Budget 2026 (Enterprise, Tourism and Employment): Statements
Seanad Éireann — 2025-10-14
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Nicole Ryan (SF), Administrative Panel

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. It is lovely to have him here today to discuss budget 2026. In this section of the budget, there are lots of welcome initiatives, including the VAT reduction. I am sure many people are really thankful for that. However, every October we hear the same story of record budgets, record spending and record promises, but people in constituencies like the one in which I live, Cork North-West, are looking around and asking about where the change is taking place.
The budget was billed as one for working people. When we strip it back, however, we can see that it is the workers who are still paying the highest price. The more they work, the more they are taxed. The more overtime they do, the more they lose in deductions. The more they try to get ahead, the more they feel like they are carrying the system on their backs, supporting others when no one seems to be supporting them. I am not talking about the people who genuinely need help. I am talking about those who can work but who choose not to because the system rewards inertia instead of effort. Meanwhile, the nurse doing 12-hour shifts, the teacher staying late to help a struggling student and the ground worker driving 60 km to a site before dawn are footing the bill. Where is the incentive to work in rural Ireland today? When we do the maths and factor in the cost of fuel, childcare, rent and endless stream of bills, it is no wonder people are better off staying at home. This is not sustainable. It is not fair and it is not what people voted for.
For years, people across Ireland have done everything right. They have worked hard, paid their taxes and kept their communities going, yet they are the ones being punished now. They are told there is no money for the GP service, no bus for their kids and no counselling for their teenagers, but somehow there is always money for tax breaks for developers and billion-euro profits for banks that we still will not tax properly. The Government calls this a pro-enterprise budget. However, the Minister would have to tell that to the small business owner in Macroom who cannot get staff because people cannot afford to live locally. He should tell it to the young couple in Kanturk who are saving for a deposit while rent swallows half of their wages.
This is about equity. Working people are not looking for handouts; they are looking for their fair share. The Government says that if they work, contribute and build a life in their communities, they will not be penalised for it. However, this budget tells them the opposite. It tells them that the harder they work, the less it matters. That is why people are disillusioned and that is why trust is breaking down. If the Minister and the Government want people to believe in work, they should reward that work. If they want people to live in rural Ireland, they have to invest in rural Ireland. If they want to talk about fairness, they should deliver it - not in headlines but in people's homes.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2025-10-14/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:13+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-10-14