Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is worth noting that across the period in which the current public service wage agreement was in place we had inflation levels significantly below the figures the Deputy is referring to for November and December. If we look at the period for 2020 we actually had some modest deflation of 0.5%. For 2021 the average inflation level across that period was 2.5%, although it increased very significantly across October, November and December. Across the period in which that wage agreement has been in place it has been either ahead of, or in line with, the rate of inflation. However, for the very latter part of last year the price inflation considerably increased. Our expectation is though that as we move through this year we will see an improvement in some of the price pressures many families and businesses are facing at the moment. As I said on the floor of the Dáil earlier, we as a Government have put in place a whole set of policy measures aimed at responding to this inflationary pressure many have faced. I detailed what they are, including changes we have made in personal taxation, changes made in social welfare and changes we have aimed to make in relation to the cost of medical care and the cost of childcare. They are all in place. As the Deputy knows we have, even for this early part of the year, put in place a measure to seek to reduce energy bills for the first quarter. I fully appreciate the level of challenge and anxiety this is causing for many at the moment but this is why we have put the measures I referred to in place.