Public Expenditure Policy
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-28
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Jack Chambers (FF), Dublin West

As the Deputy knows, in the annual progress report that is published, we expect to run a general government surplus of about €9 billion this year. We are running a surplus, which makes the case for the importance of having fiscal buffers in a world which is so uncertain in the context of geopolitical conflict and when we have spending demands every day in this House across multiple areas. It is important that we review that in July and that we are careful in the context of further interventions. We know from the Covid pandemic and the cost-of-living period in 2022 that, notwithstanding the temporary nature of some of those schemes, they had permanent expenditure implications in certain areas, which then created trade-offs or constraints in future decisions that could be made. We will review that and take an informed decision in July. We are conscious of the dynamism of the global energy market and the need to respond with respect to particular sectors but it is important we implement the schemes being applied for presently, which may reflect more support here than in many other countries, and then take an informed position in July. We will know where the position is at that point.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-28/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:08+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-28