BUDGET NOVEMBER 25

UNIONS line up to warn of looming strikes after budget snub to workers  (Irish Independent, 9.10.2025).

“Employers face salary pressures as minimum-wage rise to create ripple effect.

“The potential for industrial action has heightened, with pressure for pay rises predicted to mount following the budget.

“Someone on a €50,000 salary is expected to pay almost €500 extra in tax, USC and PRSI next year after the Government froze income tax bands and credits” (Irish Independent, 9.10.2025).

ICTU BUDGET 2026 RESPONSE

“A Whopper of a Budget but the only worker to benefit is Ronald McDonald”

Commenting on Budget 2026, Irish Congress of Trade Unions General Secretary Owen Reidy said: 

“THE REALITY is that Budget 2026 will hurt workers. It short-changes minimum wage workers by €600 while it tells ordinary workers to hand around €250 in subsidies to profitable corporations like McDonald’s.  It does nothing to make the structural changes needed to secure our economic future.”

VAT Cut

“Whatever claims to fiscal responsibility this Government may have had have been left in tatters after a €700m corporate handout to the low-paying hospitality sector. 

“Delaying the introduction until July is fiscal gimmickry that fools no one.  This is a major corporate tax handout based entirely on anecdotal special pleading and a lack of evidence, and it will cost every taxpayer in this country €250 a year.

The hospitality sector has done very well in recent years and workers struggling with the cost of living shouldn’t be forced to give it a dig-out.

“The cut in VAT is a blunt, expensive, and unnecessary change, and the only worker who benefits is Ronald McDonald.

“Similarly, the latest slew of tax breaks for construction will prove ineffective at generating supply and will simply increase profits for developers.  A more holistic approach is needed including punitive measures to discourage land hoarding and measures to encourage workers into construction.”

Fiscally Irresponsible

“Successive governments have now been warned about the need to reduce the reliance on corporate tax windfalls, but time and again, these warnings go unheeded. 

“It is neither credible nor responsible to continue relying on these windfalls at the same time as narrowing the tax base.  The Government should have taken a longer-term view, acknowledging that, without the corporate tax windfall, the public finances would be billions in deficit.  The current approach is short-sighted and unwise.”

“Last July, the trade union movement launched its New Economic Model, setting out how Ireland can create a productive economy that supports workers, while ensuring that the public finances remain sustainable. We will continue to press the government to adopt these measures.”

Minimum wage

“If Government hadn’t reneged on its commitment to over 200,000 of the country’s lowest paid workers to reach 60% of the median wage from January, the Minimum Wage would be increasing by 95 cents to €14.45 instead of just 65 cents.  Adding on another three-year wait for a living wage, leaves minimum wage workers up to €600 out of pocket next year alone. 

“It beggars belief that Minimum Wage workers are being short-changed by up to €600 by Government at a time when the labour market and general economic environment have never been stronger.  Unions aren’t alone in this view.  The Low Pay Commission is unanimous in recommending Government keep their decision to delay the living wage until 2029 under constant review.”

A positive:-  Investment in Infrastructure 

“Despite the many shortcomings elsewhere in the Budget, we welcome the increased investment in infrastructure. Congress agrees with the analysis that Ireland is suffering from significant infrastructure deficits across a swathe of areas including the energy grid, the water grid, housing and transport.  All of this is having a hugely detrimental impact on workers.  It is therefore encouraging to see a €2bn additional capital allocation.

However, increased budgets are not enough by themselves.  We have a significant shortage of workers in construction and without better terms and conditions in the sector and a drive to increase apprenticeships and work permits we will not succeed in unlocking extra housing and better infrastructure.”

Forsa Budget 2026 Statement

Fórsa General Secretary, Kevin Callinan has warned that Budget 2026 will have major implications for wage bargaining across the economy.

Speaking on Budget 2026, Fórsa’s General Secretary has said that Trade Unions will need to review their bargaining strategies for the months ahead.

He said: 

“Tax bands and allowances aren’t indexed and cost of living measures like energy credits are being discontinued. So the only way living standards can be maintained is through higher wage increases. It’s a two-pronged attack on workers.”

“This will have a significant effect on how wage bargaining is approached, including in the public service when the current public sector pay agreement runs out in June of next year”, he went on to say.

Mr. Callinan is General Secretary of Fórsa, which represents over 90,000 public sector workers.  He is also chair of the Public Services Committee of ICTU and leads negotiations on pay for approximately 400,000 public servants.

He continued: 

“Most trade unions in the private and public sectors will be reviewing their bargaining strategies in the light of the apparent decision to let workers bear the brunt of the belt-tightening.”

“What makes it more galling is the fact that tax bands could be adjusted for all workers for the full year instead of reducing VAT for the hospitality industry.  This is clearly a political choice and one that isn’t underpinned by the evidence, as employment overall has grown in the sector”

“At a time when the economy continues to perform well, you could be forgiven for thinking that we were back in the austerity years.  This is how workers will see it, as the cost-of-living crisis is far from over for many of them.

“Adjusting personal tax bands and allowances is a modest and prudent measure. The choice not to do so could have a much greater cost if industrial uncertainty and conflict ensues. Such a scenario is looking far more likely now”, Mr. Callinan General Secretary of Fórsa went on to say.

SIPTU Budget 2026 Statement

SIPTU Deputy General Secretary for the Private Sector, Greg Ennis, whose Union represents almost 90,000 workers in the private sector, has said that a proposed increase of just 67 cents to the minimum wage would be “another slap in the face from Government to low paid workers”.

He said: 

“These low paid workers in essential roles within the Irish economy were promised by this Government that a Living Wage would be achieved in 2026.  The Government misled tens of thousands of workers by pushing such achievements out to at least 2029 within weeks of being elected into office.

“This same pre-election ruse was used in promising to abolish sub-minimum wage rates and to increase occupational sick pay to seven days on 1st January 2025. True to form, these promises have now vanished, while the Government may well push ahead with a €1 billion tax cut by way of a VAT reduction to employers in the hospitality sector, ironically, a sector notorious for low pay and poor terms and conditions of employment.”

He added: 

“What workers need is a Living Wage and the right to collectively bargain with their employer, so they can live in an economy marked by an ongoing cost of living crisis, extortionate rents and unaffordable housing.  The Government’s Action Plan to promote collective bargaining, which it is legally obliged to deliver, is critical to improving the lives of working people.  Alongside this, the long overdue implementation of a real Living Wage must happen, €14.17 will simply not do.”

IRISH INFLATION rises notably to 2.7% in September—Food prices, which rose by 4.7% in the 12 months to September, continue to outpace inflation.

While food prices fell marginally on a monthly basis, down 0.2% compared to August, they have risen by 4.7% over the last 12 months.

Irish inflation ticked up notably in September, but was outpaced by a 5% annual rise in the price of food, latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.  UK inflation stands at 3.8%.  The EU Rate is 2.2%.

HANG ON TO YOUR SHIRT—The first sign of the 2008 Crash was a drop in the sale of football shirts.  The phenomenon appears to be happening again says Eoin McGettigan, who currently chairs two Irish companies.  (Irish Examiner, 7.10.2025)

IRISH INFLATION rises notably to 2.7% in September—Food prices, which rose by 4.7% in the 12 months to September, continue to outpace inflation.

While food prices fell marginally on a monthly basis, down 0.2% compared to August, they have risen by 4.7% over the last 12 months.

Irish inflation ticked up notably in September, but was outpaced by a 5% annual rise in the price of food, latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show. 

New data released on Tuesday found inflation, when measured using the EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), rose by 2.7% in the 12 months to September, up from 1.9% in August. 

While food prices fell marginally on a monthly basis, down 0.2% compared to August, they rose by 4.7% over the last 12 months.  Meanwhile, energy prices, which also fell on a monthly basis, were up by 1% compared to September 2024.

PUBLIC DEBT—The State owes about €40,500 per person in Ireland, according to a new report from the Department of Finance on public debt, a figure that it notes is high relative to other advanced economies.

The debt of €218 billion equates to 68% of gross national income, a measure of economic activity that strips out the distorting effect of the Multi-National sector.

The Department of Finance expects that this will fall to 63.4% this year and 60.7% by the end of next year.  The decline in per-capita debt would be more modest under those projections, falling to €39,000 by the end of 2026.

Although this has come down from a high seen during the pandemic, this is due largely to growth in the economy, which, along with booming Corporation Tax receipts, led to budgetary surpluses.

BRENDAN OGLE loses discrimination appeal—

UNITE Union Official had claimed that his duties had been downgraded after his return from cancer treatment (RTE7.10.2025).

Trade Union official Brendan Ogle has lost a Labour Court appeal of a discrimination case taken against his employer, Unite.

“Mr. Ogle told the court hearing in July that he had the most senior role in the union in Ireland prior to his diagnosis in July 2021” (Irish Independent, 8.10.2025).

Mr. Ogle had claimed that his duties had been downgraded after his return from cancer treatment and that he been discriminated against, a claim denied by Unite.

In October last year Mr. Ogle lost a case at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) after it found that changes to his role at Unite were not related to his status as a cancer survivor.

An appeal of that ruling was heard by the Labour Court in July.

Mr. Ogle said the rejection of his appeal was a very disappointing outcome.

“But it reflects more on the Labour Court—and on the WRC before it—than it does on me”, Mr. Ogle said.

“As someone who dedicated his adult life to representing workers, some in really difficult situations, it gives me absolutely no pleasure to have to say that”, he added.

Unite said it welcomed the Labour Court ruling.

“In rejecting each of Mr Ogle’s claims, the Court upheld the previous findings of the Workplace Relations Commission, which had also comprehensively dismissed the allegations”, a spokesperson said.

“Unite stands firmly against all forms of discrimination. We are satisfied that both the Labour Court and the WRC have confirmed that Unite meets the high standards we expect from all employers and institutions”, Unite added.

Mr. Ogle represented himself at the Labour Court appeal and began the hearing by telling the court that in May this year he was informed by Unite that, if the case was unsuccessful, he would be subject to disciplinary proceedings by the Uunion, something which he said was putting him under undue pressure.

Senior Counsel for Unite, Mark Harty, told the court that Mr. Ogle had been notified that a grievance had been raised against him but that he was not going to be disciplined.

Mr. Ogle told the court that he underwent cancer treatment between July 2021 and July 2022.

Prior to his diagnosis, Mr Ogle said he held a substantial position within Unite and was the Union’s most senior official in the Republic of Ireland.

He said he underwent a return-to-work interview in July 2022, having been passed fit by a doctor to return to his job with some minor adjustments.

Mr. Ogle claimed that, rather than facilitating his return to work, the interview was used to prevent him returning to duties for which he had been passed medically fit.

He said his line-manager spent most of the interview trying to get him to take a different position in Dundalk.

Mr. Ogle told the court that, in August 2022, he had a meeting with senior Unite official, Tom Fitzgerald, who said he had been asked to draw up a strategic plan for the Union for the Republic of Ireland and that Mr. Ogle was not to be in it.

Mr. Ogle said Mr. Fitzgerald had used a white board in his office to outline the new plan.

During the original WRC hearing, Mr. Fitzgerald strenuously denied Mr. Ogle’s account of events.

Outlining Unite’s case, Mr. Harty told the Labour Court that Mr. Ogle’s allegations were “wholly false”, and that he was trying to“shoehorn” a complaint about the reorganisation of posts into an equality case.

Mr. Harty said that, while Mr. Ogle had a substantial role in Unite, it was not as substantial or as singular as Mr. Ogle had maintained.

Mr. Harty said Mr Ogle was focused on political campaigns.

He told the court that, when Sharon Graham became General Secretary of Unite in August 2021, she was elected on a platform to shift the Union’s focus from politics to industrial issues.

Mr. Harty said that this change impacted Mr Ogle’s position as his focus was political, and that the reorganising of his role was not related to his cancer.

Mr. Harty told the court that this is not how Unite behaves towards sick employees and that it had been particularly accommodating to Mr. Ogle by offering him an alternative role.

“At his request, the union facilitated a lesser and less stressful role in Dundalk, in which he would maintain his salary and benefits at the higher level”, Mr. Harty said.

“It kept that offer open to him on his return to work, but he ultimately elected not to take it”, he added.