Budget

Last week’s budget raised worrying questions about policy

Increase in amount available to first-time buyers of new homes creates confusion for those who have already applied

Numbers availing of tax-free income have increased steadily in recent years, with student tenants a target

Public sector industrial action presents a big challenge for parents and patients amid escalation of dispute

Despite the corporate tax boom, Irish budgets are not boosting real spending power. There’s one good reason for that

The budget overrun in the health service could reach €1bn by the end of year, despite spending curbs being put in place

No desire in Government to ‘rerun’ drama over RTÉ governance, Simon Harris says

Not yet restored as a leadership contender perhaps, but the Minister for Public Expenditure’s stock is higher than it has been for a long time

Government tax and spending announcements used to be anxiously awaited

First of two scheduled walkouts will bring widespread disruption, with further escalation possible in November

Climate change and energy experts have their say on the reasons for the budget U-turn – and whether they will work

Fraught last-minute haggling in back rooms dominated the final days of negotiations as spending Minister Jack Chambers dug in

The Irish State has become a monstrously bloated organisation that has lost all sense of value for money

The system’s shortcomings have been laid bare by the absurd contortions over funding for RTÉ

The Government needs to outline what happens next

Feminist analysis criticises lack of investment in hormone replacement therapy and fertility treatment

Almost all schools likely to close next Wednesday and again a week later as public service dispute escalates

Inside Politics: Hard to know who’ll blink first in standoff between Government and public sector unions

Minister announces record €650m-plus funding for next year for sector

Inside Politics podcast with Hugh Linehan

On The Money: How will this new savings scheme work and is it right for you?

For most people the value of tax cuts looks likely to be more than cancelled out by inflation

The suspension of foreign aid by the US administration has set the trend, but Ireland must not follow it

We were told this budget was intended to reward those who ‘get up early’

Watchdog is consistently ignored with a gentle pat on the head

Taoiseach and Tánaiste’s offices intervene with Patrick O’Donovan ahead of crunch meeting with broadcaster’s leadership

Older people deserve the right to live without fear of poverty or loneliness

Or is accountability something best demanded of others, like RTÉ?

Radio: RTÉ host’s precision-guided dismantling of Government’s thinly spread profligacy is arguably more lethal than the brickbats of Opposition TDs

Country acts like it’s poor when it’s actually rich and should be thinking more strategically about its wealth

Minister says she is ‘cautiously optimistic’ and excited by AI - but also has concerns over its impact on Irish labour market

In 2022, Simon Harris accepted that there was an annual gap of €307m

Jim O’Callaghan and Garda Representative Association clash over recruitment and retention of Garda members

Broadcaster’s managing director and chairman Terence O’Rourke met Patrick O’Donovan for just over an hour

In the News podcast: Jack Horgan-Jones has the latest on a Budget 2027 row

Coimisiún na Meán said broadcaster would face ‘particularly acute’ cash flow issues in 2027

Investors need to realise they are going to be largely on their own when it comes to assessing risk

Protests are planned in advance of work stoppages that will begin in public health service next week

The cost of filling a 1,000 litre domestic oil tank has gone up €400 since June and July

Inside Politics: Minister has central role in row over the ‘culture card’ and his decision to cut State subvention to RTÉ by €20 million