EUROPEAN ANTI-POVERTY NETWORK IRELAND
PRESS STATEMENT: BUDGET 2026
October 2025
Tinkering at the Edges Will Not Cut It – Another Opportunity Wasted to Deliver a Budget that Reduces Inequality!
The European Anti-Poverty Network EAPN (Ireland) has categorised Budget 2026 as ‘another wasted opportunity to implement a redistributive budget that reduces inequality’, stating that ‘tinkering at the edges will not cut it, when it comes to poverty eradication and public service delivery.
Speaking after the Ministers’ presentation of the budget, EAPN Ireland’s Policy & Communication Officer Clare Daly, said,
‘ With an unrelenting cost of living crisis, and a catastrophic housing emergency for so many people, a few crumbs, in a few directions, will unfortunately not deliver the type of change that is necessary. We of course welcome the increase in income exemption for carers allowance, and the extension of the fuel allowance to everyone receiving a Working Family Payment, but the €10 increase in social welfare is a far cry from the minimum of €16 suggested by all experts, and the elimination of any cost of disability support payment, a retrograde step. This budget was an opportunity to advance the principle of income adequacy, an amount below which nobody should be expected to live, through either quality employment or state supports. The Government chose not to go there. This will ensure that families will continue to be burdened with huge costs.
The complete failure to consider a wealth tax, and a financial transactions tax, examples of what could have been done to broaden the tax base and introduce progressive taxation measures designed to deliver income adequacy, state housing and public services and reduce the massive inequality in the state where almost 50% of total household net income is owned by 10% of the population.’
Paul Ginnell, EAPN’s Director, said:
‘Budget 2026 again perpetuates the state’s subsidisation of the private sector in relation to the delivery of housing. Reducing VAT on apartments, furthering exemptions from the Residential Zoned Land Tax and reducing corporation tax for certain building costs is the same approach that has got us to the present juncture. We need serious investment in public housing, social & affordable on state land under the stewardship of the local authorities.
How can it be claimed to target child poverty, when there is nothing to address homelessness? Celebrating the sanctioning of 1000 new teaching posts and 1700 SNAs might seem like an important step forward, but there are already hundreds of unfilled posts, as teachers cannot afford the housing that would allow them take up the job. Rather than, ‘Investing in our future’, as claimed, the failure to tackle housing, means it is failing to invest in it! Its only impact will be the continuance of all of the inequality and problems that prevailed before it – expect more homelessness, more expensive housing, and growing numbers of those in poverty,’
He concluded,
‘ it is bitterly disappointing that this budget takes place in the last year of the Government’s current strategy to address poverty. This strategy has already completely failed to reach many of its targets for reducing poverty, and this budget will ensure that this continues, leaving many people and communities on the margins of our society, at enormous cost to all.’
The organisation stated that its meeting next week, “In Conversation with Richard Wilkinson & Kate Pickett”, authors of the International Bestseller ’The Spirit Level -why equality is better for everyone’ is of even more relevance now and would be seriously beneficial to anyone who is concerned at the direction of Budget 2026 and how an alternative approach would work. Last few tickets available here.