Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I will let Deputies in for a second round and ask Members to indicate their wish to do so. While they give that consideration I will ask a few questions.

I would like to return to discussing budget 2022. We have talked a great deal about the carbon tax and the impact on people's take home and discretionary income or money in their pockets. I would like to return to the middle income earners we discussed earlier. The average gains were counteracted by small income losses in the middle four deciles and I ask the witnesses to expand on that effect.

Is it that the people in question are receiving no welfare payments and were not earning enough to see any impact from those tax changes? Would a change to the working family payment have had any impact on those groups? Do the witnesses have a suggestion on how those particular groups could be targeted if there was a wish to do so?