Sharon Keogan: Blasts Budget 2026 as a Betrayal of Families
Sharon Keogan criticised Budget 2026 for failing Irish families and called for childcare at €10 a day, better pay for early years educators and wider family supports. She argued the budget breaks the government's promise of childcare at 200 a month and forces parents to choose between work and childcare.
Main argument
Sharon Keogan rose in support of a motion she did not fully endorse but backed on this issue, saying Budget 2026 has failed Irish families, children and parents who must work while affording childcare. She said the government's promise to deliver childcare at 200 a month now lies in tatters and called the budget a betrayal of promises and vision.
Cost burden on parents
Keogan highlighted the financial strain on parents, saying some families pay over 1000 a month for childcare and that the average parent still pays nearly €800 a month out of pocket despite the budget allocation. She described high childcare costs as a penalty for having children and condemned the situation as a disgrace for a developed nation.
International comparisons
She compared Ireland unfavourably with other countries, noting that Poland recently moved to eliminate income tax for families with two or more children and that Hungary offers generous maternity, housing and tax benefits. Keogan used these comparisons to argue that other nations treat family support as foundational policy while Ireland falls short.
Policy demands
The motion Keogan supported calls for childcare at €10 a day, improved pay and conditions for early years educators and a rethinking of Budget 2026. She also urged a more ambitious model of family support including a tax cut for families, of loan to parent families, and greater subsidies for essentials, arguing politicians must put children first and treat family support as an investment, not a cost.
Closing remarks
Keogan characterised Budget 2026 as neither progressive nor adequate and vowed she would not stand by while families are forced to choose between work and caring for children. She finished her address with a forceful appeal for a nationwide change of mindset and repeated expressions of thanks.
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I rise today in support of this motion, not because I agree with the proposers on everything far from it, but because on this issue they are right. Budget 2026 has failed Irish families, it has failed mothers and fathers who are working every hour they can to just afford the privilege of placing their children in care. The care they need in order to work in the first place. It has failed the children who deserve nurturing and support, not waiting lists. When it has failed the promise made by this government to deliver childcare at 200 a month, that promise now lies in tatters. Let us be clear, some families are paying over 1000 a month for childcare. This is not a support system, that is a penalty for having children and in a country that claims to value family, it is a disgrace. We are told Ireland is one of the wealthiest nations in Europe, but if that is true, then how is it that Poland, a country with a lower GDP per capita, has just this week passed legislation to eliminate income tax for families with two or more children? Why is it that Hungary, with far fewer resources, offers generous maternity benefits, housing benefits and tax exemptions for families who choose to raise children? And yet we have the goal to turn to the world and present ourselves as a modern economic success story. Hard-working parents fret over each new pregnancy, thinking of how they will manage with new mouths to feed and we call ourselves a developed first world nation, it is a joke. These are nations that understand that families is not a lifestyle choice, it is a foundation of society and they legislate accordingly. Ireland, by contrast, short-changes parents, bypassing affordability and access, while pouring billions into unnecessary programmes such as a bloated NGO sector and an IPA system which has been described by the Irish Times as the Wild West of money making. We are told that Budget 2026 allocates £1.48 billion to early learning and childcare, but what good is that if the average parent still pays nearly €800 a month out of pocket? I will add that Sinn Féin, who proposed this motion, are right to call out the Government's failure. But I must also remind them and this House that it was Sinn Féin who supported the 2024 referenda that endangered the constitutional definition of family. Now I do hope that this motion signals a change of heart in our party, as you can not claim to be pro-family whilst simultaneously undermining the very foundation of what family means in our constitution. This motion calls for childcare at €10 a day. That is a reasonable, achievable goal. It calls for better pay and conditions for early years educators. This is long overdue and it calls for rethinking of Budget 2026. That is essential. And I would further, I would call for a more ambitious model of not just childcare but of support to the family, a model that would include not only a stronger programme of public support and services but also a tax cut for families, of loan to parent families, of greater subsidies to all the essentials that families need. And for this we need a total overhaul of our mindset as politicians and as a nation and to put children first, not budget margins. We need a mindset that recognises that supporting families is not a cost, it is an investment in our future. Let's not pretend that this budget is progressive. It is not. It is a betrayal of promises and a failure of vision and I for one will not stand by while Irish families are forced to choose between work and children, between rent and creche fees, between survival and dignity. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, bloody some kind. Thank you. Have some good. There are some good. You kind of have toay the comenz. But I think it is not, you must change any round or may tuple on this.
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