The Minister for Finance must wake up to the threats facing our economy, according to Social Democrats acting leader Cian O\u2019Callaghan.<\/p>\n
Deputy O\u2019Callaghan, who\u2019s the party\u2019s finance spokesperson, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cMinister Donohoe has told the Finance Committee that the bulk of windfall corporation tax receipts are being used to fund day-to-day spending.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government is repeating the same mistakes as the past \u2013 disproportionately relying on transient taxes to fund critical services. We all know where that led.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs it stands, we are utterly reliant on revenue which could disappear in an instant if a small number of multinational companies change their taxation arrangements.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis government constantly claims it is fiscally prudent, but overruns in day-to-day public spending are likely to top \u20ac2 billion this year. This is not sustainable.<\/p>\n
\u201cWindfall receipts are being used to fund the bare necessities while our crumbling infrastructure lags 25% far behind our European Union peers – with a threadbare healthcare system and massive deficits in the quality of our water and transport systems.<\/p>\n
\u201cPart of the problem is that the budgetary process is broken. There is no effective framework for fiscal policy and no formal guide for budgetary policy. Budgetary forecasts do not adequately reflect the growing challenges of changing demographics and climate change.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government needs to practice what it preaches \u2013 fiscal sustainability and proper budgetary planning. Plans need to be put in place to resolve current issues, in housing and healthcare, as well as dealing with future challenges, like changing demographics.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs preparations for Budget 2026 begin in earnest, the Minister for Finance must reform the budgetary process, ensure current spending is sustainable and ensure enormous deficits in infrastructure are finally dealt with.\u201d<\/p>\n
1st July, 2025<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Minister for Finance must wake up to the threats facing our economy, according to Social Democrats acting leader Cian O\u2019Callaghan. Deputy O\u2019Callaghan, who\u2019s the party\u2019s finance spokesperson, said: \u201cMinister Donohoe has told the Finance Committee that the bulk of windfall corporation tax receipts are being used to fund day-to-day spending. \u201cThe government is repeating […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11216,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[278,88,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cian-ocallaghan","category-finance","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n