Prime Time has been speaking to people about their hopes for - and from - Budget 2026. Here, Erika Levis Hinkson and George Finglas give their views.
Erika is 32 and lives in south Dublin with her husband and their one-and-a-half-year-old daughter. She works as a secondary school teacher and her husband is a Special Needs Assistant.
Their main outgoings are rent, childcare and day-to-day living costs. Erika says the weekly grocery bill has risen sharply, while transport and utilities are another strain.
She travels for college one day a week and spends around €75 on petrol a week.
"Petrol is up, food costs are up, cost of living is up, like electricity, gas. Ours have been €300, €400. At some point, they've been €500, which is a huge hit," she said.
Childcare is currently affordable for their family thanks to the National Childcare Scheme, but Erika says the thought of a second child feels beyond reach.
"We would love to have a second child, and I don't think we can afford a second child," she said.
Erika says the Government should guarantee affordability for parents and look at costing childcare as a percentage of income. "You have other countries, and it's like 1% of an income, and it doesn't matter then what your income is."
The family live in a two-bed ground-floor apartment with their daughter and two large dogs. They rent from relatives paying at the market rate for the area they live in. "Renting is hard. You're stuck. You can't save for a deposit for a house," Erika said.
Even with two steady jobs, Erika and her husband find themselves financially short month to month. "I would say every month we are borrowing Paul to pay Peter," she said. "I've had times where I've rung my mother, my mother-in-law, to be like, can I borrow €50 and I'll get it back to you on payday? And it just doesn't feel right."
"The people in the middle who are stuck paying for everything, we are just stamped on every single year," she said.
The pressure has even made her question whether they should leave Ireland. "There are times that I've said, do we just say, let's leave? Our family and friends are here. Our culture is here. Our backup is here."
"So it's on the cards. But it's definitely something that I don't want to have to do."
Impact of Budget 2026
KPMG assessed Erika and her husband circumstances following the announcement of Budget 2026. It concluded they will be €81 worse off over the year under Budget 2026.
There are no changes to income tax, however their PRSI bill is up €107 due to a rate increase, this is partly offset by a €26 saving from USC following the band changes announced today.
They also will not receive once-off supports, like the €250 energy credit and double once-off child benefit payments which were €280 last year, but are not included in Budget 2026. There are no additional childcare savings in this Budget, and no specific supports for teachers or SNAs.
Erika and her husband are also not eligible for the renters' tax credit because they rent from family, and would not qualify for the back-to-school allowance because of their income, even though their child is now moving into the age bracket covered.
Speaking on Prime Time, and having heard the KPMG analysis, Erika said: "There's no words. I work every day. My husband works every day. We come home, we look after our child, we try and do the best for our child. There are no words."
"All we want to be able to do is afford a family home that is ours, that is safe, that we can bring our child up in... I feel like this year, especially, that we are just going backwards."
With no announcements on childcare costs in the budget, Erika says she doesn’t think they’ll be able to afford to extend their family.
"We love our family, and I'd love to, but financially, we can't. Financially, we can't have the one [child] we have, technically on paper. There just needs to be some form of a promise in terms of, again, childcare availability and childcare costs."
George Finglas
George Finglas is 72 and lives with his wife Rose, 73. The couple, married for 51 years, have four grown-up daughters and 10 grandchildren, most of whom live nearby.
"We're extremely happy together," George said. They’re both retired, and George was a housing official with the City Council.
George is mortgage-free and draws from a private pension as well as the State. "To be fair, because I'm mortgage-free, I am not too bad. I have a private pension as well, so I'm not too bad. But I pity those who just have the State pension. They are struggling and struggling bad."
For him, the State pension system fails to keep pace with inflation. "If they give you what would represent a 2.5% increase, and inflation goes up by 5%, you've lost, and you've lost out," he says.
The cost-of-living weighs heavily on them. "The food has gone through the roof, the fuel has gone through the roof, and that's even changing every year. There's less and less for the consumer in the pie," he said.
To cope, George has become more focused on his shopping. "I tend to work a list to see exactly what I need and try to stick to it because in the past, it would be, I'd put this in, that in, and you can't afford waste anymore."
Some foods are now beyond reach. "They've gone through the roof, all of them, especially the likes of beef. I don't even bother going near it."
Other bills have also jumped. "The health insurance went up. Mine went up by €600, the health insurance alone."
When it comes to heating, George says temporary credits made a tangible difference. "To me, the energy credits are a lifeline and they're essential. We're getting older, we're sitting there in the evening. It's cold. We need to put it [the heat] on."
Impact of Budget 2026
According to KPMG’s analysis, George and his wife Rose will be €695 better off under Budget 2026.
Their combined State Pension rises, increasing their gross income by €981. However, this gain is partly offset as they now face an additional €286 in PAYE tax. PRSI and USC remain unchanged. Overall, the couple ends up better off.
Like all households, they no longer receive the temporary €250 energy credits that were provided in previous Budgets.
Speaking on Prime Time, George said that although he’s €695 better off, he says the lack of energy credit will be felt. "I worry, and because I watch the pennies, I will be ... I fear it."
Erika and George's stories were produced by Genevieve Brennan and are available to watch back on the RTÉ Player.
