Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to take those questions. I thank the Deputy. In the measures we have introduced in recent months, we have tried to strike a balance between ensuring that most of the measures are targeted and generally involve using the social welfare system, such as the fuel allowance scheme, back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance and so on. We have also had measures with a broader application that benefit people who are above the social welfare qualifying threshold. The electricity credit is an obvious example, as well as the abolition last week of school transport fees, a reduction in public transport fares for younger people and the population generally and changes to the drug payment threshold scheme.

In framing a set of one-off measures, we will have to strike a balance. Our principle is that many of the measures will need to be targeted because this is, in the main, but not exclusively, an energy price crisis. We are seeing broader inflation in food and across a range of other materials and goods that people purchase. We recognise that people who are earning above the upper limits are also struggling and feeling the pressure. There will need to be measures that go beyond the eligibility cohort, as defined by the social protection code.

The other issue raised by the Deputy comes down to the interaction between the social welfare system and work. We often hear examples of people who can only take on so many hours because they will lose certain benefits or feel it is not worth their while to work. The principle that we as a Government subscribe to is that it should always pay to work. If people have the opportunity to take on more hours, that should also pay. We are examining the interaction between the welfare system and work, in particular, to determine whether there are any issues we can address which would allow people to participate to a greater extent in the labour market, be that taking up employment or doing more work if they are currently in employment. We are considering options in that regard in the context of the budget.