The Christmas socialising season is hitting its stride but there’s still plenty of politics to do before the holidays. Today sees the last Cabinet meeting of the year – “barring emergencies”, says one insider – so expect a lengthy agenda. Cormac McQuinn has the highlights here, which include two meaty items from the new Minister for Finance, Simon Harris. One is a new plan to provide €600 million in loans to small builders and developers to build up to 5,000 new homes of all tenure types in the next few years. Harris will also seek Cabinet agreement for the new – and long-promised – Medium Term Fiscal Framework, which will set fiscal and budgetary rules for the rest of the Coalition’s term.

Source: The Irish Times December 16, 2025 16:55 UTC