TÁNAISTE SIMON Harris has said he is a “signed-up believer” to introducing a second tier of child benefit, but added that it would be a multi-annual project and requires constructive work with government colleagues “to get there”.

His comments come as a new report by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) finds that a second tier of child benefit targeting low income households “could lift more than 50,000 children out of poverty”.

The estimated cost is around €772 million, but researchers say it’s a “price worth paying, not just for the immediate benefits but the opportunity it offers to end the cycle of intergenerational poverty”.

Asked about whether this is being considered as part of Budget 2026 talks with party leaders, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said he has always acknowledged that there are “merits in such an approach” of introducing a second tier for child benefit.

However, he said there is “a very significant cost attached to it” that has to be considered as part of the budget process.

“The programme for government does commit to us examining it and looking at the effect that it could have, but I do need to emphasise that we have made no decisions in relation to it or any other measure in the budget process,” he said today.

Speaking to reporters in Mullingar, where Fine Gael is holding its second day of its party think-in, he said the party leaders want to put a specific focus on child poverty in the budget. 

The exact proposals and measures in relation to that focus have yet to be decided, said the minister. 

“So I’m aware of the benefit of it. I know that it could have a very significant effect. It also does have a cost, and we just need to consider all of this and look at what are the most effective measures that can help children who are at risk of poverty,” said Donohoe. 

Budget 2026

Earlier, Harris also said there is a need to “move away” from one-off Budget measures on the cost of living.

The Fine Gael leader said “help is coming” on the cost of living in the Budget but added that one-off measures are “not a good way to run a country”.

Speaking to RTE’s Morning Ireland from the think-in, Harris said: “We’ve got to move away from this kind of one-off ‘will I get, won’t I get?’

“That’s no way for a family to plan, no way for a business to plan.”

Several of the so-called, cost-of-living measures, such as energy credits, have been features of successive budgets.

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Pressed on whether he accepted that families had already factored such measures into their financial planning, Harris said: “There’s probably pangs of anxiety when people hear, ‘Oh, the one-off measures aren’t going to be there’.

“So, let me assure people that, as we frame this Budget, we will, of course, be looking to do things to help them with their cost of living: whether that’s things for carers; for older people in relation to their pensions; whether it’s keeping the lower rate of VAT on energy; I think that’s a very important measure – whether it’s looking at our small and medium businesses and what we can help them to do with their cost base, the cost of education, there’s lots of things that we can do.”

He added: “Help is on the way, there will be measures to assist them.

“But what we want to do is make sure they’re permanent, sustainable measures, not this idea of every year a family having to turn on the Budget and see, ‘will I be getting a double payment?’.”

He added: “This idea of, ‘they’re going to throw a bit of money at this year, and maybe it’ll be there next year’ is not a good way to run a country.”