Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-23
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Jack Chambers (FF), Dublin West

-----with continued resilience of our economy, despite the multiple shocks of recent years, and a Government that is motivated to give young people hope when it comes to housing, when it comes to their future and in terms of their employment and their wages. That is our central motivation as part of budget 2027. It is to drive better affordability in our economy and, yes, to respond to the serious pressures that we recognise many families and households face when it comes to the cost of living.
That is why there will be a targeted income tax package prioritising low- and middle-income workers to reward work in our economy and give them a break. It is why we want to make significant interventions and further progress when it comes to housing and delivering greater housing supply across our economy because, yes, the challenges and the pressures faced by young people are concentrated in affordability of homes and of rent. That is why areas like the renter's tax credit are under further consideration by the Government. Third, it is about ensuring we build a country that continues the levels of employment we have and continues to attract jobs and grow our economy into the medium term. While Sinn Féin just attacks the Government two weeks out from the budget, we are preparing a sensible, responsible and affordable budget that we can sustain into the medium to long term. Sinn Féin makes commitments and promises that would break our economy and undermine the public finances. That is the challenge with Sinn Féin. It proposes higher taxes and massive increases in expenditure. That does not give young people the longer term hope or prospects to live and build a life here. Everything we are doing is to protect capital investment in housing and infrastructure, so we prioritise investment in transport infrastructure, reduce congestion and build the social infrastructure and the communities that are required right across the country.
Let me be absolutely clear: the central objective of this Government is to respond to that immediate pressure. That is why we will take further decisions when it comes to the pricing of energy in our economy on budget day. It is why we will respond to affordability challenges that young couples with children face when it comes to progress on childcare, for example. We want to ensure that the sentiment of young people is responded to in this budget with, again, improved housing supply and further progress in the delivery of social and affordable homes in 2027. That is the central motivation of the Government. Instead of just criticising, attacking and continuing with its negative dialogue day in, day out, Sinn Féin should come up with some suggestions or solutions for once-----

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-23/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-23