Finance Bill 2026: Committee and Remaining Stages
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-17
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Robert Troy (FF), Longford-Westmeath

I will speak to Deputy O'Callaghan's amendment when we get to it but the one point I would agree with him on is that we should always look at introducing targeted measures to help those who need the greatest level of support the most. The Deputy made the fair point that there is a cohort of people who are above the eligibility thresholds to qualify for the working family payment but need additional supports.
I agree with the Deputy on that and I certainly will fight hard to ensure they get those supports in the upcoming budget.
There were targeted measures introduced in the budget last year. The eligibility criteria for the fuel allowance were extended to include the 40,000 recipients of the working family payment. That was a very targeted measure for working people on low incomes who benefit from social welfare support. They got access to the fuel allowance for the first time. In addition, in recognition of high energy costs as a result of the war in the Middle East, a commitment was given to extend the fuel allowance payment period by four weeks, which gives people an extra €152 per annum. Again, this is a measure that is very much targeted.
The Deputy talked about measures to facilitate retrofitting and energy upgrades to people's homes. Earlier this year, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, increased the financial support and grant assistance available to people to upgrade their homes. We are all operators within our own constituencies. From assisting those who come through my constituency office, I know there are now many more people availing of those supports than there were in the past. The credit unions have introduced a greenify loan to support people who want to do upgrades by allowing repayments to be spread over a period at reduced rates. They are enabling people to reap the rewards in a way, as I am sure the Deputy will agree, that is beneficial both for the homeowner and for the environment by helping us to meet our targets. We can agree somewhat on that area.
The measures that were introduced by the Government are some of the most generous in per capita terms across Europe. That is independently verifiable. We probably could keep debating this point until the Dáil rises tonight at 10.30 p.m. or 11 p.m. No matter what measures the Government introduces, it is the job of the Opposition to call for more supports and to say we are not doing enough. We have committed €750 million in funding to additional measures. Those measures are targeted at the people on the lowest incomes. They are also targeted at sectors of the economy, including transport and agriculture, that are high energy users. We want to assist them in recognition that if energy costs become hugely unbearable to the transport sector, for example, they will be passed on to households. As well as being targeted, the measures are time-specific. As we said from the beginning, we will be keeping them under review.
For the reasons I have outlined, I do not propose to accept the amendments.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-17/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:09+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-17