Ireland’s opposition parties have sharply criticised the Government’s new budget, accusing it of prioritising developers, landlords, and large corporations over ordinary workers and families. Sinn Féin, Labour, and the Social Democrats said the financial plans fail to address key social challenges such as the cost-of-living crisis, housing shortages, and child poverty.
Speaking in the Dáil, Sinn Féin’s finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty said the Government’s proposals “bear no connection with what’s actually going on out there in the real world.” He argued that the budget “abandons workers and families to focus on the top” and accused ministers of offering “big tax breaks for the wealthy” while “people on €30,000 to €40,000 get nothing.”
“This should have been a cost-of-living budget,” Deputy Doherty said. “Developers and landlords are getting tax breaks of hundreds of thousands of euro. You’re hoping people will forget this by the next election, but they won’t — because you’ve royally shafted them.”
Social Democrats finance spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan also condemned the budget, calling it “a bonanza for big developers” and “a McBudget” that rewards multinational fast-food chains and property investors. He said the Government’s decision to reduce the VAT rate for certain sectors would hand “millions in extra profits” to companies like McDonald’s and Starbucks.
“This is a budget characterised by bad choices and missed opportunities,” O’Callaghan said. “It prioritises vested interests instead of helping those struggling with the cost-of-living or trying to keep a roof over their heads.”
He added that the €1.3 billion in foregone tax revenue could have been used to lift 40,000 children out of poverty, expand childcare supports, cut third-level fees, and accelerate the delivery of affordable housing.
Labour’s housing spokesperson Conor Sheehan echoed the criticism, describing the financial plan as “a Galway tent budget” — a reference to the party tents associated with the Celtic Tiger era’s developer culture. He said the Government was “choosing to forgo €390 million annually to give developers a VAT cut on apartments, with no strings attached.”
Sheehan claimed that when other tax incentives are included, the total support for developers could reach €563 million per year. “At a time when 5,145 children live in homelessness and over 220,000 are below the poverty line, this giveaway is truly incredible,” he said.
He also dismissed the Government’s planned derelict property tax as another delay tactic, warning that, based on past experience, “it will be years before we see real progress.”
The three opposition parties agreed that the 2025 budget fails to tackle Ireland’s most urgent social and economic challenges, arguing instead that it serves the interests of the well-connected.
