Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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728. To ask the Minister for Finance the full year cost of extending the reduced VAT rate on electricity and gas bills in 2026, and then the six month cost from January to end of June 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43806/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by Revenue that traders are not required to identify the VAT yield generated from the supply of specific goods and services on their VAT returns. Therefore, it is not possible to provide a costing for the measures outlined above using information provided on tax returns alone. However, using other sources available to Revenue, a tentative estimate of the cost to the Exchequer is shown in the following table.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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729. To ask the Minister for Finance the full year cost of indexing income tax credits and bands in line with either wage growth or HICP for 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43807/25]

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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730. To ask the Minister for Finance the projected additional yield to the Exchequer in 2026 from making no change to income tax bands and credits in Budget 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43808/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 729 and 730 together.

The ‘Programme for Government 2025: Securing Ireland’s Future’, contains specific undertakings with regard to personal taxation, it commits to “implementing progressive changes in taxation if the economy remains strong, including indexing credits and bands to prevent an increase in the real burden of Income Tax while in the event of an economic downturn and unexpected deterioration in the public finances we would postpone changes to Income Tax credits or bands, as we did in Budget 2021”.

At the time of Annual Progress Report (APR) the Department of Finance forecasted wage growth (wages per head) to increase by 4% in 2026. As outlined in the Budget 2026 Income Tax Tax Strategy Group (TSG) Paper published on 24 July the estimated cost to the Exchequer of indexation of the personal Income Tax system, consistent with the APR projections of wage growth at 4%, is set out in the Table below. My Department will update its full suite of macroeconomic projections, including wage growth, as part of Budget 2026.