Budget 2023 analysis - What it means for business

The latest Ibec CEO Update from Danny McCoy to members

Dear member,

Despite the challenges of the past number of years, the Irish economy has continued to show remarkable resilience, due in no small part to the underlying strength of the Irish business model. During this period, this model has generated record tax revenue and means that the Government is in a position whereby it can afford to deliver a Budget of necessary scale amidst a challenging inflationary environment.

Ibec has been lobbying Government to effectively utilise the tax revenue created by the private sector to support both businesses and households that are struggling with energy costs, and it is encouraging to see this afternoon’s Budget announcement go some way to delivering just that.

The supports announced today must now work towards having a material impact in offsetting spiralling energy costs for the sectors of the economy most impacted, including the Experience Economy, retail, manufacturing, and SMEs. The labour market measures in today’s Budget – particularly the increase in the entry point to the top rate of tax and support for childcare costs – are also material and will help offset cost of living challenges for workers and also help increase labour market participation. This is something which we had strongly called for in our pre-Budget lobbying.

While there is much to commend in today’s Budget, Ibec is cautioning that if the economic environment continues to deteriorate over the winter, a more significantly expansionary fiscal stance may be needed to robustly protect households and businesses. Government will need to be flexible and responsive to these trends and further measures to support the economy may well be required as we head in 2023.

I attach below a briefing deck of Ibec’s Budget Day Analysis, while the dedicated Ibec Budget webpage contains exclusive insights from Ibec’s economics team. Tomorrow, we will be publishing a special Budget edition of the Ibec Voices podcast, so be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts from or on our website.

Ibec will continue to work on your behalf with Government to focus on the continued competitiveness of the private sector and ensure we have the resources available to meet our ambitions on infrastructure and societal needs. 

As always, do get in touch if you have any queries.

Regards,

Danny McCoy

CEO

Ibec