FINANCE MINISTER PASCHAL Donohoe has defended the government’s budgetary election promises, stating that he and other candidates were honest with voters during the campaign.

The government has been repeatedly criticised by the opposition in recent months for the planned end of cost-of-living supports in the next budget.

Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil ministers have repeatedly said that Budget 2026 will include more-targeted measures to help those who are struggling the most, and that public spending needs to be cut back in the face of a threat of US tariffs.

Speaking to RTÉ Radio One today, Donohoe said that Ireland can withstand a potential shock as a result of possible tariffs on the EU with the sum of windfall tax receipts collected in the last number of years

Asked, in the context of the end of cost-of-living supports in next year’s budget, if the public were misled during the election campaign last year, Donohoe said:

“In the election debates…I made it clear and was honest that if we were in a moment of challenge, we would have to make decisions that would continue to help and to keep our country safe.

“We’re acting in the way that I, and my party, outlined at election time,” he added.

The Dublin Central TD said that the government is aware of the financial challenges that people are facing and intends to bring forward measures which “reflect that inflation has come down, but acknowledging now that we’re seeing the world change around us”.

Figures from the CSO in March found that a third of households in Ireland had reported that housing costs were a “heavy financial burden” on them in 2024. The Journal‘s readers also told us their stories of dealing with the cost of living.

A recent survey from poverty charity Barnardo’s also highlighted the impact of the rising cost of groceries on low-income families, with 40% of parents they had skipped meals in order to have enough food to provide to their children.

Despite accusations that the government attempted to attract voters in the last general election through the introduction of large packages of once-off payments in successive budgets towards the end of its term, support has largely held for the coalition.

A B&A IPSOS poll, published by the Irish Times this morning, has found that support for Government parties has remained steady since spring. Support for Independents, some of whom are propping up the government, has grown.

Asked about the accusations, Donohoe told the Morning Ireland programme today: “I answered those questions truthfully then, I’ll answer them truthfully now.

“When I was dealing with those questions a year ago, when I was bringing in that budget that helped with the cost of living, I did so at a time in which inflation was very high within our economy.

“And I always said, again and again, that these are measures that could not be permanent, and I said that at election time. I’m making that argument here again.”

The Fine Gael minister added that the rate at which prices are increasing is beginning to slow.

While accepting that people are still experiencing financial challenges, Donohoe said the upcoming budget aims to focus on the creation of jobs and delivery of infrastructure to future-proof Ireland’s economy.