The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has published its pre-Budget submission ahead of Budget day which will take place on Tuesday 1st October.

Congress general secretary Owen Reidy said the Budget is an opportunity to address the need “to develop a cohesive strategy to ensure consistent well-being gains over the next generation for everyone in Irish society.”

He added that Congress believes the government’s economic goals should be based on four mutually reinforcing pillars:

• A high-productivity economy
• Labour market participation and good jobs for all that want it
• Economic security for all
• Economic stability with dynamism

Owen added: “We need to re-imagine and re-design our economic model in order to build a sustainable, prosperous and inclusive economy for all. We want to avoid the booms and busts that have caused such huge pain in the past, and to protect people from the ups and downs of the international economy even though we recognise that engagement is critical.”

He said the pandemic crisis had already shown that basic public services, good employment, and the broader welfare state are “the indispensable bedrocks underpinning people’s economic well-being.”

Congress is of the firm view that there can be ‘no going back’ to the old economic model: “Our view is that we need to develop a cohesive strategy to ensure consistent well-being gains over the next generation for everyone in Irish society. 

“We believe that a longer-term strategic and structural approach should determine our budgetary policy, our approach to the provision of public services, to welfare policy and to the sustainability of our tax base, in a world increasingly characterised by disruptive megatrends,” he said.

With less than four weeks to Budget 2025, there have been very robust exchequer returns again this year. This week it was reported that overall tax revenues stood at €59.8bn at the end of last month, €6.7bn ahead of last year. Tax receipts of €7.4bn were collected in August, up over €2bn (40%) on the same month last year, of which €3.7bn was corporation tax, up €1.9bn on August of last year.

Read the full submission here. 

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