Local TD blasts 2026 Budget

Budget “All Trick and no Treat” Stanley

Speaking in the Dail during the debate on the budget. Independent Republican TD
Brian Stanley said.
“The month of October is associated with Halloween and children play trick or treat
However, the Government’s budget is all trick and no treats. That is what we get from
the Government. There was an election in the previous year and Fianna Fáil and
Fine Gael literally went out and bought votes. There was money for everything, there
were one-offs and there was helicopter money nearly falling out of the sky. There
were grants for everything, grants for millionaires and grants for people who did not
need them. I never argued against grants for those who need them, but a lot of the
money was not targeted and went all over the place. It did not have the effect it
should have but it bought votes. That is what it was about.

This year, there is no general election and there is nothing for workers. There is
nothing for low- and middle-income earners. There is nothing for renters. There is
nothing to alleviate the cost of living.

On housing, there is no increase in the delivery of affordable or cost-rental housing.
The Minister of State knows that the people who are just above the income limit for
social housing but not able to get on the ladder to get a mortgage or a loan to buy a
house, are the people who are caught here. Some of them are now passing middle
age and some of them are nearly at retirement age. They have no option but to
remain in private rented accommodation, many of whom are at the mercy of rack-
renting landlords. All the Government has done for renters is throw away whatever
controls were there. From March onwards, it is a free for all.

Landlords and developers were looked after in this budget. There are enhanced
corporation tax deals. There are tax cuts, tax reductions and VAT reductions for
those developing apartments, as if that would somehow turn on supply.

McDonalds, Costa, and Starbucks got VAT reductions. I put this to the Minister of
State: if the Government wanted to assist small cafés and restaurants, why did it not
reduce VAT on the first three or four million euro of turnover? That could have been
done.

There are no rent caps for renters and no extra tax relief. I will give the case of
Laois. Recently the Residential Tenancy Board showed there was a 10% increase in
rent there which was double the national average over the preceding year. That
follows eight successive quarters of high rents increases.!

Workers got no tax relief, particularly those who earn between €24,000 and €70,000.
There was nothing for them. What they did get was more local property tax, more
carbon tax, no increase to child benefit and an increase for third level fees. No
matter which way the Government dresses it up, it is an increase in third level fees
from €2,000 to €2,500 this year and it should not try to spin it any other way.

There is also the health situation and the dental crisis. I read what was done for
health. There is no specific extra funding for dental services. There is no public
dental system worth talking about in Laois. I have read the figures out here before on
the school dental scheme, the dental treatment service scheme, DTSS, for medical
card holders and the PRSI-based scheme. It is absolutely hopeless and is almost
non-existent. We are supposed to be almost on the threshold of achieving
Sláintecare after ten years. There is no increase in the income threshold for medical cards.

Does the Government realise there are people who should have medical
cards who cannot go to a doctor?
The Government has missed low-income workers again. It is nearly 20 years since
that threshold was increased. For low- and middle-income earners, there are no
medical cards.

On the farming sector, I do not see anything there for the tillage sector, which is
under the most pressure, unless the Minister of State can show me where it is buried
somewhere in the document. It is operating on thin margins and if there is any tweak,
or if there is bad weather, it will be in the red. There is no increase in supports for
suckler farmers.

There was €10.4 billion headroom here. People will ask how the Government got it
so wrong, but I think it got it so right. The Government has put money into the
pockets of developers, landlords and large hoteliers. This budget looks after the
wealthy. There is nothing only hardship for people who are on middle and low
incomes. That is the reality”.