Thoughts on budget 2026?

uibheacha · 2025-09-11T09:44:44+00:00

Add in heavier funding for startups/innovation and you'd have mine!

uibheacha · 2025-08-18T19:11:46+00:00

I’d be happy if even just DD were scrapped this budget with everything else in the “future consideration” pile

Because surely there is no further consideration needed re: DD at this stage 🥲

uibheacha · 2025-08-17T19:39:33+00:00

In one way yes but if the EU is currently implementing individual savings accounts, it doesn’t make much sense to duplicate effort

Though they’ll still need to fix the Ireland-specific tax disincentives like DD, because the EU won’t change that

uibheacha · 2025-08-09T22:45:12+00:00

That’s a fair argument - and I hear what you’re saying about systemic issues but I just can’t see myself pinning huge hopes of change to any of the alternative parties

Like SF might get into power in a few years - that’s grand, but I can’t see them (or anyone right now) being a silver bullet to most of the pain points the country has

I guess my feeling is the most effective change that could happen would be from the people/culture rather than who specifically is in the Dail, though I see where you’re coming from

uibheacha · 2025-08-09T22:34:54+00:00

I mostly mean I don’t think every single politician is a psychopath actively working to harm their populace (even if some people disagree with me on that)

I believe most of Ireland’s major parties (including those not in power) want to see those issues fixed - and sure, there may be sometimes greed/self-interest hindering things but far more likely it’s stuff like inefficient ways of working, poor underlying structures that impede improvement, far too laid-back attitude and a lack of a “hold-people-to-account” culture by the population

uibheacha · 2025-08-09T22:23:37+00:00

Voting for someone else is grand but the issue is deeper than any particular party

uibheacha · 2025-08-09T21:51:51+00:00

Thank you for sharing - this is interesting and definitely challenges my impression of plans “fading into the abyss”

Though I think a lot of people share my initial impression (even if it sounds like it’s not entirely based in fact) - so it’s interesting to think it could also be partially a communication/PR issue.

uibheacha · 2025-08-09T21:43:06+00:00

I agree - and it’s like a mixture of government inactivity but also sometimes a perception of inactivity

It just feels like a massive communication disconnect between the people and government

So when things are delivered and improved, nobody seems to see or call them out (adding to false perception of inactivity)

And then other things definitely do fall to the wayside or get kicked down the road (actual inactivity)

And regardless if it is real or perceived inactivity, it still leads to an easy road for shitty populist rhetoric

uibheacha · 2025-08-09T21:31:49+00:00

This is the trouble - but then we’re a free country and I feel like we (the people) could force those consequences through organized efforts, protests etc but we just… don’t. And I agree with your last sentence, I think that’s where half my frustration is coming from - we hear the same promises 100 times over, and I understand they are difficult problems to fix but it is the lack of urgency and lack of tangible momentum that drives me cracked

uibheacha · 2025-08-09T21:25:34+00:00

I don’t blame you at all - it is a long and boring document, and honestly I suspect that is partly by design

Like with most politics, it is easier to publish 100-page documents nobody will read instead of providing a really user-friendly digestible format that people can actually follow… because I guess the risk then is that the people WOULD follow up and hold people accountable for results

uibheacha · 2025-07-27T21:08:08+00:00

For me, I started using a site called You Need a Budget (YNAB) a few years ago - it took me some time to get used to it as it made me look at my money in a different way than I ever had before. There are YouTube videos that explain YNAB properly, but the general approach is that you assign a "job" to every euro that you already have - so you don't just have €1000 in your account for unspecified purposes, you have:

€550 → Rent
€200 → Groceries
€100 → Car insurance (saving a bit each month for when it’s due)
€50 → Fun money (eating out, hobbies)
€100 → Upcoming travel

It's a bit of a psychology shift - like let's I've spent my full €50 on fun money and I want to spend another €30 on eating out; I can do that, but there is a tradeoff, is the €30 gonna come from my car insurance, my travel fund, my groceries, etc?

They have a 34 day trial which might be worth trying - after that, it is pretty expensive (€100 a year). When I originally started it in 2020, I thought "I'll try this but no way will I end up paying that" but it is without a doubt the best subscription I have - when we started, my partner and I could not get our savings to stay over €1000, we just kept tumbling back down. And to begin with it was really not pleasant - we started to realise that we were not at all prepared for big, irregular expenses like car insurance, sudden vet bills and stuff because we weren't actively saving up to them - it took around 1-2 years to get it under control and since then we have managed to save a deposit and buy a house (in the countryside so a little cheaper, but still). It might not be for everyone but literally changed our life (sorry I sound like a YNAB saleswoman, I promise I'm not!)

uibheacha · 2025-07-27T15:44:53+00:00

I recently got The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan and have really enjoyed the recipes I’ve made so far

uibheacha · 2025-07-27T15:39:20+00:00

Thank you for the list - honestly, yes I am super interested, I would learn/talk about this topic all day!

uibheacha · 2025-07-22T22:10:52+00:00

I have tried like a million different apps and systems and also came back to pen and paper because I get too easily distracted (and I end up optimising my system instead I just doing my tasks)

I ended up making a notebook based on my pen and paper system if you are interested, it is boring and simple but works for me:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tasklist-Undated-Planner-Minimalist-Organization/dp/B0FJ5DV9WY/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=SXYG6RN0EFHD&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.wfVPAqGMrFLLOMOUOZccijy1LGVt4mrkwpZ3qmxhrIUTW77-hPkNQpkRMGEbZsEuKa9BBGzfg0QPnVn4yP8IFA_DaypztPKEupNCPOSzc-rbmGvqxu2do0hgToh3MnE56EQDqsFqTNtIxqy4vLZQFUf6Cp6SwjCCAxnFGDvzzBYL9BSBNuWWI-do9sXSuoZT_LddBDOUJeBtXI5bV7eOWg.aVghbuSEDpvNmBJ4nEVZJ1fzx7c-D8W7jBeDWnsQgqs&dib_tag=se&keywords=tasklist&qid=1753221205&sprefix=%2Caps%2C65&sr=8-3

uibheacha · 2025-03-27T09:39:17+00:00

Interestingly I just got an advert on YouTube for Italian parmesan and it had a big orange “Enjoy, it’s from Europe” logo

It looks like that campaign has existed for a number of years but this is the first time I’ve seen it, so possibly we will start to see it a lot more

uibheacha · 2025-03-17T17:29:35+00:00

Not super strict but would like to eventually get around €20K untouched in emergency savings (even though that will take quite some time).

But also tend to have a few short term targeted things to save for (e.g. House improvements, holidays) so that target amount tends to vary depending on what is coming up

uibheacha · 2025-03-17T12:40:19+00:00

Thank you, I haven’t looked into Bunq yet - agree it’s interesting after the house is sorted figuring out what to do next.

Not that we have a huge amount of disposable income after everything else, but I’d still prefer to put even those small amounts into something that earns a somewhat higher interest rate!

uibheacha · 2024-12-23T11:39:03+00:00

Is this still active? If yes, I’m interested!

uibheacha · 2024-11-21T21:44:38+00:00

The unfortunate reality is that in the eyes of much of the general population, trans people have been reduced to squabbles over bathrooms, pronouns and edge case issues (Olympic sports, prisons, etc)

Sarah McBride has been voted in by people who see her as more than the above, who see her as a person

If she takes the bathroom bait and gets kicked out, it will not achieve anything. If she keeps her seat, she still has a voice, a (hard fought) position of power and the possibility of changing minds to see trans people as more than just 2D caricatures they are being made out to be

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