks than anybody else. This was a budget about choices. The Government had a choice about who it looked after and what it did. What did it do? It decided to bail out people who have already built apartments. They are getting a big cash intake, rather than people with disabilities being looked after. The Government should be looking after the ordinary people, but it made its choice and it left people with disabilities behind.

On Monday, I had the pleasure of meeting a lovely young lady called Rebecca Nolan. She is a very impressive young woman who I have known for some time. If I had an ounce of her energy, I would be absolutely flying. Rebecca is a wheelchair user advocate for the Stewarts Care's service in the Rossecourt Resource Centre. She decided to bring me out on a walk around Balgaddy and Rossecourt. She showed me some of the difficulties she had getting from A to B. As an able-bodied man, she brought me back down to earth as quickly as possible when I saw some of the obstacles she had getting in her way. Some of the obstacles were things I and everybody here would take for granted, such as simply stepping up on a footpath. As a wheelchair user, if that path is not dished, she will not be able to do that. I have committed to working with her with South Dublin County Council to get all these issues resolved in the local area. When I go to South Dublin County Council, and this is where the budget comes in, it will tell me that because of successive cutbacks to local authorities it does not have the funds to go out and dish those paths and make them more wheelchair accessible the way they did in the past. This is another implication of the cutbacks in budgets to local authorities.

Communities right across Dublin and the State are vulnerable and exposed to crime. We have far too few gardaí to prevent crime. The Minister for justice was congratulating himself again this year regarding the budget to recruit 1,000 gardaí. This is the minimum of what is needed. This funding is irrelevant, though, if the Minister is unable to recruit the gardaí. I am on the justice committee, and my estimate is that by the end of this year the Minister will probably have about 600 to 700 new gardaí recruited, so we are already behind. We are never going to get up to that 5,000 target he said is needed. In fact, in the first seven months of this year, Garda numbers have only increased by 63, and this is taking into account the number of people who have retired or left the force in the last while.

In my area of Dublin Mid-West, we have fewer community gardaí than we had five years ago. For example, Ronanstown Garda station has 38% fewer gardaí compared to 2020. Clondalkin Garda station has seen a reduction of 30% in the same period. This is an area where there has been a huge population increase. We have Clonburris going up in the middle of Clondalkin, with an estimated growth in population of up to 22,500 people over the next ten years. It is currently being built, and people are living there, yet we are seeing a reduction in the number of gardaí in the area. People in my area contact me regularly to say they are calling the Garda, but with all the will in the world, if there are not enough gardaí there to answer the phones or to come out in the car and drop in to people to see what the issue is, then people are left home alone and frightened. At the moment, especially in and around Dublin, the run-up to Halloween is always a really frightening time for people. This is especially the case for vulnerable people, people living alone, people with kids and especially people with kids who may be on the spectrum and have sensitivities to noise and fireworks.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy.

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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No, we are sharing time between the two of us.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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No.

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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I see Deputy Sean Crowe is here. I apologise.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I call Deputy Graves.

Ann Graves (Dublin Fingal East, Sinn Fein)
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Go raibh míle maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. Budgets are as much about political priorities as they are about financial commitments. This year’s budget was one of two halves. There was more for the have-lots and basically nothing for the have-nots. The ESRI has said losses will average 2% for households already struggling to deal with the cost-of-living crisis. It appears the budget for drug and alcohol task forces has been cut by 25%. The one line in the budget referring to tackling the drug crisis states that the allocation of funding for drug task forces for 2026 is €8,762,000. It is confirmed beside the figure that this is a reduction of 25%. This has created deep concerns in communities that depend on task force funding. These are essential projects and they deserve clarification. Will the Minister of State confirm whether the budget for drug and alcohol task forces has been cut? The lack of transparency this year continues to cause angst for the people involved.

When responding to my colleague, An Teachta Ward, an Tánaiste could not clarify this, so I am hoping the Minister of State will be able to set the record straight. I contacted the Minister of State with special responsibility for the national drugs strategy in September seeking a meeting to discuss the drugs strategy. I am still waiting for a response but I am hoping the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane, can find the time to meet up.

I have been out visiting the community-based drug projects while also inviting groups into Leinster House for roundtable discussions to discuss how we can tackle drug-related intimidation and ensure better outcomes for those seeking rehabilitation, dual diagnosis and family support. I organised the first-ever recovery event in Leinster House in September to mark and celebrate Recovery Month. It is a pity that Government Ministers could not or did not attend to hear how, with proper funding and support, people, families and communities can and do recover from addiction. Yesterday, I had a meeting here in Leinster House with Uisce, the advocacy group for people who use drugs and drug services. Their stories were absolutely heartbreaking but it was also inspiring to hear first-hand the causes and consequences of addiction.

The homeless crisis is deepening in the city and the Government’s budget does nothing to improve the situation for the 11,782 people homeless in Dublin today. I appeal to the Minister to invest in providing decent homeless accommodation that will contribute positively to the lives of the homeless and those who are in addiction and recovery.

The accommodation should be safe and secure. The one issue that keeps coming up is the lack of consultation, inclusion and adequate funding.

Sinn Féin and I are absolutely committed to working with people, families and communities who are battling addiction and the trauma that comes with it. We will continue to work with these communities to make addiction a political priority again and to ensure that the budget next year reflects this commitment. Budget 2026 will impact the most vulnerable in our society, namely carers, those with disabilities, the elderly and families struggling to make ends meet with childcare costs, etc. This Government will be judged on how it deals with the most vulnerable.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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It is my opinion, but it is shared by a lot of people out there, that budget 2026 failed to deliver any real hope or pathway for the families and individuals left behind by successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments. Every week, new families or individuals who are homeless or facing homelessness turns up at my constituency office. That is fact. There is nothing in the budget that will bring any hope, comfort or change for those who are facing this awful future. Sinn Féin has consistently called for a radical overhaul of housing policy, arguing for an increased investment in affordable and social housing. However, budget 2026 is like every other opportunity this Government has let slip through its fingers. It fails to adequately address this problem in any meaningful way. The Government has made promises of more funding for housing construction, but we have heard that before. Sadly, the scale of new builds remains inadequate to meet the demands. The housing waiting list continues to grow and the affordability crisis continues to worsen, especially for low- and middle-income families. Rising rents and house prices continue to push working-class families further away from home ownership. After almost 15 years of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments, the idea of owning your own home has become as remote a possibility for many young people as winning the lotto.

I have served on my local drugs task force since it was established many years ago. Some 25% of the funding allocated last year appears to have been stripped away now that the Government has won the election. A total of €3 million has been snatched away. Many valuable diversion, residential or locally based programmes will simply not have the money to keep going. Local drug or alcohol task forces are still on lower funding than they were in 2008, despite more areas of work and a massive increase in the populations they serve. The problem is getting worse. Sinn Féin firmly believes that every person, family and community has the right to recover. Our alternative budget would have made this promise a reality.

Despite Government promises to address climate change and reduce carbon emissions, budget 2026 does little to mitigate the high cost of energy and transport for many families. Sinn Féin has called for a more substantial investment in renewable energy and public transport in order to reduce the financial burden on families. Sinn Féin supports a just transition. Rising electricity and fuel prices are due in no small part to the Government's obsessive drive towards higher carbon taxes. Families will continue to struggle with transportation and energy costs.

There is also a failure to address or reduce the pupil-teacher ratio in our primary schools. One school in my constituency of Dublin South-West will be down another teacher next year, having already lost one last year, meaning that more children are going to be grouped together in multigrade classrooms. This is far from the ideal learning environment and something that we are supposed to have long left in the past. For many, budget 2026 will be remembered as a failure and as an example of the Government speaking of both sides of its mouth, saying, on the one hand, that the economy is strong while, on the other, saying that there is no space to reduce the cost-of-living burden on families.

The Government's failure to adequately address housing shortages, healthcare funding, the carers and the cost of a disability, regressive taxation and the high cost of energy and transport mean that many families will continue to face economic hardship. Who is the successful economy for? The Sinn Féin proposal to provide more equitable solutions, such as increasing investment in social housing, improving public healthcare and reforming the tax system remain vital in the context of ensuring a fairer and more sustainable future for ordinary workers and their families. Under Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, working families in Ireland will continue to bear the brunt of economic policies that disproportionately benefit a wealthy elite and leave the most vulnerable behind. What we have seen is an unfair budget for many people and it is ordinary people who are bearing the burden once again. The budget promised a lot but has not delivered for ordinary people.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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In the programme for Government, the Government has committed itself to improving the situation in relation to income tax, disability, education, justice, etc. In order to bring about that improvement, it has committed to do these things over a five-year period. It was quite wrong for the speaker who has just left to say that the Government broke its promise in not getting rid of carer's allowance means test in year one. It was the Fianna Fáil Minister who introduced the carer's allowance. There was no such thing as carer's allowance until we introduced it. The means test has been improved massively. It has improved significantly in this budget. I could not believe my hears when I heard a member of Sinn Féin saying that a lot of people in his constituency are telling him that it is not even worth their while to apply for the carer's allowance. I find that hugely ironic. Under the new means test, a married couple can have an income of €100,000 per annum and still get the full carer's allowance. They can earn up to €115,000 and still get partial carer's allowance. All I can say is that I envy the gentleman in question. He must be representing a lot of wealthy constituents who are so far over €100,000 that it is not worth their while to apply for carer's allowance. I wish I could say the same for my constituents.

The reality is that this is the first of five budgets. The Government's objective in this budget was to underpin the economy at a time of great volatility, uncertainty and danger in order that it would be in a position to deliver on its commitment proposals over the next four budgets. It is wrong to pretend that this is an austerity budget; it is anything but. Spending has continued at an enormous rate. It costs almost twice as much to run the country now - some €120 billion - as it did just seven or eight years ago, which indicates massive Government expenditure. The Government proceeded with the proposals in this budget against the advice of the ESRI, the Central Bank, all the other economic institutions and various independent economists. All of the latter stated that it is very dangerous to increase spending when the economy is at full throttle. I agree with them on that. There is a real risk. Nevertheless, it was a risk that the Government had to take because of the infrastructure deficit in this country with a rising population, facing various challenges, including climate change. The infrastructure deficit is so bad that if the Government had not taken this approach, the economy of this country would grind to a halt.

We hear all this nonsense about the budget being a boon for developers, landlords, the wealthy, corporations and God knows who else. The incentives provided in the budget are not about increasing the profits of businesspeople or wealthy individuals; they are about incentivising those people to invest their own money in the economy and help to address some of Ireland's most urgent structural problems. We hear talk about favouring property developers, etc. What Government in its right political mind would decide to favour a handful of property developers over the hundreds of thousands of renters out there or taxpayers as a whole? The incentives for apartment developers are not about the developers; they are about creating more homes for people in the middle of a housing crisis.

The tax break, the 9.5% VAT, is not about swelling the profits of small cafés and restaurants, etc. It is about protecting margins and jobs. There are 150,000 people, representing 150,000 families, employed in the hospitality industry. Many of those businesses are struggling to survive.

The reduced tax on investment is not about rewarding elites or anything of that nature. It is about getting new investment into the Irish economy at a time, as I have said, of significant and unprecedented global headwinds and volatility.

On VAT, I am disappointed that the Minister was unable to find some way to cut out those who do not need that decrease. Perhaps when he is responding, the Minister would indicate how much tax is going to be forgone in favour of those particular multiples. The Minister knows who they are. This is going to be a yearly thing. What efforts were made to discriminate and to stipulate that people would only get the reduction if their business had a turnover of below a certain amount?

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the statements on the budget. Like others, I recognise that this is the first of five budgets in this cycle. The key premise and most important thing about this budget is that it is about safeguarding the economy and protecting jobs. That is central to us having the most high-functioning economy in the whole of Europe. That had to underpin any decisions that were made.

Previous speakers mentioned the carer's allowance disregard, which was increased to €1,000 for a single person and €2,000 for a couple. That will make a huge difference and will bring a huge number of people into the band of carers. That must be welcomed. I make no apologies for lobbying as hard as I possibly could to get the income disregard increased as much as possible, with a view to getting to a stage where we do not have any means-testing on carers. This is a really positive step in the right direction and it has been welcomed by people right around the country, particularly in my constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny.

One massive positive in the budget on the services side was the investment in education. I am not just talking about the infrastructural investment in our roads, education and facilities but real-life investment. For example, the additional 1,717 new SNAs will bring the total number of SNAs in the scheme to approximately 25,000 nationally. That is a record. When I was chairman of Kilkenny-Carlow ETB, I saw at first hand the impact and positive contributions made by SNAs at every school across the country. The work they do is fantastic and I am delighted that additional SNAs will come into the system in 2026, along with an additional 1,000 teachers and 860 new special education teachers. This Government has made a priority of ensuring that those who most need help will get it and that is to be welcomed.

Huge investment of €7 billion was announced in the budget for housing. There are two particular grants that are enormously popular and that have been increased by €130 million. Those are the housing adaptation grant and the housing aid for older people grant. These grants make a difference to vulnerable people, older people and those who need help. Anything that the Government can do to increase that number must continue to be done in the coming years. This is step one of a five-step process. Those grants make a difference. They have made a difference and will continue to make a difference. I will continue to lobby as hard as possible to get that funding increased in the coming years.

I will stick to discussing funding on the infrastructure side. Some €12.2 billion has been set aside for water and wastewater infrastructure. That is vital to improving the housing situation. There are blockages right around the country. In my constituency, towns and villages cannot grow because the infrastructure is not there. They are completely strangled. While there are other towns and villages where the infrastructure is in place and which have the ability to prosper, thrive and grow, others cannot. More funding has been made available. I will be calling for the infrastructure of towns and villages, including the likes of Inistioge, Graiguenamanagh, Bennettsbridge and Piltown, to be prioritised to enable them to grow and prosper into the future.

Everybody deserves to feel safe in their communities and homes. I acknowledge the impact that the Minister for justice, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, has had since he took up the mantle. I absolutely welcome the appointment of 1,000 additional members to be allocated to the Garda force in 2026. That will be huge in terms of building up the numbers. Everybody wants to see gardaí on the beat because that is what makes them feel safe. This is a step in the right direction. I acknowledge the work of the Minister. I appeal to him and the Garda Commissioner to ensure that as many of the new gardaí as possible are spread outside of Dublin city centre, Cork and Limerick. We want them in rural areas, such as Thomastown, Graiguenamanagh, Borris, Goresbridge and other areas in Kilkenny and Carlow. That is important. We need additional gardaí in rural areas as much as our city counterparts need them.

On higher education, I acknowledge there was a series of one-off measures over the past two years, including the €1,000 college fees. That was welcome respite at the time. However, those were temporary measures. I reiterate this is the first budget in a five-step process. We are moving into a fiscal space where we can reduce the fees on an annual basis, going forward. For a €500 reduction this time to bring the fees down to €2,500 is a positive and permanent step. These are the types of measures the Government needs to take; not the one-off measures that were put in over recent years. We need these permanent measures that will give families reassurance and confidence that they will know where things are at on a year-on-year basis.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy should conclude.

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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In addition to that-----

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy's time has concluded.

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I thought I had more time. I apologise to Deputy Neville.

Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is fine. It is good to see Kilkenny lads looking after each other. They are two close colleagues.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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A bit of ground hurling.

Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Exactly. Senior hurling. I am sure you are well able to play it down below in Kilkenny. Someone has to keep Deputy Cleere in check.

This is my opportunity to speak about the budget. I have put together many budgets in my time. I have been doing budgets, in some shape or form, for the past 20 years as an accountant. It was nice to have the opportunity to be involved in some step in the process of the national budget, which is the most important budget in which anybody in the State can be involved.

I have my own experience on the Committee on Budget Oversight. That committee gave me the ability to understand exactly the situation we are coming into economically, as we head into 2026. People might not necessarily have that vision or the level of information coming at them as came at me in that committee. Members from across the House, including representatives of Sinn Féin, the Labour Party and the Social Democrats, were members of that committee and everybody signed up to the report of that committee. The report stated we should not be spending too much money on the economy because there was a risk of overheating. IFAC and the Central Bank stated we should be spending €8 billion. In fairness, we pushed a little harder. We will spend that money on important things. The Government will spend that money on the most vulnerable people in our society. From a social welfare perspective, there will be a €10 increase for pensioners and carers. Those sorts of elements were looked after. We also wanted to ensure that businesses were looked after. We must ensure that we can invest in jobs and ensure we have the jobs that can lead us to having positive budgets in the future. With that in mind, the 9% VAT rate was introduced for small business owners. That was important for small employers.

There were also changes to the research and development, R and D, tax credit. Some people around the country, and indeed some people in the House, might ask what difference the R and D tax credit makes. It provides the opportunity for foreign direct investment and Irish companies to continue to invest, continues to make Ireland a good place to do business and ensures we keep those high-quality jobs. The Government should be commended on being far-sighted in that regard.

The entrepreneur relief was increased from €1 million to €1.5 million. Some might say that is only a small thing, but it incentivises young Irish people to set up their own businesses.

I have been involved in the entrepreneurial space and have seen people do well but, more important, they have created jobs. I was involved with a company that went from having three or four employees five or six years ago to having more than 60. They are the sort of people we need to encourage to get into business.

I also wanted to reference the specific items Deputy Cleere alluded to in his own way about villages and towns in Kilkenny. I also look at the likes of the urban regeneration and development fund, URDF, which has an extra €300 million allocated to it. We want to make sure that money is spread around because sometimes there are issues where the fast-growing areas like Kildare, Meath and Wicklow are left out of things a little. Often, we talk about the need for rural development. I fully agree. We talk about the need for a Dublin task force. I fully agree. What often gets left behind is the belt around and in between those two places, where the population has grown the most and where most houses are being delivered but we do not see the same community investment in these areas. Last week, I spoke about the towns of Leixlip, Celbridge and Maynooth. They are all touching base with each other. Between the three towns there is a population of 53,000 and they do not have a theatre, swimming pools or even a proper community facility, other than relying on local clubs.

I know budgets mean difficult decisions. I have been part of those decisions in small ways in a business. I know that, in the budget, those decisions made are in the best interests of the future of our country.

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I welcome the opportunity to speak on the budget. I welcome the increases for pensioners and people with disabilities. They probably need more, to be frank, but I have to at least acknowledge it. I welcome the increase in the carer's supports thresholds. The ideal scenario is that if someone packs up a job to mind another person, regardless of what their partner earns or has, it saves the State a lot of money. The amount of work that is done throughout this country needs to be acknowledged. The new thresholds of €1,000 and €2,000 are a step in the right direction. There are many people who help out their fathers, mothers and loved ones and basically give up their lives to look after them and that needs to be recognised.

It is a disappointing budget for agriculture. Yes, there is money for TB and it is needed but, other than that, there will be what the then Minister, Deputy McConalogue, gave for tillage last year and a small bit more, but none of the schemes are getting any increases. I question where the €300 per cow we heard about in the programme for Government has gone. Is the cow gone or what has happened? That was badly needed.

There is a lot of money there for housing, in fairness. When one reads the document, the sad part of that budget is that affordable housing was never mentioned. We all represent different areas. I know in Roscommon if someone earns more than €35,000 they are not eligible for social housing, but what about affordable housing? If someone is working and earning €35,000 or €40,000 and multiplies that by four there is not a hope of them being able to buy a house in a lot of areas and we have to look at that. I do welcome the budget for housing, and I know there is a Bill going through the House at the moment to try to make a roadmap to get through the planning issues, because the problem is that although there might be money, it is harder to spend it because of the blocks that are put in place. We have to drive them out of the way - we have to doze them out of the way, to be honest - because what is happening cannot go on, with judicial reviews and all of this craic constantly blocking progress.

Irish Water's overall budget is €1.4 billion. It will do some work but if we are trying to build the numbers of houses we are talking about, if we do not have the roads, sewers and water needed we are going nowhere. That budget is spendable and Irish Water needs more upfront for a few years to try to catch up enough to make sure people are left in a situation where houses can be built, because that is a major problem.

On the infrastructure side of things, I note the N5 is in the budget again. This is the third budget it has been in and there is also a road in Cork. I want to see the likes of the M20 done. The road from Milltown heading to Sligo and Donegal needs to be done. The road from Kells heading to Monaghan needs to be sorted. I welcome moneys for rail infrastructure and all of that. Many Deputies have spoken about the western rail corridor. Problems need to be sorted out. I know between the Leas-Cathaoirleach's constituency and Galway there were problems with flooding and the likes of that need to be sorted out.

The most difficult part I have found in this budget relates to the people who, as a former Taoiseach, Mr. Varadkar, said, get up early in the morning and go to work. I saw a figure in the newspaper that a lot of them are €70 per week worse off to go to work. That is a damnable situation and, in my opinion, they are even worse off than that for this simple reason. For people living in rural Ireland who have two cars, they will be hit with the carbon tax of €170 to €200 extra per year, between heating their house and driving two cars. While there is public transport and Local Links here and there, people going to Galway city from the Minister of State's, Deputy Grealish's, area or from my neck of the woods have to drive as there is no public transport there and there is no point in saying there is. People come home at different times or go to work at different times. They may have a youngster going to college. I find it hard to understand how someone can say that when they pay more, we have looked after them. Going to college will cost €500 more this year than it did last year. I know that was an emergency measure, but I would have gone to the extra €46 million. I think the whole thing cost €92 million altogether last year. Bear in mind, the people who are paying the fees are the people who are out working every morning. That is it. There is no point in saying they are not. They are earning €40,000, €50,000 or €60,000 and those people will pay the extra part.

As I said in the tillage debate earlier, I welcome the money the then Minister, Deputy McConalogue, gave last year and the few quid with it. We need to make sure we look after the tillage sector.

In regard to education, I have taken a few phone calls tonight about SNAs. While I appreciate there is more in the budget for SNAs, and that is great, there are schools that at this minute are having trouble getting SNAs and we need to make sure we address that.

We are where we are and I know we have to watch for stormy waters coming. I know there are some bodies that say we are going a bit beyond our means. I understand all of that. We have to make sure the people who are bringing in the taxes are looked after as well. As I said earlier, affordable housing was not mentioned in the budget speech. That is an awful reflection. It is not all about social housing. It should be 50:50 in my opinion because the nurses, gardaí, front-line workers and people who are working in factories or any industry are the ones who pay the bills to run the country, on top of the bigger companies.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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I will focus on the tax break for developers in the budget. The reason I want to focus on it is that it is outrageous. It is a transfer of wealth from the public to those who are profiteering from the housing crisis. I heard the Taoiseach say the day after the budget during Leaders' Questions that this was not a tax break for developers. His saying it was not a tax break for developers reminded me of being down in the convention centre and hearing him say we did not bail out the banks. The VAT cut for the sale of new apartments is a tax break for developers. I read the papers at the weekend and stored this away in my mind. I read in the Business Post the headline "James Browne’s budget win – Persuading Donohoe to back developer tax breaks". If the media describes it as a tax break, it is clearly a tax break for developers.

We can see the cost of this tax break for developers in the budget documents. It is worth €390 million, a cost paid for by the public into the pockets of developers. When we listen to the rationale for this tax cut, the argument is not being made by the Government that this is going to bring prices down - that it will reduce VAT and that will be reflected in lower prices. Instead, the argument is, according to the Minister for Finance, "This reduction will help address the viability gap in apartment construction as part of a social policy to deliver more and higher-density apartments". Interestingly, the Housing Agency defines a viability gap as "where the cost of building an apartment, or a house is higher than its market sale price." There is no viability gap according to that definition. The cost is lower than its sale price. A substantial profit is being made on each apartment sold by developers. We can go to the Department of housing's own document, the Total Development Cost Study, which demonstrates that, in 2024, the developer margin for a two-bedroom urban apartment - the developer profit - was €48,605, a profit margin of 8.9%. For a two-bedroom suburban apartment, there was a profit margin of €48,587, or 9.7%. According to its definition of a viability gap, there is none because a profit is being made. In reality, it is about juicing the profits of the developer further. Developers have come looking for another tax break and the Government has said it will hand it over.

Michael Taft, an economist, has done excellent work in pulling this together, drawing from the work of Orla Hegarty in particular. He brings it together in clear black-and-white figures that demonstrate that a robbery is taking place of the public. Fianna Fáil up to its old tricks again, together with Fine Gael.

The profit margin is very healthy for developers, including for the construction of apartments. That is reflected in the Department of housing's own figures. The Minister for housing previously stated that if there was even a small profit, people should be building apartments. As can be seen, there is more than a small profit for two-bedroom apartments, urban or suburban; there is a €50,000 profit. What way have profits been going for developers in this country over the past number of years? Are things becoming harder for them despite the fact that prices continue to rise and they therefore need a tax cut to keep operating? That is not what the figures indicate. Cairn Homes and Glenveagh are the two biggest Irish developers. In 2022, Cairn Homes made a profit of €81 million, at a profit margin of 13.1%. In 2023, that went up to €85.4 million and in 2024, it was up to €114.6 million, at a profit margin of 13.3%. There was a substantial increase in profits and a small increase in profit margin. Glenveagh's profit went from €52.6 million, at a profit margin of 8.1%, to €97.8 million in 2024, almost doubling its profits, with a profit margin of 11.2%. There was a substantial increase in profits. These people are making very substantial profits already. There is no viability gap. We already had the lowest VAT rate on construction work on new buildings, at 13.5%, and that is now going to drop to 9%. This is a massive giveaway to developers. That is all it is. It will have a distorting effect on land values. To quote Orla Hegarty, she stated:

The VAT cut adds €20,000 to this profit margin [of the developers] for every apartment. More government interventions that are inflationary, drive up land values, shore up dysfunction and worsen the housing crisis. A sweetener for developers that will be absorbed into margins and land values, worsening structural problems in the sector.

The CEO of Cairn Homes believes the benefit for it will be even higher. Michael Stanley said, "A suite of budget measures announced on Tuesday, together with new apartment construction guidelines unveiled during summer, are probably worth about €70,000-€80,000 per apartment." That is on top of the €50,000 per apartment profit it is currently making. All of this will lead to higher land prices as more profitable units are squeezed into a site. Land prices make up a significant portion of apartment costs, even more than developers' profits. The consequence will be inflating prices, which should be the last thing the Government seeks to do.

This illustrates a number of things. It illustrates who the Government represents. People always ask me why the Government cannot solve the housing crisis. It is because it represents those who are benefiting from the housing crisis. That is what this policy proves. During a housing crisis, and at a time when developers are making big profits already, the Government is giving a tax break to developers, as opposed to investing in public housing. That tells us who the Government represents and gives a hint of the alternative, which is to use the money to build homes.

If we look at what makes up the cost of an apartment, just over 50% is construction costs. Half the price of an apartment is the cost of building it, on average. The profit, land prices and developer's margin together make up 20% of the overall price. If you do the maths, public building on public land would cut prices by 20% because it would get rid of land costs since it is public land and you get rid of profit. Profit is not a necessary cost. We do not need to pay for these developers' substantial profits or give them even more profits, which is what is being done with this tax break. We need to use public money to build social and affordable homes on public land. That is the main intervention we need, as opposed to throwing more and more money at landlords, big developers and those profiteering from the housing crisis.

Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I will focus on two areas in the budget. One is the carer's allowance, particularly the means test. I was spokesperson on social protection previously and I have done some work with the carers' association. In the previous general election, the issue of the carer's allowance was discussed at some length. Two areas of concern were raised, one of which was the principle that if somebody is caring for somebody else, the payment should not be a social assistance payment but a payment for the care being given for that work.

Many carers felt they were providing a real benefit to the State and saving it money and that was not being recognised.

The second area was the principle that many people were excluded from receiving the carer’s allowance, especially because they, either by way of part-time work or by way of their partner’s income, were denied the allowance. It was particularly cruel that somebody’s partner might have a very good job, get overtime, get a bonus or receive a promotion, and when that happens, their partner who is caring for somebody lost their carer’s allowance. Often, it might happen over time and people are in real fear they owe money to the Department.

The two issues, namely, the principle that carers are doing a job and should be paid for caring and the exclusion of people from the allowance, were real issues in the general election, so I welcome the measures in the budget that include significantly more people in the carer’s allowance. In particular, if there are two people in a home and one is working, my understanding of the budget is that the other person can be earning up to €108,000 per year and the person who is caring will be able to receive the full carer’s allowance. There will be many different examples people give, but the vast majority of people who came to me were not earning anything like €108,000 per year. That measure, while not abolishing the means test for carers, has gone a very significant way to meeting the requests of the group who were excluded from the allowance. It does not yet address the first point, which is the principle that they are doing work, so it should not be a social assistance payment but should be a payment for caring. While in this budget we incorporated a huge number of people into the carer’s allowance, we have not yet got to the point of dealing with that issue. The abolition of the carer’s means test over five years is an objective of the Government but we have to move quickly on it.

It is worth acknowledging, because it has not been acknowledged significantly, that we have done a huge amount of work, especially with regard to couples. The €52,000 figure for single people still seems like a significant amount, but there can be people who, by virtue of part-time work or other income, get caught, so we still have a little work to do for them. However, the idea you can earn €52,000 a year as a single person or up to €108,000 a year as a couple and still receive the full carer’s allowance is something I am appreciative of and I appreciate the work the Government has done on that.

Having outlined something I am appreciative of, let me move on to the area where I would have liked to have seen more. The Disability Federation of Ireland did a significant amount of work with me in the last three years on trying to identify the real cost of disability and a payment that might be made. The previous Green Paper was rightly pulled because it sought to categorise people by virtue of their disabilities and their economic ability to work. We knew that, first, it would have been very impractical and, second, there was a sense it was echoing a British model that had not worked. We come back to the point on recognising the real cost of disability. When you have a disability, your cost of living is significantly more.

Am I sharing time?

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy is sharing with Deputy Brabazon, so it is up to the two of them, but it is a ten-minute block.

Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I apologise.

I ask the Government to look at the issue. We did not have an opportunity to do it in this budget and we need to move on it.

Tom Brabazon (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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This is not a utopian budget. It is not a budget that solves every problem. Despite what the Opposition proclaims, no budget ever could. The budget serves two main purposes. The first is to rein in public expenditure, which has been on the rise significantly since 2020. I welcome the budget's approach to reducing the trajectory of the spending of taxpayers' money. It is a prudent budget. The second plank of the budget is to finance the single most significant social issue of our day, which is the lack of housing. I welcome the increased investment in housing, which includes an enhanced funding allocation of €563 million to support the provision of homeless services, an extension of the renter's tax credit of €1,000 for three years and an increase in funding to our local authorities to support them in building more homes for our citizens.

The Opposition has suggested that there have been no cost-of-living benefits for the public. This is untrue and disingenuous. The minimum wage has been increased to €14.15. The fuel allowance has been increased to €38, providing an additional €140 during the fuel allowance season. State pensions have been increased. Those on child benefit will get €8 more per week for children under 12 and €16 more per week for children over 12. Measures introduced by the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, will save an average of €100 per year for households and businesses, with the VAT reduction in place until 2030. This budget also looks to the future and provides for a rainy day fund, with €1 billion set aside in a contingency reserve that will be held centrally.

Since my election to this House, I have been visiting schools across my community and meeting principals, teachers and parents to see how the State can best support our education system. Time and again, personnel in schools told me that they needed to see an increase in the capitation grant so that they can keep the heating and lights on, cover their insurance costs and meet other costs. It is important to welcome that the capitation grant has been increased by €50 per pupil for primary and special schools and €20 per pupil for post-primary schools. This will help ensure that each child has an equal opportunity to learn in a suitable environment. There have been lots of complaints and accusations by the Opposition that there were broken promises because we did not deliver on preschool places. That was never going to be delivered in the first budget. In fact, the programme for Government commits to reducing childcare costs progressively. I welcome the increased funding for the childcare sector, which will help increase much-needed places for young children and support for families.

When I knock on doors around my constituency of Dublin Bay North, my constituents tell me they want safer streets. I welcome the €77 million in funding to get an extra 1,000 gardaí on our streets and into our communities. I welcome the overtime budget to provide an additional 392,000 hours to meet the demand for a visible and responsive policing force. I welcome the €7.3 million in additional funding for youth diversion projects, which will provide opportunities for young people and will steer them in the right direction.

I welcome the budget and its awareness of the uncertain global environment. It recognises the challenges ahead and puts forward real solutions to ensure our economy and society remain resilient in a changing world.

Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin (Wicklow-Wexford, Sinn Fein)
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I received a lot of budget feedback in the Wicklow-Wexford constituency over the weekend. The general feeling was that ordinary working people had been left behind once again. They spoke of the proverbial squeezed middle or the new working poor. A common line from people was along the lines of how they had thought before the election that the Government would look after the working people but, sadly, they would now be better off not working. That is a shocking assessment. They spoke of how there was no increase in child benefit, childcare fees were remaining at approximately €800 per month or more, there was no tax relief for workers and local property tax was going up. There was no help with the cost-of-living crisis in many ways. There were no energy credits, no cap on food price inflation, no grocery supports, no rent freeze or ban on rent increases, the dreaded USC that was brought in for a 12-month period 14 years ago remains, there was nothing for tillage farmers, student fees will be €500 more than last year, there were minimal supports for small businesses that are the beating heart of local communities, there was an increase in the carbon tax and to top it all, petrol and diesel prices went up as well. The man or woman in the Wexford-Wicklow area who gets up early in the morning to maybe fight his or her way through traffic to get to Dublin has been screwed once again. That is shocking in a country that is awash with money and has a surplus of over €10 billion. The verdict of the respected ESRI and other reputable groups was that household income across the board would be reduced by 2% and that poverty would increase. Those are the unpalatable facts. I think it was a shameful, cynical approach for the Government to buy the election last year and make the people pay for it this year. It is a shocking, cynical approach to politics.

Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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This is a significant budget. It represents a critical investment for the future, with a total expenditure of almost €117 billion, alongside an additional package of €9.4 billion. These are substantial figures that reflect the Government's commitment to enhancing services and supporting those in need. I particularly welcome the emphasis on increasing the number of residential care places and home support hours and expanding respite services. These are practical, day-to-day solutions that can transform the lives of many individuals and their families.

In 2026, we will see a €215 million increase in funding for services for older persons, a rise of over 7% compared with 2025. This is a significant and necessary investment that acknowledges the growing needs of our ageing population. Of that overall amount, €82 million is earmarked for home support services, which will allow more people to live independently in their own homes and communities. This funding will translate into an additional 1.7 million hours of home support, bringing the total to 26.7 million next year. It is essential that we empower our older citizens to maintain their independence while ensuring that they receive the care they deserve.

I regularly hear from families and individuals who are seeking home help support. Many simply request an extra hour of assistance on weekends or an earlier morning visit. This budget's additional funding will work to address those needs, ensuring that we can provide tailored support that fits the unique schedules and demands of the families we serve.

The feedback I receive indicates a growing demand for increased home care packages. Many families juggle work commitments, caregiving responsibilities and other obligations. By expanding our funding, we can not only extend hours for existing services, we can also introduce new options for those who may need assistance during peak times when they are most busy. The impact of this support goes beyond mere logistics; it fosters peace of mind for families knowing that help is available when they need it most. Whether it is assisting with daily tasks, providing companionship or simply ensuring safety at home, these additional hours can significantly improve the quality of life for both caregivers and their loved ones.

Additionally, €92 million has been allocated to the fair deal scheme. This is aimed at bolstering the nursing home sector. This substantial increase will enable the sector to expand services and enhance quality, providing financial support for an additional 500 individuals seeking long-term residential care. With our ageing population and the increasing demand for comprehensive nursing home services, this funding is a crucial step toward addressing the pressing needs of older adults in our communities. This is the largest funding increase in the fair deal budget to date, enabling more older people to access necessary services and helping nursing homes meet rising operational costs. It is imperative that we continue to support these essential services because they allow families to find peace of mind in the knowledge that their loved ones are receiving appropriate care.

This budget includes an additional €2 million in funding for meals-on-wheels services. The latter are a lifeline for thousands of older individuals in our communities. This allocation marks a significant achievement, representing a more than 30% increase in funding compared with 2025. With this enhancement, we can deliver 2.7 million meals to approximately 18,000 people. Meals on wheels does more than provide food; it fosters connections, combats loneliness and ensures that our seniors feel valued and supported. This service is an embodiment of our commitment to caring for our elders and recognising their dignity and needs.

On the topic of social welfare, I am pleased to welcome the increase in income disregards for the carer's allowance. This change is significant and reflects our commitment to valuing the work of those who care for our loved ones. The Government made it clear in the programme for Government that we aim to eventually remove the means test relating to the carer's allowance altogether, which would be a substantial step forward for many families.

I am disappointed about the lack of measures in this budget to support workers on the personal taxation front. While it is true that our economy remains strong, this budget unfortunately does not provide tax relief to workers or put more money back into their pockets. The Minister indicated that this matter will be revisited in the future. I hope we can find a way to deal with it.

While there are areas that warrant further attention, this is a robust budget that lays a strong foundation for the future. It demonstrates our commitment to investing in essential services, supporting our older population, and ensuring that infrastructure keeps pace with the needs of our society.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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If rural Ireland is to avail of the developments in the economy in terms of education, job creation or even getting from county to county, we need a proper, well-funded independent coach sector. I appeal to the Minister to consider that whatever reliefs are given to public services should also be given to private operators. I refer to under-nines travelling free of charge or any other schemes that are being availed of by the public providers. We should have the same for the private bus operators. That is an appeal on behalf of rural Ireland, connectivity and people simply getting about the country without a car, which is a target of the Government with a view to reducing the overall emissions.

I want to make a case for the SME sector, which has built up over 1 million jobs in the economy over the years. I am talking about family-owned businesses here. They are almost being penalised in terms of how they do business. We give them one thing in the budget to provide some sort of support, but then the commercial rates go up, the local property tax goes up and various other charges go up, making it impossible for them to keep their doors open. That is why we are seeing so many family businesses and SMEs closing. We recognise that they are making a contribution to communities, but we are not doing enough for them to keep their doors open. We need to reflect on that, even if it requires some form of in-depth analysis in order that we can target supports to the businesses that are in real trouble, which they are.

The budget will be analysed and people will make their own judgment on it. I look at the small things. The Minister, Deputy Browne, is present. I spoke to him about the adaptation grants. I recognise what is available for 2026, but I appeal to him again to make sure that local authorities like Kilkenny County Council have sufficient funds to cover their applications between now and the end of this year. It is absolutely critical for people to be cared for at home by their families to have the support of an extension or various other types of assistance that they can get by way of these adaptation grants.

The banks should have been taxed. They are making obscene profits. They are well past the difficulties they had from 2008 onwards, and they should be charged a hell of a lot more in terms of what is expected of them. Likewise with the vulture funds. There is no excuse for not taxing them. They have deprived people of homes and a decent quality of life. They are a scourge on the country.

I saw a man and his family in Portlaoise - a whistleblower, Noel McGree - being evicted in the past few days in the lead-up to a time when families are trying to get their act together to go through Christmas with the children. That is what happened to that whistleblower, and that is what that vulture fund did to him. That is not acceptable. We should look at that matter again in the context of the upcoming finance Bill in order that we could perhaps introduce some form of extra taxation on these funds.

There are good, broad plans for education, but small schools like that in Burnchurch in County Kilkenny should not lose a teacher just because it is short by one pupil. We need to reach out to these schools. We must ensure that what they have, they hold, in the expectation that the numbers will grow in the future.

I asked the Minister to set aside €10 million in his funding for the next four years in order that when planning permission is eventually obtained for the bigger projects, such as the much needed extension of the ring road in Kilkenny, the money will be there to ensure that it is built. Likewise, funding must be put aside for the N24 and the N25, both of which must be delivered.

I associate myself with the positive on the tillage sector and ask that no scheme be reduced in funding in order to give to another sector. The amount of money needed, be it €90 million, should be put into the figures and should be confirmed in the Finance Bill.