One-off budget measures designed to ease cost-of-living pressures are to be replaced by longer-term solutions, the Minister for Finance has said.
Paschal Donohoe said the Government would provide further supports to struggling families and individuals who continue to struggle financially.
“Over the last number of years, the last number of budgets that we have done had a series of one-off measures that were needed because inflation was so high,” he said on Monday.
“Now what we need to do is replace those kinds of measures with more permanent, targeted measures that we can build on in the time ahead.
RM Block
Mr Donohoe would not be drawn on the specifics of what would be introduced in next month’s budget.
“What the Government has clearly outlined is that we are going to find ways to keeping our country safe, creating and protecting jobs, and continuing to support families and households, as every other budget has done,” he said.
He was speaking in Limerick city where he officially launched One Opera Square, an €80 million, six-storey*, office block with space for 1,000 workers.
Comprising 12,111 sq m, the building is the first part of the 3.7 acre Opera Square development, which will be one of the largest developments ever undertaken outside of Dublin once completed.
According to Limerick City and County Council’s development company, Limerick Twenty Thirty DAC, the completed block will be the first commercial building in the region to achieve LEED Platinum, WELL Platinum, and WiredScore Platinum – the highest global standards for sustainability, wellbeing and digital connectivity.
The building will also use up to 60 per cent less energy than the average office building, it said.
The wider Opera Square development will include a landmark 14-storey tower, new city library, hotel, apartments, retail and dining units, as well as a civic plaza.
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“The project is being delivered with sensitivity to Limerick’s built heritage, preserving and repurposing 16 Georgian buildings alongside modern architecture,” Limerick Twenty Thirty said.
The launch was also hosted by the mayor of Limerick, John Moran, alongside developer Treaty Stone Partnership, a joint venture between Limerick Twenty Thirty and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) that was formed and jointly funded to develop the project.
*This article was amended on 9/9/25 as a previous version stated the office block was 12 storeys
