{"id":107350,"date":"2025-10-07T22:28:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T22:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/107350\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T22:28:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T22:28:10","slug":"a-cafe-owner-teacher-and-farmer-on-their-budget-verdicts-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/107350\/","title":{"rendered":"A cafe owner, teacher and farmer on their budget verdicts \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eimear Killian\u2019s phone is lighting up in the aftermath of the Budget 2026<\/a> announcement, with a much lighter and brighter tone of message than the previous two budgets.<\/p>\n

This is because the VAT rate<\/a> on hospitality will be reduced from 13.5 per cent to 9 per cent from July 2026.<\/p>\n

For Killian, and her business partner Heather Connolly, who run a cafe and bakery in Spiddal, in south Connemara, a reinstatement of the rate brings relief, even if it won\u2019t come into effect until next summer. <\/p>\n

What is of concern, however, is the anticipated pressure they will face from January 1st, 2026, when the national minimum wage<\/a> increases by 65 cents to \u20ac14.15 per hour. <\/p>\n

\u201cProbably about 40 per cent of our staff are paid from minimum wage, so they will all see wage increases. But this will have a ripple effect on all the other staff, because they will come looking for 5 per cent increase too.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not feasible for us and I am expecting these questions will come my way as a result of the budget changes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re also trying to find our way through auto-enrolment<\/a>, which is mandatory from January 1st also, and how this will impact us and the costs involved too. We have a lot to wrap our heads around now.\u201d<\/p>\n

With an understanding of just how costly it can be to make ends meet these days, does she think the VAT reduction in hospitality will be passed on to customers? <\/p>\n

\u201cI really don\u2019t know but it is something we will definitely look at. We have to wait and see what the cost of food is at that time, because let\u2019s say if coffee \u2013 which has gone up by 35 per cent \u2013 increases again, you\u2019re not going to be able to absorb that increase if a cup of coffee is decreased in price.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside of the business, Killian, who is married with no children, doesn\u2019t feel the budget has put anything back in her own pocket.<\/p>\n

\u201cPersonally, I get nothing out of it \u2013 zero. Everything continues to go up, like food and petrol and diesel. It is going to be a tough year ahead for anyone earning just above the lower thresholds of income and middle income, who can claim nothing from the State.\u201d \u2013 Siobh\u00e1n Maguire<\/b><\/p>\n

Landlord: \u2018They just totally ignored landlords\u2019<\/b>\"'It’s‘It\u2019s great the retrofitting is still there, but it\u2019s minor enough to be quite honest with you, and it would not encourage anybody to remain as a landlord’, says landlord Brendan Allen <\/p>\n

\u201cFrom a landlord\u2019s point of view, it is disappointing,\u201d Brendan Allen, a former landlord and committee member of the Irish Property Owners\u2019 Association (IPOA), says of Budget 2026.<\/p>\n

The main relief for landlords in the budget is the extension for another three years of the income tax<\/a> deduction for small landlords who retrofit their properties.<\/p>\n

Under this scheme, landlords can claim up to \u20ac10,000 tax relief per property retrofitted. The number of properties landlords can claim the relief on was also increased from two to three.<\/p>\n

However, Allen says landlords are disappointed more of their concerns were not addressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey just totally ignored landlords … it\u2019s disappointing when you think landlords are providing housing, they are dealing with increased regulations, but they need to be able to afford to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although he welcomes the retrofitting relief, \u201cthe expenditure could be significant\u201d for landlords who wish to access the scheme.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt requires serious expenditure for the landlord, and the obligation to provide accommodation to the tenant while the work is being undertaken.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the measures IPOA sought in its pre-budget submission was for rental income to be treated in the same way as income from a trading business when it comes to taxation. <\/p>\n

\u201cLandlords are denied reliefs that are available to a trading business. Why would a landlord want to stay in the rental business where you are discriminated against in tax legislation?\u201d<\/p>\n

Another measure IPOA called for was the expansion of \u201crollover relief\u201d, which allows individuals or businesses to defer paying capital gains tax when they sell an asset and reinvest in a new asset.<\/p>\n

This was also not made available, and has left landlords feeling ignored, Allen says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great the retrofitting is still there, but it\u2019s minor enough to be quite honest with you, and it would not encourage anybody to remain as a landlord.\u201d \u2013 Niamh Towey<\/b><\/p>\n

A small producer: \u2018No silver bullet\u2019 for enterprise in budget <\/b>\"JimínJim\u00edn and P\u00e1draic \u00d3 Griallais of Micil: ‘A bit more aggressive thinking wouldn\u2019t go astray.’ <\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no silver bullet, there never is,\u201d says P\u00e1draic \u00d3 Griallais (38), the co-owner of Micil Distillery, while discussing a potential \u201cslight\u201d benefit to distilleries from the reduced VAT rate encouraging people to eat out more. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a really positive measure,\u201d he says, describing it as \u201ca step in the right direction\u201d which will greatly benefit the hospitality sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cA bit more aggressive thinking wouldn\u2019t go astray,\u201d he says in reaction to the lack of specific measures to aid the distilling sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe there needs to be more bravery and leadership in some of the budget decisions and policies,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He suggests that the Government needs to become \u201cmore pro-entrepreneur\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, those are the people who take the risks and I think they should be rewarded for doing so.\u201d<\/p>\n

He went into the budget hoping to see increased funding for semi-State agencies such as Bord Bia, Enterprise Ireland and local enterprise offices, which he said \u201cdeserve an awful lot of praise and credit\u201d for helping small businesses access export markets.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Budget 2026: Some families will lose outOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

He hailed the increased funding allocation to these bodies through the Department of Enterprise as a \u201creally positive move\u201d given the \u201chard and soft supports they provide to small and medium enterprises\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a really logical move which will help [SMEs] to develop new and existing markets. The cost of accessing new markets is really high,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe likes of the local enterprise offices, which have been incredibly supportive, and Enterprise Ireland getting more funding to help support businesses is a really positive step.\u201d<\/p>\n

He had been hoping for a reduction in excise duty for distilleries in Budget 2026 but was not surprised it was omitted. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s something that will have to be discussed and ironed out, maybe in advance of the of the next budget.\u201d<\/p>\n

He believes the duty, which is the third highest in the EU, is hurting small producers. \u201cThere is more to be done to support fledgling businesses,\u201d he said, but noted Government had made \u201cpositive moves in the budget\u201d. \u2013 Hugh Dooley<\/b><\/p>\n

Teacher: \u2018There doesn\u2019t seem to be any path to move us forward\u2019<\/b>\"TeacherTeacher Ann-Marie Murphy: ‘I feel like there\u2019s no support whatsoever.’ Photograph: Alan Betson <\/p>\n

Ann-Marie Murphy, a secondary schoolteacher based in Maynooth, Co Kildare, felt \u201cdisappointed and disheartened\u201d after hearing this year\u2019s budget announcement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t see this having any impact on us whatsoever,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

While welcoming the two-year extension of the mortgage interest tax relief, which she said has helped her family, it is \u201cdisappointing that it\u2019s being reduced and then phased out\u201d.<\/p>\n

Describing an absence of any changes to her taxation, and a lack of measures to ease high utility and food bills, she says she feels \u201cdespondent\u201d, adding that her family will be worse off as they will remain \u201cstagnant\u201d while costs continue to increase.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like there\u2019s no support whatsoever. We\u2019re in a lucky position, we\u2019re both working, and I really feel for single parents. If I was a single mother trying to raise my three kids and face the winter with these rising food costs and rising utility bills, I don\u2019t know how much further I could tighten my belt,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

As a teacher, she welcomed the additional 1,700 special needs assistants, which \u201csounds great as a bulk number\u201d, but questioned what this will mean on the ground.<\/p>\n

Of the 1,042 teacher posts outlined, 860 are for special needs teachers, another welcome announcement, though she says this means the number of additional subject teachers \u201cwon\u2019t even replace who\u2019s leaving to go to Dubai\u201d.<\/p>\n

She described a lack of targeted measures to ease the teacher and recruitment crisis as \u201cshortsighted\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just kicking the can down the road, and we\u2019re the ones dealing with it on the ground every day,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of public service workers are in the same boat as we are, in this stagnant state, and there doesn\u2019t seem to be any path to move us forward,\u201d she said. \u2013 Jack White<\/b><\/p>\n

Farmer: Government has \u2018no regard for the crisis we are dealing with\u2019<\/b>\"TillageTillage farmer Isaac Wheelock: ‘I think it\u2019s a bit of an insult to the tillage industry.’ Photograph: Patrick Browne <\/p>\n

Isaac Wheelock\u2019s disappointment is palpable. The 35-year-old tillage farmer in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, had hoped the sector would see greater support in Budget 2026 because it is known to be in crisis.<\/p>\n

Although the Government announced funding of at least \u20ac50 million through the Protein Aid Scheme, the Straw Incorporation Measure and a Tillage Support Scheme, Wheelock believes this will not be enough to keep the industry going when food production, land and fertiliser costs continue to soar. <\/p>\n

He is also concerned about how the money will be allocated.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest, I think it\u2019s a bit of an insult to the tillage industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Government wants to grow the tillage industry and wants to get it up to 400,000 hectares, but what they\u2019ve offered is \u20ac100 a hectare, which is \u20ac40 an acre and that\u2019s not going to do anything for the sector.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wheelock says he now has to look at his costs and figure out if he is able to make any further cuts or reductions to keep his tillage farming going.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a huge problem, because if tillage farmers like me are cutting costs in regards to fertilisers or chemicals or anything like that, it\u2019s a yield penalty that we suffer so even more money is lost.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m disappointed because it feels the Government has undermined the tillage industry once again, and has no regard for the crisis we are dealing with.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne positive thing is that the Government secured \u20ac10 million for the straw chopping scheme [Straw Incorporation Measure], because that is fantastic and it needs to stay.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is good to see some tax relief to entice more younger people into farming but in the bigger picture support of \u20ac40 an acre will not be enough to convince more people into farming.\u201d \u2013 Siobh\u00e1n Maguire<\/b><\/p>\n

[\u00a0The Irish Times view on Budget 2026: driven by the electoral cycleOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Eimear Killian\u2019s phone is lighting up in the aftermath of the Budget 2026 announcement, with a much lighter…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":107351,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[21434,10471,79,2190,18,19,5233,17,24725,24727],"class_list":{"0":"post-107350","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-auto-enrolment","9":"tag-budget","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-cost-of-living","12":"tag-eire","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-income-tax","15":"tag-ireland","16":"tag-national-minimum-wage","17":"tag-vat"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107350\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}