TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN has moved to dampen expectations around this year’s budget, telling reporters in New York the government “can’t do everything for everyone”. 

Martin was speaking on day two of his trip to the US city for the annual United Nations General Assembly. 

Asked about the budget, which will be delivered by government 6 October, the Taoiseach was tight-lipped about what he chose to reveal. 

On whether people in the round will be left better off after this year’s budget, he said he was hoping “that people will keep pace with inflation and maybe go above that”.
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“But also, you know, we can’t do everything for everybody in the budget, so we have to target our resources,” he said, adding that childcare and disability will be two areas where there should be significant support for people.

“So it’s going to depend very much on people’s individual circumstances,” he said. 

Asked if Tánaiste and Finance Minister Simon Harris has been ruling out significant policy proposals from Fianna Fáil, including around increasing the Help to Buy tax refund for first time buyers and a proposal to abolish stamp duty for first time buyers, the Taoiseach said: 

“Sorry, we haven’t raised Help to Buy, and I haven’t raised that at the meetings we’ve had at leadership level.”

His comment appears to undermine Housing Minister James Browne, who is reported to have been lobbying to increase Help to Buy from €30,000 to €50,000. 

Fuel supports

Asked what measures will be in the budget to support households with the rising cost of fuel, the Taoiseach said people will “have to look at the budget in the round, in terms of income tax reductions, in terms of the childcare package, in terms of the cost of disability payment”.

“All of those will help to reduce pressure on families and on workers, and we anticipate in the aftermath of the budget there will be a public service pay deal, which will also be of assistance to those who work in the public service.

“And then we’re looking at fuel, additionally to those budget measures, with a view to the next six to eight months and a series of measures there to try and alleviate the pressure on people, and that could be a combination of measures,” he said. 

His comments come after Harris told the Fine Gael parliamentary party last night that it would be “sensible” and “prudent” to extend the existing fuel excise cuts beyond November. 

Mamdani

Elsewhere, the Taoiseach will meet with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani later today. 

The socialist mayor, who has been a vocal supporter of Palestine, has drawn the ire of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who accused Mamdani in a social media video yesterday of being a “supporter of Hamas”. 

Reacting to those comments today, the Taoiseach said he rejected them outright and noted that Netanyahu is in the midst of a general election in Israel. 

“We need to be careful that we’re not deliberately being sucked into that campaign in a way that might be advantageous to some,” he said.

“I think Mayor Mandami, frst of all, he has been a very effective mayor. …He has won a very significant mandate here, and I think Prime Minister Netanyahu and others should respect his mandate and not endeavour to undermine it or cast doubt on it. He has a very, very strong mandate to govern New York… and I’m looking forward to meeting with him,” he said.