Introductory Statement of Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris at the meeting of the Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach

Introduction

Chairperson, I am pleased to have the opportunity to appear before the Committee today to discuss the 2026 Revised Estimates.

As Minister for Finance, I will be discussing the four votes within the Finance Group of Votes: Vote 7 the Department of Finance; Vote 8 the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General; Vote 9 the Office of the Revenue Commissioners; and Vote 10 the Tax Appeals Commission.

Presentation of the 2026 Estimates

The net funding allocation sought for the Finance Group of Votes for 2026 totals just over €685 million, which compares to a 2025 Vote Group total of just over €628 million, an increase of almost €57 million, or 9 per cent.

Vote 7 - Department of Finance

I propose to focus on the Department of Finance first.

The Department is structured around one directorate, the Economic, Fiscal, Banking and Financial Services Directorate. The mission of the Department of Finance is to lead in the achievement of the Government’s economic, fiscal and financial policy goals, having regard to the commitments set out in the Programme for Government.

The net allocation to the Department of Finance Vote in 2026 is €58.1 million, of which €13 million is provided for a fuel grant scheme for disabled drivers. The Department’s allocation provides for both administrative and non-administrative costs.

The single biggest cost remains payroll at €35.9 million, or 60 per cent of the total estimate. A further €6.5 million, or 11 per cent, is provided to cover facilities and non-pay administrative costs.

The remaining allocation funds other services such as the Financial Services Ombudsman, legal costs and other necessary outlays.

Vote 8 – Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General

The allocation for Vote 8, the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), is applied towards a single Audit and Reporting Programme.

The Comptroller and Auditor General is an independent, constitutional officer. The C&AG’s mission is to provide independent assurance that public funds and resources are used in accordance with the law, managed to good effect and are properly accounted for.

The Office assists the C&AG in his statutory functions and is staffed by civil servants.

The C&AG’s financial audit role covers around 283 sets of accounts produced by public bodies. Together, those bodies had financial transactions with a value of over €399 billion last year. The net allocation for this Vote in 2026 is €12.3 million, which is an increase of approximately 6 per cent on 2025.

The 6 per cent increase will fund higher staffing costs resulting from additional allocations for the public service pay agreement and an additional pay period in 2026.

Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners

Turning to Vote 9, the Office of the Revenue Commissioners, as the Irish tax and customs administration, plays a vital role in our economy by collecting taxes and duties due to the State and also implementing customs controls.

For 2026, Revenue has been allocated a net budget of almost €611 million. This is an increase of approximately €48 million on the net budget for 2025. Over three quarters of the total net budget allocation is related to payroll for an employment ceiling of 7,273 staff.

In 2025, Revenue collected €157 billion in gross receipts for the Exchequer including almost €35 billion collected by Revenue on behalf of other Departments and agencies. The total relative cost of administration remains low at, 0.4% of collections and Revenue continues to maintain high levels of compliance for the taxes and duties under its care and management.

As Ireland prepares to assume the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Revenue will support the Department of Finance in its work at EU level, in relation to tax and customs matters, while continuing to deliver effective administration for business and taxpayers at home

Revenue maintains its risk-based approach to managing instances of non-compliance. In circumstances where timely compliance or meaningful engagement was not forthcoming, Revenue continued to pursue those who did not meet their tax and duty obligations. In 2025, there were 291,616 Risk Management Interventions carried out with a yield of €734 million.

As 2026 progresses, Revenue will continue to respond to the challenges of international tax reform, while implementing and supporting tax initiatives and collecting the taxes, duties and other charges on behalf of the Exchequer.

Vote 10 – Tax Appeals Commission

Finally, Vote 10 – the Tax Appeals Commission (TAC), has a net budget allocation of €4.1 million, an increase of 4 per cent on the 2025 Estimate.

The 2026 Estimate is to provide for the TAC to advance its programme of modernisation and reform and to address its caseload, while also meeting its obligations as an independent civil service entity.

Conclusion

I wish to conclude by thanking members for their attention and I commend the 2026 Revised Estimates for the Finance Group of Votes to the Committee.

I am happy to address any questions that members may have.

ENDS