UCC Students win annual Irish Tax Institute Fantasy Budget Competition

4 Feb 2026

UCC BSc Accounting students Jane Brereton, Jessica Doody, Eimear McGee and Catherine Cooney, supported by Lecturer Mark Barrow, have won the annual Irish Tax Institute Fantasy Budget Competition.

The Irish Tax Institute's Fantasy Budget, running for more than 20 years, is an annual competition for undergraduate students challenging them to analyse Ireland's national budget and propose their own creative tax policy solutions. For over two decades, the competition has sought to promote a practical understanding of the role of tax and its economic and social impact in Ireland.  

The winning team from UCC, analysed three measures from Budget 2026 including the new auto-enrolment pension scheme, the National Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication Programme and the Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit. The proposed measure which the team advocated should have been introduced in Budget 2026 was ‘UpSkillMe’ - a national initiative to address the digital skills gaps and slow adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) among those aged 45–64.  

Congratulating the winning team Irish Tax Institute President Shane Wallace said, “We continue to be blown away by the level of interest in the Fantasy Budget Competition and the high standard of the entries received. The winning team from UCC put forward well thought out proposals that would not only strengthen Ireland’s innovation capacity and maintain competitiveness within a rapidly digitising European economy, but would also enable all citizens, regardless of background or sector, to participate fully in technological progress,” he said. 

Mark Barrow, Tax Lecturer in UCC, added, “Competitions such the Irish Tax Institute’s Fantasy Budget challenge students to examine the breadth of tax measures in the annual Budget and to use their entrepreneurial flair to come up with creative ideas for raising revenue and improving the quality of life for the citizens of the country. I’m thrilled for Jane, Jessica, Eimear and Catherine, who are all BSc Accounting at UCC, and who put a lot of work into their submission and look forward to supporting more students with their entries,” he concluded.  

Professor Michelle Carr, Head of Department of Accounting and Finance at UCC, said, “I am very proud of Jane, Jessica, Eimear, and Catherine for their achievement in the Irish Tax Institute Fantasy Budget Competition. This success is a testament to their hard work and creativity, as well as the quality of our BSc Accounting. I’d also like to acknowledge Mark Barrow for his support and mentorship, which played a key role in helping our students reach this milestone.