Commenting on Budget 2026, Simon McKeever, Chief Executive of the Irish Exporters Association

Commenting on Budget 2026, Simon McKeever, Chief Executive of the Irish Exporters Association, said:

“Whilst very disappointed with the lack of any meaningful measures to reduce the income tax burden, we warmly welcome the clear and distinct focus on housing in this budget. The lack of affordable and available accommodation remains a critical concern for Irish Exporters and hampers their ability to attract and retain key talent. 

We note the focus on infrastructure investment with associated reforms promised to planning and simplification – actions will speak louder than words when it comes to these simplifications. More could have been done to simplify and reduce electricity bills through the removal of some of the pass-through charges applied to bills.

We welcome the extensions to both KEEP and SARP but question the “recalibration” upwards of the minimum eligible salary from €100,000 to €125,000. Similarly, we acknowledge the increase in the lifetime limit for entrepreneurial relief raised from €1m to €1.5 million and the increase in R&D Tax credit changes from 30% to 35%. But much, much more is needed in CGT Capital Gains Tax revisions including reducing the rate to 20% – we need to do more to grow more medium and large sized enterprises in Ireland.

We respect the prudent nature of the budget and are aware of the recent publication of action plans for both Market Diversification and on Competitiveness and Productivity; but with Ireland and the EU in the eye of increased international trade nationalism, we believe our original call for a US Tariff Relief Fund may yet be needed, should international trading conditions deteriorate further.”

ENDS