The planned Acorn scheme, which would have provided €1,000 in savings for every newborn child in Ireland, has been significantly scaled back in coalition negotiations, with the final programme for government only committing to explore the concept.
The proposal, which had been a flagship pre-election promise from Taoiseach Simon Harris, represented one of the few major policy differences between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael during coalition talks.
According to The Irish Examiner, in place of the concrete commitment to the savings scheme, the programme for government will instead include plans for a publicly funded childcare model, an initiative that received broad cross-party support during the election campaign.
The modification of the Acorn scheme marks a significant compromise in the coalition negotiations, shifting from a definitive policy commitment to a more tentative exploration of the concept. This change reflects the give-and-take nature of the ongoing government formation process between the coalition partners.