Budget 2025 shows a clear lack of intent from an unambitious government to lift or even seriously ease the hardships faced by Ireland’s working people.

The government has failed once again to raise the minimum wage to a living wage. The Living Wage Technical Group calculates this to be €14.75 per hour at present, while the latest budget only raises the minimum wage to €13.50 per hour. It is not just minimum wage workers who gain very little. As Social Justice Ireland notes, a couple with a single earner on €30,000 will be merely 55c better off per week. Meanwhile, the Economic & Social Research Institute has described households as “slightly worse off” when the last five budgets are taken together, noting that even middle income earners make only slight increases. Given the current state of things, this means that many workers are likely to continue suffering hardship in 2025.

It is notable that Fine Gael, in their own words, are “backing business.” Knowing their audience, the party recently posted a graphic on social media gloating about the fact that there will be no increases in sick days available to workers. It is clear whose side this government is on, and it’s not the side of working people.

Those on social welfare also fare poorly in this budget. The €12 increase falls short of the government’s own target, set back in 2007, to raise the rate to 27.5% of average weekly earnings. An increase of €25 would have been needed to achieve this, while the announced increase does not reach even half of that. While one-off lump sum payments continue, these remain clearly inadequate. The Irish Times reports that the child poverty rate is likely to remain unchanged after this budget kicks in. The government has also cut the household energy credit from €450 to €250. The Economic & Social Research Institute has expressed the view that poverty amongst the elderly and disabled people is likely to rise because of the budget.

This budget offers very little at best and will leave others worse off than they were already. Once again, those in government have decided to stick their heads in the sand. They refuse to improve the efficiency and affordability of public services. The mass construction of mixed-income public housing, a universally-accessible National Health Service and more are neglected in favour of the neoliberalism that leaves our quality of life in the hands of the market. Even with the record surplus, the €13 billion owed to the state in taxes by Apple, the talk of this being a giveaway budget ahead of a general election and all of their talk that Ireland is prospering, the government is hoping that Irish workers will believe in these massive improvements that don’t actually exist in our lives.