Minister for Finance Simon Harris says he's planning on cutting taxes for middle Ireland for the next four years - but he's definitely ruling out following suit on other popular budgetary measure

Published: 22:33, 18 July 2026 | Updated: 22:33, 18 July 2026 A four-year bonanza of income tax cuts beginning in the autumn budget will ‘move the dial’ on how much workers take home in their pay, Finance Minister Simon Harris has revealed. In an interview with the Irish Mail on Sunday, the Fine Gael leader also predicts that there will be a realignment in the political system and appears to open the door to a potential future coalition with the Social Democrats. Signalling a significant shift in taxation policy, the Tánaiste said the focus of the next four budgets will be to ease pressure on the so-called ‘squeezed middle’. Mr Harris said the Coalition will achieve this by gradually raising the threshold at which people begin paying the highest level of tax to boost their take-home pay. Reviving a phrase associated with his predecessor, Leo Varadkar, the Tánaiste said his tax cuts will prioritise ‘people who get up early in the morning’. Mr Harris said: ‘We have four more budgets in this Government.  'You can’t do everything in one budget, but you could over the course of four budgets, two of which I intend to deliver as Minister of Finance, two of which I intend to oversee as Taoiseach. ‘You could, over the course of those four budgets, try and significantly and sustainably move the dial when it comes to that, and that’s something I want to do.’ Despite his promise to deliver for working families, Mr Varadkar failed in his attempt to introduce a new 30 per cent ‘third tax rate’. But his successor said he is determined to deliver for middle-income workers. ‘They have to be the priority,’ he told the MoS.  ‘Work has to pay; it has to be rewarded.’ The Tánaiste said his tax cuts will prioritise ‘people who get up early in the morning’ Explaining, the Tánaiste said: ‘We politicians and different political parties refer to groups of society by different names. ‘Sometimes people call them people who get up early in the morning.  'Sometimes people call them Middle Ireland.  'Sometimes people call them the squeezed middle.  ‘They’re the people who are getting up earlier and earlier every morning, often sitting in traffic, trying to get the kids to creches, child-minding, schools, and everything else.  'Paying large bills, working their backside off, and then still finding at the end of the month that they might be just about getting by, let alone getting ahead.’ The Fine Gael leader said he is proud of ‘my party’s record when it comes to tax’, noting the entry level for the higher rate has risen from €33,000 in 2015 to €44,000. However, he admits this is still relatively low by international standards, and that he intends to raise the level in the next budget. He declined to say what the new threshold will be, stressing ‘that’ll be a matter for the budget’. But he signalled there will be significant tax reliefs and other benefits – including childcare – for families. Despite the resumption of US attacks on Iran – prompting fresh fears of soaring oil prices and cost-of-living pressures – the Finance Minister ruled out a return of once-off measures or energy reliefs. ‘We hear a lot in the Dáil about cost-of-living packages.  'We have to move away from that narrative, and actually say the budget needs to embed within it how you help people with their costs,’ he said. ‘I work very closely with [Public Expenditure] Minister Jack Chambers on this, but it’s between both the tax side of the ledger, if you like, and the spending side of the ledger.’ He said the Coalition will move to deliver the Programme for Government promise that the State will contribute €200 a month to pay for childcare. ‘I work very closely with [Public Expenditure] Minister Jack Chambers on this, but it’s between both the tax side of the ledger, if you like, and the spending side of the ledger' ‘It’s in the Programme for Government; it’s in black and white.  'It was in the Fine Gael manifesto that we want to get to €200 per child per month over the lifetime of the Government. ‘If you can do something on income tax, if you can do something on childcare, you know, you all of a sudden see how you can begin to give people just a bit of space to breathe.’ Asked, given the change in direction from last year’s relatively austere budget, if the decision to devote a significant chunk of the tax package to a VAT break for hospitality was a mistake, Mr Harris replied: ‘No, I wouldn’t concede that, but it is a recognition that the budget you did last year, you wouldn’t be repeating in subsequent years. ‘The last budget, the Government decided… to put a focus on reducing the cost of housing and reducing the cost for small businesses. ‘What I’m saying very clearly to the people now is we have to get back to the normal rhythm when it comes to things like personal income tax and helping people with their own costs.’ Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.