TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN has pushed back on the suggestion that people will be worse off this year with the absence of a cost-of-living package in the Budget. 

Speaking to reporters in Copenhagen today, where he is attending an EU meeting, Martin argued that it is no longer feasible to continue the cost-of-living measures that were introduced post-Covid.

He pointed out that real wages (wages adjusted for inflation) are rising by about 3% this year while inflation is at approximately 2%. 

“We will have a social protection package, but last year,  inflation had reached very high levels, coming out of Covid-19, and we were trying to protect people for two to three years with the specific special packages, and that’s not feasible, that they would continue forever, but it depends on other aspects of the economy as well,” he said.

Martin added that there is currently “enormous resilience” in the economy currently. 

“Consumer spending is up, and we’ve got to make sure that we keep the basics right in terms of investment in infrastructure, which will be a key aspect of the Budget,” he said. 

With just a week to go until Budget 2026, it’s understood that each government department is engaged in final negotiations with the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe and the Minister for Public Expenditure, Jack Chambers. These negotiations will continue right through the weekend and into Monday, ahead of Tuesday’s announcement.

Since February, we have known that one-off payments that were part of recent Budgets, such as the energy tax credit, will not be part of this year’s plans. 

Instead, the government has stressed that it will be focusing on targeted measures for the worst off in society and on spending on larger, long-term infrastructural projects.