Ifac warns Government over spending in Budget 2027

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Fancy retiring to the sun? Fiona Reddan has some advice for you. Photograph: Getty Images
Fancy retiring to the sun? Fiona Reddan has some advice for you. Photograph: Getty Images

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The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (Ifac) has warned that the Government’s proposed budgetary package is “larger” than what it considers appropriate for the economy.

However, it said the bigger concern was that the final package could differ substantially from what is announced on budget day.

“Spending overruns have become routine and have repeatedly pushed spending above budget-day plans,” the council said in a pre-budget submission published on Tuesday. Eoin Burke-Kennedy has the details.

Our resident sage Cantillon stays with the topic of the upcoming budget and notes the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council maintains that budgets are drawn up and delivered every October only to be torpedoed by spending overruns and supplementary estimates the following year.

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Aer Lingus and its pilots abruptly ended jobs cuts talks after splitting over the involvement of a trade union body representing workers across the Irish carrier’s owner, International Airlines Group (IAG).

The Irish company opposes the IAG European Works Council’s argument that the airline’s parent should consult with it on Aer Lingus’s plans to cut 500 jobs, including 70 pilots, 140 cabin crew and 290 head office staff, before local talks begin, reports Barry O’Halloran

The conflict in the Middle East has contributed to Irish commercial construction project costs rising by the largest rate in several years.

New data from the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) tender price index showed commercial construction prices increased by 3 per cent in the first half of 2026.

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The findings are in sharp contrast to the body’s previous index published in February of this year, which showed cost inflation in the commercial building sector was at the lowest rate for five years. In the space of six months, the inflation rate has trebled. Killian Woods reports.

Q&A expert Dominic Coyle notes that the UK has tightened the rules for Irish residents looking to beef up British state pension rights as he deals with a reader’s question on the topic.

Fiona Reddan, in Your Money, takes a look at how some of the more popular locations tax Irish people, whether you are moving just for a change of scene or for a retirement in the sun.

For years, Amazon has persuaded tens of millions of people to use its Prime Video app to subscribe to other services, such as HBO Max or Apple TV, and to watch shows such as The Pitt or Ted Lasso from within the retail giant’s digital walls.

Now, other streaming leaders are sprinting to catch up, writes John Koblin in our media column.

Cantillon also notes that the DCC takeover deal will be put before all shareholders on September 18th. Quite what retail investors are to make of it has yet to be determined. But actions, you suspect, speak louder than words.

If you’d like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money, the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.

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