At the time of budget 2026, the Department of Finance forecast a headline harmonised indices of consumer prices, HICP, inflation rate of 1.9% for next year. For household incomes, the Department of Finance forecast continued growth in wages per head of 3.9% in 2026. This implies continued growth in real incomes, which will support the purchasing power of households, and is an important indicator of improving living standards. The Department of Finance macroeconomic forecasts were endorsed by the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, IFAC. In budget 2026, the Government had to make choices. This budget was designed to boost our economic resilience and to support workers and growth in their income by investing in jobs and in their future. However, with the substantial personal income tax packages implemented over the past four years, the previous Government made significant progress on increasing the entry point to income tax for all income earners and increasing the point at which the higher rate of income tax takes effect. Over recent years, the previous Government provided substantial income tax packages to support workers. Over the lifetime of the previous Government, the main tax credits increased from €1,650 to €2,000, representing an increase of €350 or 21.2%. In addition, the standard rate cut-off point was increased from €35,300 to €44,000, representing an increase of €8,700 or 24.6%. The income tax measures implemented over the period of the previous Government are expected to be in line with wage growth. In regard to the universal social charge, USC, over the lifetime of the previous Government, the USC ceiling of the band for the 2% rate was also increased by €6,898 from €20,484 to €27,382, in line with the increases to the national minimum wage. Furthermore, there was a significant reduction in the middle rate charge, from 4.5% to 3%. Broadly, the income tax measures implemented over the period of the previous Government are expected to be in line with wage growth. As the Deputy will be aware, the most recent budget provided a range of support to individuals, families and businesses. In particular, the rent tax credit, introduced in budget 2023, has proved to be a very meaningful support for renters. We have just taken the decision to extend the credit for a further three years to the end of 2028. The ceiling of the second USC rate band is being increased by €1,318 and this will ensure that a full-time worker on the minimum wage who benefits from the increase in the hourly minimum wage rate will remain outside the highest rates of USC.
Sentiment score: 0.49
That is not the message. The message is that we took a number of measures in this year's budget that will help families, businesses and workers as well. It includes investing - the Deputy and I have different policy views on this - and deciding to extend the renter's tax credit for a further three years. It includes making sure that people who benefit from the minimum wage increase do not find themselves paying a higher rate of USC, but also investing in protecting people's jobs because that is a very important thing to do. This was the first budget in the lifetime of the Government as well. We will now get back into the normal rhythm of income tax packages in future budgets too. We took a decision to deliver on a number of commitments that were made, including some that the Deputy supports, such as the reduced VAT rate for the hospitality sector. The benefit of that decision will be seen even more in the time ahead because we are seeing some softening in the labour force figures. Supporting those jobs is important. That helps workers to ensure they can keep their jobs. It helps to keep the businesses in which they work open at a time when there are significant economic headwinds. As the Deputy knows, there are no plans to reopen the budget. With regard to the Department’s forecasts as, again, the Deputy knows, the Department forecasts a certain rhythm each year and the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council endorses those figures.
Sentiment score: 0.39
That is not the message at all. The Deputy and I rightly discuss the issues of fuel poverty and energy prices in this House regularly, as we should. What I say to the people is that we have taken a number of measures to assist with the cost of energy, including the reduction of the VAT rate to 9%, a real budgetary cost that we decided to prioritise.
Sentiment score: 0.01
We decided to do that.
Sentiment score: 0.00
Did we or did we not-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
We will have lots of time. We are going to have lots of time. It just gets a bit tiresome when the Deputy just shouts me down.
Sentiment score: 0.00
Or interjecting.
Sentiment score: 0.00
For the people watching at home, I get a bit of time to speak and then the Deputy gets a bit of time to speak. I want people to know that we took a decision to reduce the VAT rate on people's energy bills and ensure that is in place for a number of years. We took the decision to make sure more people qualify for the fuel allowance than ever before. We took the decision to increase the fuel allowance. We took the decision to make sure working family payment recipients can benefit from the fuel allowance as well. We also took the decision to invest significantly in things that working people in Donegal and right across the country asked us to do in relation to child, children's services, disability services, education-----
Sentiment score: 0.34
In childcare, too.
Sentiment score: 0.00
We put money into capital, State-led childcare facilities for the first time. We extended the renters’ tax credit which was due to expire. We have taken real decisions and it is just the first of five budgets.
Sentiment score: 0.13
I thank Deputy Nash for the question. First, we share the same view on the importance of this derelict property tax. In a housing emergency, which we are in, every lever must be used. Having a tax that targets derelict properties is an important one. There is a significant body of work to do, however. I do not say this to in any way cast aspersions but I am conscious that local authorities will have an important role in this regard because when you are moving from a levy to a tax, the importance of consistency will be really important in being able to underpin any tax collected by the Revenue Commissioners. As the Deputy said, in this budget we announced the introduction of a new derelict property tax. The aim of this tax is to encourage the activation of derelict properties and sites. In fact, not having to collect much money from this tax would ultimately be a good thing if we can change behaviour and get derelict sites and properties back into use. This will replace the derelict sites levy and it will be collected by the Revenue Commissioners. In order for the new tax to be successful on introduction, care has to be taken in its design. A key issue is that the tax must apply in a consistent manner to all residential properties and sites that are derelict. Therefore, a lead-in time will be required for our local authorities to identify all the relevant derelict properties in their areas for inclusion on a register in a consistent manner. I intend to legislate for the derelict property tax in 2026. This is dependent on engagement from stakeholders. It will also be influenced by any advice I receive from the Attorney General. The timeline of bringing in the legislation in 2026 is necessary to allow local authorities to prepare and publish a preliminary register of derelict properties in 2027, with the tax coming into effect as quickly as possible thereafter. The yield from the derelict property tax will accrue to the Exchequer. That is the current intention. As the Deputy will appreciate, replacing the current levy with a new tax is a complex process. There is much detail that remains to be worked through regarding the operation of the new tax. I will be in a position to provide further information over the course of next year in advance of the tax being legislated for. I genuinely look forward to engaging with Deputies on the design of the tax through the legislative process.
Sentiment score: 0.21
I appreciate the past examples. I remember soldiering on some of them together in past iterations of government. We need to get this right, however. My predecessor announced that timeline on budget day. I think we will all agree that we actually do not want to collect much revenue from the tax. Rather, we want people to take derelict properties and sites and put them back into use. The purpose of making the budget day announcement, albeit with the lead-in time, was to make it clear to people in this country that if they are sitting on a derelict property or site in a housing emergency, we intend to tax that reality. We intend to do it through the Revenue Commissioners because, as the Deputy rightly said, the Revenue Commissioners are good at collecting tax. That is what we intend to do because, in a housing emergency, we cannot tolerate this situation. Currently, the derelict site levy is an annual levy of 7% of the land’s market value. While the rate of the derelict property tax is yet to be determined, I will say to the House that it certainly will not be lower than the current 7%. The primary goal will not be to raise revenue but, rather, to encourage owners of derelict properties to bring them back into use. We want to do this as quickly as possible but we also have to make sure it is consistent with all the principles expected in a new tax.
Sentiment score: 0.23
I genuinely am eager to engage on the design and construct of the new tax and we will have an opportunity to do that through the legislative process. I do also genuinely take the point around the urgency of this, and the Government genuinely does too, but we also have to just make sure we get it right. I am conscious there are local authorities around the country that do very a good job and that are also very busy. This is quite an important and big project for them because we have to have a consistency in terms of this. It cannot be a case of County Wicklow doing one thing in relation to a derelict site levy and County Louth doing another. That is a levy collected by the local authorities. Once this becomes a national tax there has to be that consistent approach. I agree with the Deputy about dereliction and the housing emergency, absolutely, but dereliction more broadly is a real issue. We will get to some of this later as well, but this is why we have made some changes, for example with the living cities initiatives and the like to try and bring derelict properties back into use, particularly on main streets with over-the-shop schemes as well.
Sentiment score: 0.30
I am advised by Revenue that LPT returns for the next valuation period of 2026 to 2030 have been filed and are fully up to date in respect of over 1.4 million properties. Filing arrangements are being finalised in respect of a further 202,278 local authority and approved housing body properties. There are approximately 40,000 open correspondence queries on hand with Revenue presently, including postal queries and paper returns. While these queries delay filing, the liable persons are considered compliant. Furthermore, payment arrangements are in place for approximately 262,000 additional properties where returns are not yet filed. While the return filing deadline passed on 12 November, property owners are still making their best effort to file their returns as these continue to be received by Revenue. The due date for payment of the 2026 LPT for those property owners who do not yet have a payment option in place is 9 January 2026. While detailed analysis of the returns filed will take some time, Revenue publishes preliminary statistics on LPT on a regular basis on its website. I am further advised by Revenue that based on data published on 18 September it is estimated that 4% of properties will move up one band under the 2026-2030 LPT structure. An increase in LPT base charges for properties valued up to €525,000 is estimated at between €5 and €25 extra annually for most property owners. Table 6 of the LPT technical paper provides the estimated average increase in LPT liability by local authority and band. The LPT technical paper is available on the statistics section of Revenue’s website. A detailed report will be available once a comprehensive analysis of the returns filed for the valuation period is completed. I am advised by officials and by Revenue that we are a little bit ahead on the filings than we were the last time there was an evaluation period. The evaluations are coming in and the answer is that about 4% of properties will move up one band, and an increase in LPT-based charges for properties valued up to €525,000 is estimated at between €5 and €25 extra annually for most property owners.
Sentiment score: 0.23
I am genuinely sharing with the Deputy and I am happy to see if I can get him even more up-to-date information. I had a discussion on this earlier today as well. I am advised by Revenue that it is estimated that around 4% of properties will move up one band. These are the latest data I have available here, but I will try and get more up-to-date for the Deputy as soon as that is available. Let me try to provide him with that. This is genuinely the up-to-date information I have. Around 2.1 million properties are in scope and circa 1.9 million are now in compliance in terms of filing. I will see if there are more up-to-date figures available from Revenue and pass them on directly to the Deputy.
Sentiment score: 0.13
We have different views on property tax. Although I am open to correction, I think the Deputy used the property tax figures in Sinn Féin's alternative budget figures-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
That is okay, but we are not. We are committed to the local property tax as a sustainable way of trying to fund local services. We have a situation where more is now being returned to local authorities. Council chambers across the country, including the Deputy's own councillors, engaging in discussions about what to do with that revenue base that the local authorities now have. We have also increased the level of discretion that they have, which is quite important. If we give local authorities a revenue base, allowing our local councillors to determine what best to do and to have a greater level of variance, is a good thing to do. To reflect on some of the points the Deputy made, in some parts of the country there can be particular local reasons, particular anomalies or particular needs that councillors may wish to be able to reflect on as well. This is an example of a tax that has bedded in pretty well and most people in this country accept that it is an important part of funding our local services.
Sentiment score: 0.44
Residential zoned land tax is a self-assessed annual tax that is calculated at 3% of the market value of land within its scope. It is charged on 1 February each year beginning, as the Deputy said, in 2025 and it applies to land that is zoned for residential use and is serviced and identified on maps published by local authorities, but which is not residential property. The RZLT aims to prompt residential development by incentivising landowners to activate existing planning permissions, or to engage with planning authorities to seek planning permission in respect of relevant land. Revenue has advised that as of 14 November the receipts from RZLT were circa €46 million. There were no receipts in 2024 as the tax was first charged on 1 February 2025. Information in respect of the amount of RZLT declared, the number of exemptions claimed, and the total hectares returned, including and excluding exempt land, is published within the October 2025 property taxes report available on the Revenue website: www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/information-about-revenue/statistics/property-taxes/yearly-stats/2025/index.aspx. It shows that as of 30 September 2025, there had been 2,433 registrations for RZLT and 2,002 RZLT returns filed. Of those returns filed, 160 applicants claimed the exemption and 585 requested a deferral. The most common reason to claim an exemption is to request a rezoning of land, which is allowed for in the legislation, to reflect ongoing economic use. Updated data from relevant local authorities identified 131 submissions which stated that the land subject to the rezoning request was the subject of ongoing economic use. A variation process which recommends rezoning is proposed in 49 of these submissions. In the context of amount of land involved, in total 3,597 ha were declared, with 3,283 ha liable for the tax. In other words, 314 ha were exempt. The latter comprises 8.7% of all declared land. The Deputy can rest assured that the continuing effectiveness of the measure in terms of achieving its objective will be kept under review.
Sentiment score: 0.18
That is correct. Some 160 claimed exemptions and 585 requested deferrals.
Sentiment score: 0.00
The deferrals relate to people seeking to change the use of land. However, I will get the specific note from Revenue in relation to that for the Deputy. The tax is working reasonably well. The other questioner here, Deputy O'Gorman would have pushed for this and was an active supporter of it within the previous Government. We brought it in, and we are seeing some encouraging signs. The Deputy may have seen that the CSO published a report last week which shows that the number of transactions involving residential zoned land in 2024 was significantly up on that for 2023. We are seeing, both anecdotally and in CSO data, a bigger churn of residential zoned land transactions, which is really what we want. If a someone has land and is not going to use it for residential property, they need to pay the tax, seek a rezoning or a change to alternative use or sell it off to somebody who will use it. There is some encouraging data in relation to that. I will try to get more information for the Deputy on the reasons for the deferrals.
Sentiment score: 0.20
In my new role, I am learning not to muse on tax changes outside of a budgetary process other than to say that we continue to keep the effectiveness of the tax under review. We will continue to review it in advance of forthcoming budgets. Our view is that we have a tax in place in relation to taxing residential zoned land where there is not residential property on it. We have put a system in place. This was important. A farmer using land for ongoing economic activity was never what any of us was trying to address. There were teething issues, if I can put it like that, in that regard. Providing a mechanism for people who want to use land for an ongoing economic use is something we are all fine with; it is appropriate. That is working its way through the system as well. As the Deputy stated, this is the first year of it. We are seeing revenue from it of about €46 million. However, as with the earlier question, the aim is to see changed behaviour and people not land hoarding during a housing emergency. We continue to keep the effectiveness of it under review.
Sentiment score: 0.06
I thank Deputy Brennan for his kind words. I look forward to working with him as well. Capital acquisitions tax, CAT, applies to both gifts and inheritance and is charged at a rate of 33%. For CAT purposes, the relationship between the person giving a gift or inheritance and the person who perceives it determines the maximum amount, known as the group threshold, below which the CAT does not arise. The group thresholds were most recently increased in budget 2025. The group A threshold increased to €400,000 from €335,000. This threshold applies where the beneficiary is a child of the disponer. This includes adopted children, stepchildren and some foster children. Parents may also fall within this threshold where they take an inheritance from a child. The group B threshold was increased to €40,000 from €32,500 in budget 2025. This threshold applies where the beneficiary is a brother, sister, niece, nephew or lineal ancestor or lineal descendant of the disponer. Following recent changes made to CAT legislation, the group B threshold also now applies to persons who receive gifts and inheritance from the wider family of their foster parents, for example from their foster siblings, uncles, aunts and grandparents. The group C threshold increased to €20,000 from €16,250 in budget 2025. This threshold applies in all other cases. Along with tax free group thresholds, various reliefs and exemptions are available in relation to CAT, including agriculture and business relief. There is also the small gift exemption, favourite niece or nephew relief and the dwelling house exemption. In general, the availability of specific reliefs in respect of a particular tax head often require a higher rate in order to generate appropriate yields. From a tax policy perspective, it is important to maintain stability and certainty and to ensure that the rate and thresholds in the context of the range of reliefs available. In truth, there is a significant associated cost with reducing the rate of CAT or increasing the associated thresholds. I recognise the burden of capital taxation. Further changes to the CAT rate and thresholds must therefore be considered among the various demands within the overall budget package, as they have been in the past. We will keep this under review in forthcoming budgets.
Sentiment score: 0.30
I am conscious of the area of the country the Deputy represents and the area of the country that I represent. I am also conscious that property prices, inflation, capital tax, etc., can place a real burden on people, particularly in circumstances where they inherit, for example, family homes. These are real issues that come across our desks and into our lives as we interact with people we represent. We will continue to keep them under review. We have to keep them under review in the context of all of the other pressures and the various tax packages that we bring forward. In the final budget of the previous Government, in which the Deputy's party and mine were both involved, we made adjustments to the thresholds. We made those adjustments effective in the context of gifts and inheritance taken on or after 2 October 2024. We will continue to keep this under review in forthcoming budgets. Each year, we produce tax strategy papers. We have a tax strategy group. Perhaps, in light of some of the suggestions the Deputy has made, this is something I will ask our tax strategy group to consider in advance of future budgets.
Sentiment score: 0.01
I will, because without pre-empting any future budgets, the last time we did this in budget 2025 we decided to move each of the bands and that was appropriate. We need to look at this in the round. There are always competing demands on what you can do in relation to a tax package each year but we have only delivered one budget out of five. We have four more and if we continue to keep the economy in good stead, continue to run budget surpluses and continue to be able to set money aside in future funds I believe in the medium-term fiscal framework the Minister, Deputy Chambers, and I will bring to Government soon we will be able to see a regular-sized rhythm of tax packages in future and all these issues can be considered in the context of that. With some of the specific policy elements Deputy Brennan has referenced, it would be useful to have the tax strategy group look at this in advance of future budgets. I will continue to link with him on it.
Sentiment score: 0.15