Government rules out further cost-of-living measures despite €4.5bn surplus

/ 4th July 2025 /

One-off cost-of-living packages have once again been ruled out by Jack Chambers, the public expenditure minister, despite the Exchequer recording a surplus of €4.5 billion, writes Brian Mahon.

Exchequer returns for the last six months reveal that corporate tax generated €7.4bn last month – up €1.5bn on May.

During the first half of the year, the Exchequer recorded a surplus of €4.5bn – up €1.4bn compared to the same period last year.

Asked if a new cost-of-living package would be considered in light of ongoing high costs of living, Chambers said: "There will be additionality available within government in the context of a summer economic statement. But the decisions we make, we want to make on a sustained and permanent basis.

"We’ve had a last number of years that had one-off temporary packages sitting above other permanent decisions made, and we need to balance the risks which are real in terms of the economic context with obviously, the pressing needs that citizens have.

"Central to the decisions we make in government is improvement of living standards and supporting greater affordability of public services, but that needs to fit within the overall budgetary context for Budget 2026 rather than sitting above that on a one-off basis.

"We are cognisant of the pressure families are under but there’s ways to support families and people across society through different departments and how they prioritise in the amount of money available to them."

It comes as Paschal Donohoe, the finance minister, forecast of our corporate tax: "The profitability of large companies either begin to stabilise and then decline after many years of doing well, or you will see their profits begin to be associated more and more with the US.