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Ireland's political and cultural magazine
28 October-November
Ireland’s Budget 2025, presented by Finance Minister Jack Chambers (33) on 1 October.
Key components included tax cuts, social welfare increases, and significant investments
in housing and businesses, all aimed at supporting individuals and stimulating economic
growth.
The budget delivers on income tax changes by increasing the threshold for the higher
40% rate by €2,000 to €44,000 and cutting the Universal Social Charge (USC) from 4% to
3%. Personal tax credits, including personal, employee, and earned income credits, will
increase by €125. The minimum wage will increase to €13.50. There will be a “baby boost”
payment of €420 for newborns.
For social welfare recipients, the budget promises a €12 weekly increase in payments,
with additional rises for qualified children — €4 for children under 12 and €8 for those over
12. Carers benefit from a €150 boost to the Carer’s Support Grant, and a series of one-off
payments are introduced, such as a €400 lump sum for working families and a €200
payment for those living alone.
To address the housing crisis, €3.2 billion is allocated to social and affordable housing
projects. The Help to Buy scheme is extended until 2029, and the renters’ tax credit is
increased by €250, to €1,000 per year. Stamp duty was increased to 6% for houses worth
over €1.5m. Capital Acquisitions Tax thresholds were increased. The Residential Zoned
Land tax will proceed.Rate of carbon tax on petrol and diesel will increase from €56 to
€63.50 per tonne of CO2.
The Budget also focuses on cost-of-living including energy relief, with two electricity
credits of €125 and an extension of the reduced 9% VAT rate on electricity and gas.
Business supports include an increase in the tax-free limit for non-cash employee benefits.
The Budget appears to have been popular, though concern was expressed by commentators
that there was no overall vision and that it could lead to budgetary problems and inflation.
We need a reforming
zeal in everything we do
so that we drive service
delivery, particularly
in housing and critical
infrastructure
A
s Jack Chambers was preparing
Budget 2025, Village editor,
Michael Smith, interviewed him in
the Department of Finance which
was still emptying out at 7 in the
evening. Another interview focusing on the
State’s finances and the Budget has been
published on Village’s website but this
interview is about his background, motivation
and philosophy.
Chambers — attended by an advisor — was
relaxed, chatty, on top of his brief, and upbeat
throughout; and generous with his time.
Background
How were you influenced by ) your
childhood nd b) your bckground?
I think everyone is influenced by these to
varying degrees. I spent my early years in
Galway having been born there, before moving
to Dublin. My parents both came from rural
parts of County Mayo and farm families before
they moved to Galway so the importance of
education was always emphasised in my
family. Sport has also played a central role in
my life and some of my happiest memories are
at matches with my Dad. Seeing Mayo
succeeding in taking Sam back to the West
would be a dream!
NEWS
Jack Chambers,
Minister for Finance
THE VILLAGE INTERVIEW
By Michael Smith
Tell us bou your educion
I spent my early years in the West and then my
family moved to Castleknock in Dublin 15
where I attended St Brigid’s National School –
a fantastic school in the heart of the local
community. I went to Belvedere College and
then studied Law and Political Science in Trinity
College before studying medicine in RCSI.
That’s the formal education. Politics teaches
you so much more about life and people.
Budget received s bonnz but Sinn Féin criticised the government
s “seril wsters...incpble of delivering rel chnge”
VillageOctNov24.indb 28 03/10/2024 14:27
October-November 29
When you rined o be docor were
you moving wy from Lw nd
Poliics?
I always had an interest in medicine and
science so becoming a doctor was always
something I wanted to pursue when I was
younger. Law and political science in Trinity
really spurred on my interest in politics, the
economy and current affairs. Medicine and
politics are quite similar and I have always
been motivated to help the people who need
it, and I see natural symmetry between
medicine and politics.
Politics
What is your political philosophy/
vision for Ireland?
Ireland has to become a better state and not
just a bigger state. We need to ensure public
services actually deliver and that taxpayers get
value for money in the investments the State
makes. We need a reforming zeal in everything
we do so that we drive service delivery,
particularly in housing and critical
infrastructure.
Who re your poliicl heroes,
nionlly nd inernionlly; nd
why?
Brian Lenihan was central in sparking my
interest in politics and getting involved locally.
He is someone who showed exemplary public
service, commitment and dedication to his
country, in the toughest of times. His portrait
is on the wall in my office and I am regularly
reminded of all he did for his party and our
country.
Is i fir o describe you, s socilly
nd economiclly conservive?
Absolutely not. I am open-minded and believe
in politics you have to be pragmatic, and can’t
be wedded to strict ideology.
Do you believe in equliy? Wh ype
nd wh does i men?
Building greater opportunities for everyone to
achieve greater equality in our society is of
central importance to me. We must always
strive to help those who have less and ensure
progressivity in the decisions we take. Building
a fairer and more equal society is essential in
policy choices that are made.
What re your min chievemens in
poliics?
I’ll leave that to the people who elect me who I
am honoured to represent, and others, during
my time in opposition and in Government. I am
always ambitious and focused to drive policy
direction in my respective roles but it is for
others to judge any achievements in time.
Micheál Mrin, Dev or Berie?
It is an honour to serve in Government and to
work with Micheal Martin as leader of Fianna
Fáil. An incredibly focused and determined
leader in our country who truly cares about
delivering for communities and our economy.
Both Bertie and Dev were excellent leaders in
their time as well.
Is here ny difference beween your
poliics nd hose of Michel Mrin
nd Michel McGrh?
All three of us share a deep commitment to an
open and pro-enterprise economy which
allows us to invest in public services and
delivery positive outcomes for families and
communities. We are truly motivated to make
a difference for the long-term future of Ireland
and the people in communities across Ireland.
Do you hink your poliics is he sme
s Finn Fil’s?
I do. I’m from a split household where my
mother’s family were Fine Gael supporters but
I was always drawn to Fianna Fáil’s approach
and policies which are rooted in representing
everyone in our communities. Other parties
talk about doing good but Fianna Fáil has the
track record and we are continuing this in
Government now.
Economics
What re he dngers o he
economy nd re ) globl
recession nd b) n Irish recession
ner-erm possibiliies?
The major risks to our economy are the four Ds
– demographics, decarbonisation,
digitalisation and deglobalisation which pose
considerable challenges for us. However,
these also present opportunities for the Irish
economy if we invest in our people through
upskilling and training as well as investing in
our public infrastructure.
Is Trump Presidency risk?
It certainly presents risk and possibilities of
disruption, as it did on his previous term, but
then some of the risk didn’t necessarily
crystallise. However, some of the Trump
policies in lots of areas are a present risk.
What were your key prioriies in he
Budge?
Giving workers and families a break after a
prolonged period of inflation and serious cost
of living pressures. The key indicators are all
very positive in terms of falling inflation and
rising wage growth but people sill aren’t
feeling it in their pockets. Investing in public
infrastructure is a major component of Budget
2025 across housing, energy, water and
transport infrastructure. Businesses have
been emphasising to me the need for this
investment to be competitive and to attract
talent.
How re you curiling inflion?
Thankfully inflation is much improved from
previous months and years. Ireland recorded
the third lowest rate of inflation in the EU for
August, at 1.1% – down from almost 5% in
August 2023 – while the Eurozone average
was higher at 2.2p%. It is now at 0.2% in
September. We’ve taken a balanced approach
where we have been able to support families
and workers through targeted measures
without adding to cost rises. The data show
this has been the correct approach.
Is our xion sysem fir? Is our
corpore x regime ehicl?
Yes, and this is backed up by international
assessments which have found we have one
of the fairest and most equitable taxation
systems. Developments at OECD level through
the BEPS process and Pillar 1 and 2 agreements
means there is much more alignment on
different countries’ tax regimes.
Are we oo relin on MNCs (including
for x)?
We are being responsible by not relying on the
windfall revenue from Corporation Tax and
instead using these proceeds for our two new
long term funds – the Future Ireland Fund and
Infrastructure, Climate, Nature Fund. We need
to continue to build our indigenous economy
and support future Foreign Direct Investment
to diversify growth and build wider
opportunities for Ireland in the future.
Do we have enough capital taxes? Are you in
favour of higher property taxes?
I think our current property tax system works
well within our economy. Capital Gains Tax is
high in Ireland relative to other European
countries, and merits examination and
continuing review to drive further investment
and growth particularly in non-property related
activities.
“We pre-emptively monitor the impct of
the Budget for qulity of life, environment
nd equlity, using Gini Coefficient, nd
decile, mesures”
VillageOctNov24.indb 29 03/10/2024 14:27
30 October-November
Have quliy of life indicors moved
cenre sge s promised?
Quality of life and wellbeing are central
considerations in all Government decisions.
They were key themes in Budget 2025. A
Wellbeing framework is published every year
which assesses our performance across a
range of headings and this feeds into the
Summer Economic Statement and budgetary
process. The indicators show we are making
progress in most areas and rank above the EU
and OECD average for key wellbeing metrics.
Social
Do you expec he curren
governmen o improve inequliy
during is ime in office. Under wh
mesure? By how much? Wh is he
governmen’s record so fr?
This government has dramatically improved
inequality across our communities and that is
backed up by the facts. I saw statistics earlier
this year that showed that over the last 3
decades, real incomes increased three-fold
while income inequality fell.
We do pre-emptive assessments of the
impact of the budget not just on GDP or GNI on
the environment and equality, using a
combination of the Gini Co-efficient and decile-
oriented measures. I get a readout before
decisions are take. The tax measures this
government has taken have been highly
progressive. 20% of the population pay 80%
of the tax. We are a wealthier country and a
more equal society. I wouldn’t want to be a
member of a Government which didn’t take
tackling inequality seriously. There has been a
real focus on addressing child poverty in his
government and Budget 2025 is another
progressive Budget that supports those
families who need it most.
Do you hink he governmen is
mking progress on housing nd
helh?
Yes, on both fronts. The Government has
delivered more than 115,000 homes since
taking office in 2020. This is more than were
built in the previous 9 years combined. There
were more than 50,000 commencements in
the past 12 months. There is no doubt much
more to be done and building needs to be
ramped up again. We will be publishing
updated housing targets for the coming period
which will take account of our changing
demographics. But the truth is there are
thousands of families housed today because
of the policies and the initiatives this
Government has implemented.
On health, we have provided unprecedented
investment in the frontline of the health system
which is helping to drive delivery of improved
patient outcomes. For example, the number of
patients on trolleys in the first half of the year
was down 14%, meaning 7,800 fewer patients
were waiting on trolleys for a hospital bed. An
additional 28,500 people are working in our
health service since the end of 2019 and there
are 1,182 more acute hospital beds.
What do you hink of Sinn Féin’s
housing policy?
I think their policy would seriously risk overall
supply and undermine the progress we have
made in housing in the last 4 years. More
fundamentally, I don’t think people will be
happy with a situation where there is question
marks over who actually owns the property
and the land under it. Sinn Féin wants to control
people’s property rights and there are now
serious questions on whether the banks would
lend to their new housing plan which could
completely detail the supply of housing in
Ireland.
Isn’t here n ideologicl obscle
o be overcome o provide more
housing?
I believe in the State playing a central role in
scaling the delivery of all forms of housing; and
the Government under Darragh O’ Brien has
advanced this objective but there is more to
do. There are lots of obstacles to overcome to
ramp up housebuilding. I don’t believe
ideology is a significant one. Reform of our
planning laws, financing, availability of land
and ensuring we have the workforce to
increasing housing supply are more obvious
challenges we as a Government have worked
hard to try and tackle.
What resricions re pproprie on
borion?
I support the current constitutional and legal
position as the people voted for and the
Oireachtas legislated for following the
referendum. I am open-minded to further
changes and will await recommendations from
Minister Donnelly.
Climate Chnge
Are we clime lggrds?
Although progress towards 51% emissions by
2030 is difficult, we are using the levers within
our gift for example we have engaged the
Department of Transport and other
departments and are trying to make progress.
I think what’s being really important for this
government is where we’ve come from. If you
think of the institutional structures that have
been established, changes and carbon limits
for all departments and the changes we’ve
made around ring fencing of the carbon tax,
for example. But we haven’t yet achieved the
full emissions profile and I accept that.
Transportation
Will his governmen hi rges of
wo hirds new expendiure on public
rnsporion?
There has been a sea change in how
Government invests in public transportation.
I saw it first hand in my time in the Department
of Transport. We delivered a new rural bus
route every week last year which is helping to
transform our rural communities. The same
for the Safe Routes to School programme I
had responsibility for, which not only
increases the number of children using active
travel to get school, but make our villages and
towns more accessible to everyone. However,
there have been challenges with certain
projects based on the ratio and the allocations
in the last couple of years. I’m strongly in
favour of increased investment in public
transport and have seen first-hand the
transformative impact of such investment in
our rural towns and communities in particular
from my time in Transport. However, for the
future we need to examine if a ratio is the best
way to manage wider investment priorities.
Both new public transport and certain road
projects for wider regional development have
merit for funding.
Will he Glwy bypss be buil?
As someone born in Galway City, I really hope
so; and I am confident it will. Like Michael
McGrath told you last year, we have to respect
the planning process and continue to invest in
public transport and other roads infrastructure
in the region while this process continues.
General
Do you expec o replce Michel
Mrin nd when?
I’ve been solely focused on the Budget.
Micheál is a phenomenal leader of our country
and our party and the Irish people have great
trust in him. I fully support him and his
leadership.
I am absolutely not
socially and economically
conservative. I am open-
minded and believe in
politics you have to be
pragmatic, and can’t be
wedded to strict ideology’
VillageOctNov24.indb 30 03/10/2024 14:27
