Finance Bill 2025 [Certified Money Bill]: Report and Final Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2025-12-16
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Nicole Ryan (SF), Administrative Panel

I welcome the Minister and thank them for being here. It is no surprise to him or to the House that Sinn Féin will vote against the Finance Bill today, given that we have stringently opposed it at every opportunity on its passage through the Dáil and the Seanad. The Finance Bill is not about helping ordinary people, it is not designed to alleviate the cost-of-living crisis, and it will not put money in the pockets of the workers of the State. It will not deliver on housing, certainly not at the scale required or close to it. It is clear the Government's priority with the budget and the subsequent Finance Bill is about keeping the wealthy and letting everyone else struggle.
Sinn Féin tabled recommendations last week. All of them would have made ordinary people's lives better and all of them were voted down. We wanted to ensure the first €40,000 that anyone earned would be exempt from USC. That recommendation would have benefited people by up to €742, which would have made a real and tangible difference, particularly in the cost-of-living crisis, but the Government said "No". We tried to ensure that super wealthy workers earning between €125,000 and €1 million would not get additional tax breaks. Again, the Government said "No". We tried to steer the Government to a more realistic course in terms of tax breaks for research but, again, we were not listened to. The Government would not listen to us when we wanted to help poultry farmers either.
The Government is listening to a cohort for sure, and that is the developers and the bankers. In fact, the Finance Bill will herald a total of €2.5 billion in tax cuts for landlords, developers, investors and others. These are choices the Government will say will support the industry and infrastructure across the State but, budget after budget, homelessness rises and public services are reduced. This should be an absolute shame to the Government. The Government must take responsibility for the tens of thousands of working people for whom home ownership is now a pipe dream. Once again, the ordinary workers of the State carry the can for the expenses of the banks while the banks continue to enjoy their protected status in the Finance Bill.
In terms of the Finance Bill before us today, Sinn Féin rejects it. It will not do anything to ease the burden of hard-pressed citizens. It benefits the elite, the developers and the bankers, and it is the wrong focus from the Government. We in Sinn Féin will vote against it.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2025-12-16/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:28+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-16