The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has described this week’s Budget 2025 announcement as “fiscally irresponsible” and said that corporation tax receipts are being used to fuel a pre-election giveaway in a return to “reckless, pre-crash budgetary strategies.”

In a statement ICTU said the Government’s approach to this year’s budget risks placing a future tax burden on younger workers, while undermining Ireland’s capacity to improve future public services. 

ICTU said measures designed to stimulate housing with a range of tax breaks seemed “particularly perverse as it will simply push house prices even higher,” while “throwing money from tax cuts into an economy at full capacity will simply raise prices and ultimately erode the gains from the tax cuts.”

In a Budget response broadcast on Newstalk radio on Tuesday, Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan joined ICTU in welcoming the increase in the minimum wage, marking further progress toward the Government’s commitment to introduce the National Living wage (60% of hourly median wages) by January 2026.

Kevin also welcomed confirmation that pension auto-enrolment would commence in September next year, after prolonged uncertainty, and said the minimum wage increase and pension auto-enrolment are important improvements, especially for younger workers.

He added that health services continue to struggle due to suppressed posts in health services, and that major infrastructure challenges remain. He said the budget focused largely on short- and medium-term gains, and that this was to be expected in anticipation of a general election.

He also backed ICTU’s call for collective bargaining measures, as required by the full implementation of the EU Adequate Minimum Wages Directive.

ICTU general secretary Owen Reidy said that while additional infrastructure spending was welcome, it remained unclear if the Government has a strategy to encourage the supply of needed construction workers: “There will need to be much greater emphasis on funding for apprenticeships as well as better terms and conditions in the sector if we are to solve the housing crisis,” he said.

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