Harris rules out mini budget but leaves door open to energy credits this winter

Government resists calls for fresh cost-of-living measures now but signals targeted supports could return later this year

Tánaiste Simon Harris speaking to the media at the department of finance in Dublin. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Tánaiste Simon Harris has ruled out the prospect of a mini-budget to address the rising cost of living, while indicating that energy credits remain under consideration for the winter period if required.

During Leaders’ Questions, Labour finance spokesman Ged Nash called on the Government to do more, saying it had made “deliberate decisions that left workers behind and worse off”.

He said that, rather than giving tax cuts to workers in Budget 2026, the Government prioritised fast food chains through the VAT cut for the hospitality sector.

“You made a decision to withdraw critical one-off payments and energy credits,” Mr Nash said.

“For three years, families relied on a couple of hundred euros to ease the burden of Europe's highest electricity prices, but you left them at a loss, with less money in their pockets.

“They're getting bills now for €300, €400, €500 a time, and now that decision is coming back to haunt you and your colleagues.”

Mr Nash said the European Commission had outlined measures member states could take, including a windfall tax on energy profits, price controls, and energy vouchers.

However, Mr Harris ruled out calls for a mini-budget.

“We did introduce a €750m package, the largest or second largest in the European Union, and two and a half times the European average, only less than two weeks ago,” the Tánaiste said.

“There are some sectors where it simply makes sense, when there's a fuel crisis, to prioritise an intervention.

“We're not all the same in terms of our fuel consumption. If you're a haulier, you have a very significant fuel bill. If you're a farm contractor, a very significant fuel bill.

“It did make sense for all of us to make sure we keep our supply chains in certain crucial sectors of the Irish economy.”

Mr Harris also told the Dáil that John McCarthy, chief economist in the department of finance, said earlier this week that the measures had decreased inflation by 0.6 percentage points for May, June, and July, which he argued would help keep grocery bills down.

Sinn Féin finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty also highlighted rising energy bills during Leaders’ Questions.

“Do you accept that your Government got it wrong when you scrapped energy credits, that were so obviously needed? Mr Doherty said.

“Will you now act to reintroduce those supports and bring forward an urgent cost of living package?”

Mr Harris said he had cut excise beyond what was permissible under the European energy tax directive and that he was “getting ready to ask for forgiveness rather than permission”.

The Tánaiste again underlined that the Government is not ruling out energy credits.

He added: “We don't rule out taking further actions. No government can.

“But I do have to say an energy crisis in the summer months is very different to the challenges that people could face in the winter months.

“We have to make sure that we intervene […] and have an ability to intervene further. because this crisis.

“The damage done now to the energy infrastructure means it will take a significant period of time to repair, and therefore we have to be agile.”