After the pre-election give-away comes the hangover. Tuesday is Budget Day 2026 and it is likely to be a pretty sober day for many households after the Minister for Finance confirmed there wouldn’t be any personal tax cuts.
Paschal Donohoe and Jack Chambers have also said there will not be any once-off cost-of-living payments this year either as the focus is on trying to address some of the country’s infrastructure deficits.
As Cliff Taylor notes in his column this weekend; the planned budget spending increase of €7.9 billion is simply not enough to hike welfare rates by the amount sought by Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary while also meeting promises of cheaper childcare, lower pupil-teacher ratios, measures to address child poverty, shorter queues in healthcare and so on.
“What areas are chosen for extra cash will tell a lot. What is not chosen will tell even more.”
Here is how The Irish Times will cover Budget 2026 on its website, app and social media channels. Make sure you don’t miss a thing and sign up for push notifications on Budget 2026 by downloading our free news app from the Play Store or from iTunes.
If you have some catching up to do, visit our Budget 2026 site where you will find all you need to know about what’s been happening. Here is how our Budget 2026 coverage will unfold over the coming days.
Monday
We will publish a series of case studies from a range of people hoping for different things in Budget 2026 to address challenges they have. Once the budget is published we will ask these people for their views on the measures.
Tuesday morning
Join The Irish Times for our live Budget 2026 coverage on our website and app including a live blog and a rolling list of the main points.
In the morning we will bring you all the build-up to the Ministers’ speeches, and any last-minute leaks. We’ll also keep you right up-to-date across all our social media platforms.
Lunchtime
We will provide live coverage of the budget as it is announced along with snap analysis from our economics and politics teams, along with explanations of the key measures.
You can track the key measures in our main points and also watch a live stream of the speeches.
Afternoon
Once the budget speeches are finished, we will provide quick analysis from our political, business and news teams, including columnists Cliff Taylor and Miriam Lord. We will also explain what the changes will mean for you.
Our budget calculator, in association with PwC, will let you work out what it means for your pocket.
We will also provide a special Budget 2026 newsletter. Or you can sign up to the Business Today newsletter here if you would like all our Budget 2026 news and analysis in your inbox.
Video
Along with our live stream we will be providing video analysis and reaction from Leinster House and video interviews with our budget families which Consumer Affairs Correspondent Conor Pope will give his take on the budget.
Podcasts
Business Editor Ciarán Hancock will host a special edition of the Inside Business podcast, which will be available for download on Tuesday afternoon.
Wednesday
Ask the Experts Q&A
Dominic Coyle from The Irish Times and experts from PwC will answer your Budget 2026 questions from 7am on Wednesday. You can submit questions via a form on irishtimes.com which will be published on Tuesday.
Politics Podcast
Our politics team will discuss how Chambers and Donohoe performed, in a special Inside Politics podcast that will be available on Wednesday morning.
Special Budget 2026 supplement
Published on Wednesday – and available via the epaper too – The Irish Times’s Budget 2026 print supplement will spell out exactly what the budget means for you with the latest news, top-class analysis and comment plus reaction from individuals and businesses around the country.
As always, there is much more on irishtimes.com, including rundowns of all the latest movies in our film reviews, tips for the best restaurants in our food section and all the latest in sport. There are plenty more articles exclusively available for Irish Times subscribers here.
We value your views. Please feel free to send comments, feedback or suggestions for topics you would like to see covered to feedback@irishtimes.com.
