{"id":13722,"date":"2025-10-01T15:04:55","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T14:04:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/?p=13722"},"modified":"2025-10-01T15:04:55","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T14:04:55","slug":"social-democrats-publish-alternative-budget-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/ga\/social-democrats-publish-alternative-budget-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Democrats publish Alternative Budget 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Budget 2026 must strike a balance between protecting our economic security, dealing with the long-term challenges we face as a society, and providing targeted support to hard-pressed households, according to Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns.<\/p>\n

Speaking at today\u2019s launch of \u2018Better Services, Stronger Communities \u2013 Alternative Budget 2026\u2019, Deputy Cairns said:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we launched our Alternative Budget this time last year, I warned that the government was squandering record budget surpluses. Instead of investing wisely, they attempted to buy the election.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, now that there is no election on the horizon, the government has suddenly realised that non-targeted one-off measures are not wise. While I\u2019m glad they\u2019ve finally come around to our way of thinking, it is a pity it took them so long.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne-off measures are welcome in the moment, but they don\u2019t last and don\u2019t make tangible differences \u2013 not to the lives of people with disabilities; not to households choosing between heating or eating; not to the children experiencing consistent poverty or living in homeless emergency accommodation.<\/p>\n

\u201cEarly indications point to another Budget that will just tinker around the edges, with unimaginative measures like more tax breaks for big developers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Alternative Budget we are publishing today charts a different course for Ireland, focusing on targeted supports for vulnerable households, measures to reduce child poverty, increased investment in public services and a new core weekly payment to recognise the cost of disability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Social Democrats finance spokesperson Cian O\u2019Callaghan said:<\/p>\n

\u201cAll across the country, people are struggling to make ends meet. The public finances are in a strong position, but for many people, this hasn\u2019t fed through into the reality of their daily lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cIreland is now the second most expensive country in the European Union, with the price of goods and services 38 per cent above the EU average in 2024. This high cost of living has many causes, but is in part due to decades of under-investment in the kinds of public services that are free, or almost free, in other Western European countries.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the government is serious about reducing the cost of living and supporting working people and families, it should use the majority of available resources to invest in better quality public services and social infrastructure. It must tackle the high cost of those services and reduce the cost of living in areas like housing, healthcare, childcare and education.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Social Democrats\u2019 priorities in Budget 2026 include:<\/p>\n