The Budget is set to take place on Tuesday, 6 October, Tánaiste Simon Harris and the Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers will inform Cabinet this morning.
In a joint memo to Government, they will stress the need for fiscal discipline given the current geopolitical uncertainty caused by the conflict in the Middle East.
Amid the turbulence prevailing internationally, the Government is today taking the first steps to nailing down its financial plan for next year.
To that end, the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance will tell his colleagues that he intends to publish the updated Spring macro-economic forecasts on 14 April.
He will point to the fact that despite the global volatility the Government is running budget surpluses and that Ireland is rated 'AA' or above by all the major ratings agencies.
Minister Chambers will tell Cabinet that financial prudence is essential if the Government is to deliver on its commitments in areas like health, housing and disability services.
The Public Expenditure Minister is also aiming to have the critical infrastructure bill enacted before the summer.
It is seeking to speed up the building of homes, water services, and energy supply structures.
Scramblers to be banned in all public places from Friday
The Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien will bring new regulations to Government which will see scramblers banned in all public places from Friday.
Under these measures, the use of scramblers will be clearly defined as an offence.
That will mean that gardaí will not need to establish a reasonable belief of dangerous use before seizing a scrambler.
These regulations complete the provisions under the Road Traffic and Roads Act 2023 aimed at tackling the dangerous use of scramblers.
These measures will be known as 'Grace’s Law' in honour of the memory of Grace Lynch who was killed after she was hit by a scrambler bike in Finglas last January.
Meanwhile, Taoiseach Micheál Martin will seek sign off on a new dedicated task force on the future growth of Cork.
It will review the City Centre Development and Operations Action Plan 2025-2030 and report back to Government on progress, and any barriers to progress.
It will look at how Cork city can fully realise its potential for foreign direct investment and domestic business.
It will also examine how Cork’s arts and culture could be strengthened.
The independent chair of the new group will be Brendan Tuohy and it is set to report to Government by summer.
Ahead of this morning's Cabinet meeting, the Government leaders must decide if proposals to exempt back garden cabin and small modular homes from planning rules will progress today.
It is understood there are different views in Government about how strict the rules around these homes should be.
The current proposals will require fire safety standards to be met, and the structures must have an exit along with one metre of space around the outside of the unit.
The Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan, will seek Government approval today to further strengthen how the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) can seize crypto-assets.
The minister is proposing amendments to the Proceeds of Crime and Related Matters Bill 2025 that will provide for new payment-freezing measures tailored specifically to the technological and operational characteristics of crypto-assets.
They will ensure CAB can effectively seize this contemporary form of criminal property through enhanced powers of search, seizure, and detention.
