The Programme for Government is a 160-page document which lays out the vision of the incoming government for the next five years.
It is a detailed and comprehensive plan, with a focus on a number of different areas of Irish society.
Below, we look at some of the key pledges in the document relating to core issues such as housing, health, education and more.
Housing and rents
Pledge to see 300,000 homes built by the end of 2030, including 12,000 social houses
Help to Buy and First Home schemes to be retained and expanded
Aim to boost local authority home loan scheme to allow a separated or divorced person buy a full mortgage
Range of measures aimed at tackling vacancy and dereliction promised
Promise to increase renters tax credit progressively
Land Development Agency to be further capitalised
Register of rental prices planned to protect tenants and landlords from abusive practices
Multi-annual plan to be developed to 'urgently' deliver new student accommodation
Measures to boost the take-up of the rent-a-room relief scheme will be examined
Education
Pledge to cut the pupil teacher ratio to 19:1 in primary schools over the lifetime of the government
Aim to ensure schools are "smartphone-free zones"
Aims to continue to expand and improve the Free Hot School Meals programme
Junior Certificate School Library Programme to be expanded to include additional schools
Povision of after-school and childcare in school buildings and campuses to be expanded in tandem with the school building programme
Aims to expand school transport service to include 100,000 additional students by 2030
Free period products to be provided in schools "to ensure no student is held back due to period poverty"
Teaching and learning methods to be improved, especially as schools adapt to digital learning and AI
Higher education
CAO system to be expanded to include more apprenticeship options
Free part-time courses to be expanded as well as the number of third-level pathways outside the Leaving Certificate points system
New five-year apprenticeship action plan for 2026-2030 to be developed
Aims to double number of places in high demand healthcare professions
Promise to increase maintenance grants and reform SUSI, as well as examining a placement grant for students on mandatory placements
Parents and children
Cost of childcare to be "progressively reduced" to €200 per month per child through the National Childcare Scheme
To explore options to cap childcare costs for larger families
Managed savings account for newborns to be explored, with initial once-off State contribution
Paid surrogacy leave to be introduced
'Early establishment' of the Assisted Human Reproduction Regulatory Authority, a body that will oversee and regulate assited human reproduction
Provision for newborns and parents of a baby bundle - comprising essential items - to be expanded
Breastfeeding support to be enhanced through a strategy with funding for community initiatives and more lactation consultants in hospitals
Child poverty target to be set, ensuring a focus on inequality
Carers
Pledge to phase out the means test for carers over the next five years
Plan to "significantly increase" income disregards for carer's allowance in each budget
Progressive increase of the weekly carer's payment and continued increase of annual carer's support grant
Parents aged over 66 who are caring for children with lifelong disabilities will retain the rate at which they are paid their carer's allowance, while concurrently receiving the State pension
Improvied support to those providing full-time care and attention to more than one person to be examined
Introduction of a pay related carer's benefit for individuals who have to give up work suddenly to provide full-time care to a loved one
Health
Commitment to open new National Children's Hospital, and build new National Maternity Hospital, but no dates set
Promise to increase number of GPs and bring forward a new, modern GP contract
Hospital bed capacity to be increased by between 4,000 and 4,500 new and refurbished beds
Intensive care bed capacity to be increased by at least a further 100 beds
Promise to reduce hospital waiting times so all patients are seen within ten to 12 weeks
Reduction in emergency department overcrowding promised
A "health-led approach to drug addiction" with a plan to divert those found in possession of drugs for personal use to health services
Plan for free GP services to be extended to children up to at least 12 years
Committment to maintaining Paediatric Spinal Surgery Management Unit
Mental health
Regulation of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) including measures to attract and retain staff, and a new worforce plan to address immediate staffing shortages and longer-term needs
A focus on smoother transitions from CAMHS to adult mental health services
Number of perinatal mental health midwife posts to increase
Mental health supports in maternity hospitals following trauma events connected to pregnancy and childbirth
Eating disorder teams will continue to grow in line with the National Clinical Programme
Recruitment of suicide crisis assessment nurses in communities to continue
Green issues
Promise to continue with greenhouse gas reduction targets
Pledge to advocate at EU and international level to reclassify biogenic methane when accounting for greenhouse gas emissions
Commitment to continue with annual increases in carbon tax rate to 2030
Commitment to accelerate the electrification of the transport system, including electric bikes, electric vehicles, and electric public transport
Aims to develop decarbonised zones in urban areas, with focus on pedestrianisation and cycling facilities
To increase number of publicly available electric car charging points
Bike-to-work scheme to be reviewed to boost uptake by workers
New measures and supports to help people in event of extreme weather events
Consideration to be given to allow owners of older houses using oil boilers to switch to sustainable biofuels
Improved grants for home retrofitting to help homeowners enhance their energy efficiency and reduce energy costs
Agriculture
Government pledge to increase scheme supports for suckler farmers, sheep farmers, the dairy beef scheme and the horticultural grant
To invest significantly in the tillage sector and increase market access for poultry and pig products
Promise to assist in the upgrading of production facilities, particularly glass houses, to ensure efficient production systems
Recognise Irish strawberries as a heritage crop
Organic farming scheme to be continued
To "fight" at EU level for a fully supported Common Agriculture Policy with an increased budget
New measures to support inter-generational farm succession
Security and justice
Security force, with similar powers to the Airport Police, to be established for public transport
Initiatives to promote recruitment and retention of women in Defence Forces and gardaí
Recruitment of 5,000 additional gardaí
Facial recognition technology to be introduced for serious crimes and missing person cases
Expansion of body cams to all frontline gardaí
Use of facial coverings at protests to be banned as well as protests outside private homes
New road safety cameras that automatically detect motorists using phones while driving and not wearing seatbelts
New garda portal for public to upload dashcam footage of dangerous driving
High-powered roads policing vehicles for gardaí
Committment to free up gardaí from court hearings for road traffic offences
Graduated penalty points system to be reviewed
Responsibility for international protection accommodation and integration to fall under the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration
Maximum sentences for offences relating to child sexual abuse to be reviewed
Arts and culture
Plans to redevelop GPO as historic landmark and to establish Irish town of culture
Next government to asses the basic income for the arts' pilot to maximise impact
Section 481 film tax credit to support film and unscripted productions to continue
Maintaining and growing funding for the Arts Council and Culture Ireland
To exam the introduction of a 'culture card' for 16 and 17-year-olds
Pledges to support ad develop the nighttime economy and enact legislation to update licensing laws
Work and jobs
Pledge to introduce new working age payment to ensure people on jobseeker payments always see increase in income when working or taking on extra hours
State pension age to remain at 66
Target to create 300,000 extra jobs by 2030
To recognise the work of the Independent Low Pay Commission, ensuring fair wages whilst also supporting the viability of SMEs
No specific reference to Section 39 workers, but a pledge to "work with the voluntary sector through industrial relations mechanisms and other processes to progress pay issues"
Measures to attract and retain staff in the disability sector to be considered along with plan to address immediate shortages
Commitment to support central role of Workplace Relations Commission and Labour Court
Civil service blended working policy framework to be reviewed
Digital
Pledge to tackle scam text messages by examining feasibility of implementing an SMS scam filter
Commitment to work with stakeholders to tackle algorithms that push harmful content into the feeds of social media users
To examine ways to enforce age verification obligations on online service providers
Commitment to support and fund online safety programmes for schools
Promise to ensure skills necessary for AI deployment, AI innovation and AI support are provided through education and professional learning networks
Other key points
Promise to progress legislation prohibiting goods from Occupied Palestinian Territories
Tourism drive called the 'Year of the Invitation' planned, which is described as "a global invitation for visitors to reconnect with Ireland"
Taxation measures to help contain energy costs to be brought forward, including with regard to VAT
