The European Commission has launched a series of measures titled AccelerateEU to tackle the current fossil fuel energy crisis by accelerating the shift to clean, homegrown energy. Measures outlined by the AccelerateEU proposal include close coordination between Member States, the establishment of a new Fuel Observatory to track transport fuel developments, and the adoption of a State Aid Temporary Framework to allow national governments to provide, among other things, emergency measures to support the most exposed economic sectors. It also proposes an acceleration of the shift to homegrown clean energy through an Electrification Action Plan, to be presented by the summer, with targets and measures to remove barriers to the electrification of the industrial, transport and building sectors, as well as measures to improve the grid system. The Commission has also pledged to assist Member States to make maximum use of available EU funding for the energy transition. While significant resources are available at EU level, the amount required (€660 billion a year until 2030) will not be met by public money alone. Therefore, to mobilise private investments, the Commission adopted a Clean Energy Investment Strategy in March 2026, and will organise a Clean Energy Investment Summit to bring together the financial services industry, including major institutional investors, industrial leaders, project developers and public financiers to accelerate private financing. All are designed to help Member States and local authorities provide immediate support to protect households and industries from what the EU’s statement describes as “price volatility caused by dependence on imported fossil”. Although it stresses that EU’s energy security is currently not at risk, the short-term and longer-term measures are designed to support the EU’s goal to achieve energy independence, through a decarbonised and resilient energy system based on homegrown clean energy and electrification. Commenting, Ireland's EU Commissioner Michael McGrath, reportedly stated that “Reducing our dependence on imported fossil fuels is in all our shared interests”. Earlier this month, the European Commission positively assessed Ireland's fourth payment request for €249 million under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU. The reforms and investmentstied to this payment request aim to drive positive change for citizens and businesses in Ireland in the areas of railway electrification, e-health, public administration, higher education, re-skilling and up-skilling, and renewable energy deployment. Flagship measures in this payment request include accelerating offshore wind energy, digitalising healthcare finance and upskilling for the green and digital transition. The Commission has now sent its preliminary assessment of Ireland's fulfilment of the milestones and targets required for this payment to the Council's Economic and Financial Committee (EFC). The payment to Ireland can take place following the EFC's opinion, and the adoption of a payment decision by the Commission. An interactive map of projects financed by the RRF, as well as the Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard, is available online. 

  The Government has announced details of the Road Transporters Support Scheme (RTSS) for hauliers, ‘own account’ road haulage operators and bus and coach operators, and the new Fuel Support Scheme for farmers, agricultural contractors and fishers, worth a combined €220 million. The measures aim to provide financial support to help meet the challenges posed by increased fuel costs arising from the war in the Middle East. The new schemes are part of an overall spending commitment of €755 million to subsidise the rising cost of fuels made by the Government since the war in Iran commenced in late February. The RTSS will initially apply for March 2026, with further payments for April and May depending on average national diesel prices exceeding €1.90 per litre. This threshold reflects the point at which fuel costs become unsustainable for many commercial transport operators. The fuel support scheme for farmers and farm and forestry contractors will cover the months of March up to the end of July and is an income support scheme aimed at those most impacted by the sudden increase in the cost of Market Gas Oil (MGO).  Applications can be made through an online portal, expected to open in May. The Government is also launching a communications campaign designed to support householders and businesses to manage their energy costs. Business-specific energy advice can be found here.

Ireland entered 2026 on a strong fiscal footing, but the Government is warning that heightened geopolitical risks causing disruption to global energy supplies now pose a material risk to inflation, growth and the public finances, according to the Annual Progress Report (APR) 2026 published this week by Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris and Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers.   Inflation revised upwards  Headline inflation is forecast to average 3.3 per cent in 2026, around 1.4 percentage points higher than assumed in the Department’s autumn forecasts, reflecting the sharp rise in global energy prices following the conflict in the Middle East.  Under more adverse scenarios modelled in the APR, inflation could average 3.7 percent, rising to 4.6 percent in a severe scenario involving prolonged disruption to energy supplies.   Domestic growth remains positive   The Department of Finance is still forecasting growth in the domestic economy. Modified Domestic Demand (MDD), the key measure used to strip out multinational distortions, is projected to grow by just over 2 percent in 2026 and 3 percent in 2027 under the baseline scenario.   However, these represent downward revisions from earlier expectations and are explicitly dependent on the current energy shock being contained. Under more severe scenarios, domestic growth slows further.  Expenditure ceilings lifted, capital investment prioritised  On the fiscal side, the report confirms that the Government has increased the 2026 expenditure ceiling by €0.7 billion to €118.5 billion, with targeted supports for transport, farming and fisheries sectors facing higher energy costs, along with additional funding and staffing in education.   Looking further ahead, the (voted) expenditure ceiling is set at €125.5 billion in 2027, reflecting continued expansion in capital investment and public services. Ministers stressed the need for strong cost control across Departments to protect this investment profile in an increasingly uncertain environment.  Budget 2027  The APR sets the tone for fiscal policy ahead of Budget 2027, which will be shaped over the summer through the Summer Economic Statement. The combination of higher inflation, moderate domestic growth and renewed global uncertainty suggests tougher trade-offs ahead particularly around current spending growth and capital spending. The Institute is finalising its Pre-Budget 2027 submission following committee engagement and this will be published in the coming weeks.    

The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) recently published its Spring 2026 Quarterly Economic Commentary, highlighting a higher inflation outlook, driven mainly by the potential effects of the conflict in the Middle East. The ERSI notes that the uncertainty the conflict has created has already weakened the global outlook and increased the risk of renewed, sustained inflationary pressures in Ireland and internationally. On a more positive note, the report outlines that the economy performed strongly in 2025, with exports rising by 9.6 percent, even though growth slowed as the year went on. Modified domestic demand grew by 4.9 percent over the year. Despite the inflationary pressures linked to the Iran crisis, the ESRI expects the domestic economy to continue expanding in 2026 and 2027, with forecasted MDD growth of 2.1 percent in 2026 and 2.8 percent in 2027. While recent international events are shaping short‑term economic considerations, the ESRI cautions that there are still important longer‑term risks to Ireland’s economic success. These include the highly concentrated nature of Ireland’s tax revenues, the imbalance in productivity and performance between foreign-owned and domestic firms, ongoing budgetary overruns and the continued challenge of addressing infrastructure deficits, especially regarding housing. Towards the end of 2025, labour‑market data suggested some softening, with one area of concern being an apparent rise in youth unemployment.

HMRC has recently published for technical consultation draft secondary legislation for the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM). This includes some of the CBAM administrative requirements, including those on embodied emissions and the monitoring and verification of emissions data. The consultation is open for responses until 21 May 2026. By way of reminder, the UK CBAM is a new tax which aims to ensure that highly traded carbon intensive goods imported into the UK face a comparable carbon price to that paid by manufacturers producing the same goods in the UK. Currently, UK manufacturers are subject to carbon pricing for direct emissions under the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.  The UK’s CBAM is due to commence from 1 January 2027 and will apply to goods from the following industrial sectors: aluminium,  cement,  fertiliser,  hydrogen, and  iron and steel.  

Chartered Accountants Ireland has reacted to today’s publication of the Critical Infrastructure Bill which aims to fast-track the approval processes for critical infrastructure projects in Ireland. Commenting on the Bill, Cróna Clohisey, Director of Members and Advocacy at Chartered Accountants Ireland said “As a professional body representing 40,000 businesspeople across the economy, we see this Bill as a significant step in the Government’s approach to addressing Ireland’s infrastructure challenges. “Engagement with our members has demonstrated that infrastructure deficits need to be addressed as a matter of urgency if Ireland is to achieve its growth ambitions, meet its energy, transport and water requirements, and its sustainability goals. It is encouraging, therefore, to see the Bill’s focus on coordination and collaboration between public bodies to facilitate the rapid approval of projects and programmes.” Grant Sweetnam, Head of Public Policy at Chartered Accountants Ireland, said: “For a small, open economy like Ireland, infrastructure is key to competitiveness. It is vital for maintaining the standard of living for our citizens, for attracting foreign direct investment, for supporting our SMEs and for ensuring Ireland remains one of the best locations to do business.” “Our infrastructure continues to be one of our most critical competitiveness deficits. It is essential that barriers are removed to facilitate investment in our infrastructure to safeguard Ireland’s social and economic interests.  We look forward to engaging constructively with Government and stakeholders on this issue.”

This week, the Institute attended the inaugural Annual Savings and Investment Forum held at the Central Bank. The Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Simon Harris T.D. addressed the Forum announcing his intention to introduce a Savings and Investment Account in Ireland. It is intended that legislation will be drafted this year with a view to products being established in 2027. Savings and investment accounts form a fundamental pillar in Europe's Saving and Investment Union proposals to increase levels of investment among citizens. Statistics from the Central Bank of Ireland show that Ireland has a long way to go when it comes to households and individuals investing in capital markets. This week’s announcement has the real potential to increase retail participation in capital markets and empower workers and households to create wealth over their working lives. The savings and investment account proposed by the Tánaiste is similar in nature to the Swedish model which was first introduced in 2012. Simplicity is at its core, with one simple tax applied which is administered solely by the financial provider and not the individual investor. This means there are no reporting obligations placed on the investor and individual transactions are not taxed. As a consequence, investors can focus on making the right investment decisions for themselves. At the Forum a strong emphasis was placed on financial literacy. Improving understanding and confidence among individuals will be critical to increasing participation in capital markets over the long term. In Ireland, nearly €170 million in household deposits is held in low return deposit accounts which diminish in terms of purchasing power over time. The Institute made the point that without financial literacy, the savings and investment accounts will not be as successful as they can be. The Institute also pointed out that the savings and investment account should be seen as one element of a wider reform plan which should include tax reform and the removal of the deemed disposal tax which penalises investors. The Tánaiste indicated that the roadmap on taxation of investment products will be published in the coming months. Chartered Accountants Ireland is hopeful that the roadmap will contain commitments to remove the deemed disposal tax along with other tax measures to improve the overall investment environment in the economy. We will continue to engage with Government on this issue over the coming months including as part of our Pre-Budget Submission.   You can read our earlier response here. You can read about the Investment Tax Guide published in conjunction with Goodbody here.

  Research published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has found that almost a third of Irish enterprises used ICT in 2025 to reduce their environmental impact, slightly ahead of the EU average. It also found that investing in technological innovation can support enterprise resilience, efficiency and competitiveness as well as environmental sustainability within enterprises, allowing enterprises to use fewer resources while producing the same or greater output. Commenting on the release, Morgan O’Donnell, Statistician in the Sustainability, Circular Economy & Transport division of the CSO said: “Sustainability is of increasing importance to enterprises, in terms of meeting environmental regulations and expectations, but also from an economic and social perspective. There is increasing national and international recognition that economic growth alone is not a sufficient measure of success, and that long term prosperity depends on achieving a balanced integration of economic, environmental, and social outcomes.” The research, titled Business in Ireland 2025 - Sustainability Through Innovation and Technology, is the second in a series of releases that brings together relevant enterprise economy statistics from a variety of outputs and looks at them through the lens of sustainability to provide greater insights around sustainability and climate targets.

Cróna Clohisey, Director of Members and Advocacy at Chartered Accountants Ireland, said: “The Forum is an opportunity to advance the recommendations of the Funds 2030 report and to simplify and enhance the tax framework for retail investment, now expected as part of Budget 2026. Together with the anticipated focus on Savings and Investment Union as part of Ireland’s EU Presidency this year, this emphasis on activating hard-earned savings is timely and hugely welcome.  “The Minister’s announcement that the proposed Investment Accounts are being developed with a simplified approach to tax is a positive development. A model based on a low, easily administered annual charge has the potential to reduce complexity and improve accessibility for retail investors.” Grant Sweetnam, Head of Public Policy at Chartered Accountants Ireland, said: “We welcome the strong emphasis placed on financial literacy by the Minister at today’s Forum. Improving understanding and confidence among individuals will be critical to increasing participation in capital markets over the long term. However, it is essential that these reforms are delivered as part of a coherent overall strategy to address fundamental barriers to investment. Addressing wider barriers, including the deemed disposal rule and inconsistencies in tax treatment across products, will be critical to ensuring the full benefits are realised.  “We look forward to engaging constructively with Government and stakeholders at the Savings and Investment Forum and throughout the implementation process to help ensure the roadmap delivers a simple, effective and competitive investment framework for Ireland.”