Simon Coveney: Budget 2027 to be Household Support Package, Not Tax Cuts

Former Tánaiste Simon Coveney stated on Tuesday that Budget 2027 will not be the budget the Government anticipated. Instead, the Coalition will be compelled to assemble a household support package due to escalating prices and cost-of-living pressures throughout the year.

Speaking at the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland’s (BPFI’s) annual banking conference in Dublin, Coveney, a retired Fine Gael politician and now a geopolitical strategy consultant at EY, noted that the Government had hoped to deliver a «big tax package» to boost Ireland’s economic competitiveness. However, unexpected events have placed significant pressure on Irish households.

Coveney also mentioned that April’s fuel protests «took the Government by surprise to some extent» and signaled to trade unions that there are effective ways to pressure the Government. He predicted that upcoming public sector pay talks would be more challenging than in recent years, partly due to a perceived right-left divide in Irish politics, encouraging left-wing opposition parties to support unions in pushing for change.