Budget falls 'well short' of making up lost ground- ICTU says
Yesterday’s coverage of Budget 2027 produced conflicting opinions, with many arguing that this year's budget was both reckless and insufficient.
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions said that the Budget falls well short of making up any ground that workers lost in last year’s Budget.
Owen Reidy, General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, said: “This Budget is a half-hearted apology for last year's. The Government has taken some bare minimum measures, but it is far from the 'workers' budget' the Government claimed, and does not make up the ground workers have lost.
"The changes to income tax are a step in the right direction, and these changes were something trade unions have pushed for. However, they do not go far enough to make up for last year's Budget, when bands were left untouched. Once rising prices are taken into account, many workers will be no better off, and will surely seek to bridge this gap through pay negotiations in the year ahead.
"It should never be a gift from the Government that workers get to stand still for a year. Annual indexation of the tax and welfare system should be built into the Budget process, as it is in other European countries.
“The failure to re-introduce tax relief on union subscriptions, despite farmers and businesses benefitting from similar reliefs for associate organisations, demonstrates that Government either does not value or does not understand trade unions.
“Meanwhile, a commitment to a 79c increase, as recommended by the Low Pay Commission, is the least Government could do at a time of cost-of-living pressures as part of a so-called ‘workers’ budget’. We note with concern reports that the Government may break an already broken promise on the living wage, kicking the can further down the road.
"Alongside that, the Government has again left Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit out of the increases to weekly social welfare payments. That breaks the deal it made with workers, who are paying higher PRSI in return for a higher payment if they lose their job. In addition, there is still no sign of the promised Pay-Related Parent's Benefit for working families. Finally, the increases in public transport fares will leave many workers hundreds of euros a year worse off.
"Ultimately, a true workers' budget would take the uncertainty out of tax indexation, shift the burden of taxation from income to wealth, and introduce a right to collective bargaining. It would broaden the tax base rather than allow bigger tax-free gifts to family and friends, and it would invest in our public services and people to future-proof against economic shocks."