Age Action expresses disappointment at failure to protect older people’s income
8th October 2025
Age Action has expressed its disappointment at the failure of Budget 2026 to protect the incomes of older people, or to make progress on addressing the health and housing needs of the older population. Budget 2026 was a missed opportunity.
Age Action’s Head of Advocacy and Public Affairs Camille Loftus said: “While Government was clear that this year’s Budget would not include ‘one-off’ supports, these were to be replaced with targeted and permanent measures. But this did not happen for older people in Budget 2026. In our pre-budget meeting with Ministers Jack Chambers and Paschal Donohoe Age Action stressed that older people, particularly those relying on the State Pension, were deeply concerned about how they would meet their costs in the absence of these ‘one-off’ supports: inflation may have fallen, but prices have not. The €10 increase in the State Pension will not bring the rate any closer to the benchmark level recommended by the Pensions Commission – 34% of average wages. The only other measure included in Budget 2026 for older people was an increase in the rate of Fuel Allowance. Older people are more likely to live in older, poorly insulated homes, with less efficient heating systems: it costs them more to keep their homes warm enough. Age Action called for an Energy Guarantee for older people, a support to take account of both the energy efficiency of the home, as well as energy prices: a targeted and efficient way of directing support to those who need it most. The €5 increase in Fuel Allowance is an inadequate substitute for an Energy Guarantee for older people it’s not enough to cover costs, fewer than 3 in 10 State Pension recipients qualify for it, and it doesn’t take account of the higher energy costs many older people face. There are more than 860,000 people aged 65 and older in Ireland; Budget 2026 appears to have forgotten about them.”
Ends.
Contact: Camille Loftus, Head of Advocacy and Public Affairs
086-821 7165 | camille.loftus@ageaction.ie
Click here to access the Age Action’s submission to Budget 2026 .
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