A tax package for families will be included in the forthcoming budget along with “groundbreaking” developments in the disability payment, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.Supporting the self-employed will be a Government commitment, he told Independent TD Michael Lowry, who, as a Coalition supporter, set out his demands in the Dáil on Wednesday for Budget 2027.The Tipperary North TD highlighted “the value of a capable and stable Government” as he asked the “central question” of what the forthcoming budget would do for working people.He said income tax bands and personal tax credits had been left untouched. “Workers are being unduly punished by the tax system. The people in the squeezed middle, the workers who keep our economy moving, need a meaningful tax package in October that allows them to keep more of their hard-earned money.” He also called for supports for those with disability who faced “unavoidable additional costs in areas such as transport and healthcare”.The Taoiseach said the Government would do everything it could in the budget to alleviate pressures brought about by the Middle East war and its effects on prices. “There will be a taxation package on income tax for families,” he said, adding that Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary was working on the cost of disability payment issue.“That would be groundbreaking.” It was a complex issue, however, that required “open consultation”.[ Budget 2027: Tax changes for workers and more affordable childcare set to be prioritiesOpens in new window ]Lowry also called for change in the current inheritance tax regime, which he described as “penal” and “not fair or equitable”. He said “families should be able to pass on a home, farm or business without an excessive tax burden. “We must also look at how people without children can pass an inheritance to nieces, nephews or close relatives without being disproportionately penalised.” The businessman said there was a need for a “clear pathway towards inclusion” of the self-employed in the My Future Fund pension scheme or an equivalent that would give them “the same opportunity to build greater retirement security”.He also hit out at the waste of public money, which he said “infuriated” people struggling with the cost of living, and said Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers “has to provide Government support to implement measures to reduce wasteful expenditure”.Highlighting developments in the economy, the Taoiseach said 2,794,500 people were in employment. The population had grown to more than 5.5 million. “That’s an increase of 10 per cent between 2020 and 2026, but an incredible increase of 53 per cent between 1995 and 2026.” “We have to have a budget that reflects the need to sustain that level of work in our economy, that people have access to jobs,” he said. He added that although AI is causing a lot of concern, “I take heart from the [€5 billion] investment that was announced by Intel this week. That is AI propelled.”There was “not a whisper” in the Dáil about the Intel investment, he said, and it showed the degree “to which this House is absolutely divorced from the reality of economics or the economy, or how to sustain the economy; how to stay competitive”. He said small and medium-sized enterprises was an issue “we keep under constant review”. A cost of doing business forum “is looking at what can we do to reduce costs” and simplify regulation for SMEs in particular.