Cost of Living Issues
Dail Éireann — 2025-12-18
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Simon Harris (FG), Wicklow

Sometimes it is like Goldilocks – too hot, too cold or just right. In every debate I do on finance, whether it is here or the media, the first half is spent saying we spent too much money and the second half is a list of things we on which we should have spent more. The job of the Minister for Finance, the Government and the Oireachtas is to try and get the balance right. The first of five budgets had to be about getting back to a regular pattern of budgeting and being very clear to everybody in this country and everybody who looks at investing here that we intend to continue to run budget surpluses and continue to set money aside into the funds and invest at scale in infrastructure and in respect of the infrastructural pinch points that are holding us back. It was the budget of 9% in many ways - 9% for energy, which was reduced until the end of 2030, for jobs in the hospitality sector and also for stimulating apartment building because that is key to our housing challenge. However, I want to assure Deputies, their constituents and the people of Ireland that I want to get back to a regular budgetary rhythm whereby we can advance the tax measures for middle Ireland outlined in the programme for Government. Subject to being able to run the economy well and keeping things on the straight and narrow, that is exactly the path we will take over the next four budgets.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-12-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:29+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-18