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From:Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation

The Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Jack Chambers T.D, today published the Mid-Year Expenditure Report 2026, which provides an assessment of public expenditure trends and outlines the expenditure context and approach, ahead of Budget 2027.

The Mid-Year Expenditure Report is a key document in the whole of year budget process – examining key policy priorities, expenditure trends and associated risks and setting out policy considerations to support sustainable public finances and effective public service delivery. The report highlights the choices and trade-offs involved in balancing competing demands for resources within available fiscal parameters.

The Mid-Year Expenditure Report builds on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework published in 2025 as a planning exercise to guide future budgetary decisions. The report adds to the evidence base by providing analysis of key policy areas including capital investment, social protection, health and public service pay and staffing.

This analysis outlines the scale of investment that has been provided for in recent years alongside the policy outcomes and impacts associated with this expenditure growth. Increased investment since 2019 has facilitated growth in the public service workforce, sustained and enhanced adequacy in sectors such as social protection and health and expanded eligibility and reduced the cost of accessing public services.

At the same time, the report draws lessons for future policy design. This includes:

Speaking on publication of the report, Minister Chambers said:

“The Mid-Year Expenditure Report is an important milestone in the budgetary cycle. It sets out the expenditure position ahead of Budget 2027 and provides an assessment of the choices and trade-offs facing Government. As we prepare for the next Budget, we must ensure that public expenditure continues to support a growing population while remaining sustainable over the longer term.”

“Public investment has generally delivered good value for money, supporting economic growth, improving public services and enhancing long-term productive capacity. However, as the scale of investment increases, maintaining strong value for money becomes more challenging. As a Government, we will need to find efficiencies to continue investing in priority services and infrastructure while managing spending growth responsibly. These are all important considerations as we approach Budget 2027.

“Additional investment must be targeted at policies and programmes with higher marginal returns while managing capacity constraints. We must strengthen governance and reform delivery processes to maximise the marginal gains from additional investment and to ensure that each additional euro invested generates beneficial outcomes for people, society and the economy.”

The report will inform preparations for Budget 2027.

The Mid-Year Expenditure Report is available on theDepartment's website.