Budget 2027: Ministers fear ‘nobody will be happy’ after bruising spending talks
Irish government ministers are expressing frustration over a difficult and restrictive budget negotiation process for 2027. Public expenditure minister Jack Chambers is facing criticism for enforcing spending limits that some colleagues feel are overly austere.
Why it matters
The tension highlights the political difficulty of transitioning from pandemic-era spending to more conservative fiscal policies.
Public expenditure minister Jack Chambers and his department have come in for criticism from colleagues.
A “tense” and “bruising” negotiation process could end with “a budget which nobody is happy with”, it has been warned.
Talks on several departments’ allocations in Tuesday’s budget ended on Friday, but some ministers who have settled or are coming close to finalising their budgets are understood to be deeply frustrated by their packages.
One minister admitted that they feared that a large budget would be announced on Tuesday but that “no one would be happy”.
While the public expenditure minister Jack Chambers and his department have come in for criticism from colleagues, Government sources hit back at the idea he is doing anything other than asking ministers to stick to agreed spending plans.
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