Second Version of 2026 State Budget Draft : Tripartite Council Discusses the Revised Budget Plan

The National Council for Tripartite Cooperation (which includes trade unions, employers’ organisations and the government) on December 8 will hold a formal discussion on the new draft budget for 2026.

Following the meeting of the social partners, the budget will be given final approval by the Council of Ministers before being submitted to the National Assembly.

Yesterday, in an extraordinary sitting, the National Insurance Institute and the Health Insurance Fund approved their draft budgets for social security and healthcare funding.

At the end of last week, the government, trade unions and employers reached agreement on the disputed points.

Proposals to raise social insurance contributions by two percentage points, to increase the dividend tax to 10 per cent, and to introduce mandatory sales-tracking software for retailers are all set to be dropped.

The government has also stepped back from plans for automatic pay rises in the security, defence and education sectors.

Pay in the public sector will rise by 10 per cent rather than 5 per cent.

Meeting the demands of both trade unions and employers will require an additional one and a half billion euros.

To fund the changes, the money will come from cuts to the capital investment programme.

The Ministry of Finance on December 6 published a revised draft of the state budget for next year.

The draft budget will next be reviewed by parliamentary committees.

It will then go to the chamber for a first reading by MPs.

MPs Approve Withdrawal of 2026 State Budget Draft