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

We are working through the process at the moment. We are at the early stages of the Estimates process. It is helpful for me as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to have the framework in place. That puts a certain shape on the discussions that are taking place now and through September. The Government will have to identify core priorities and we know what they are in the context of this budget. It is about the cost of living. It is about helping people manage through this difficult and challenging inflationary spiral. We have acknowledged that it is not just impacting on people on social welfare, though it is most acutely impacting them because they have fixed incomes and, by definition, are on quite low levels of income. People who are above those thresholds are feeling the pressure too. Many of them have significant day-to-day costs, including childcare, transport to and from work, mortgages, rents and so on. These measures need to have a broader application.

As to the core budget for next year and changes to the social welfare system, we are at the early stages of working through all the different options in that regard. We have clearly acknowledged that there will be a need for a social welfare package and, as the Minister for Finance has said, a taxation package as well. It will all be focused on trying to help people at what is a tough time. We recognise that as a Government. We have done a lot to date. It is perhaps not as much as others would like but we have made significant interventions. As the public finances are in a reasonably healthy position, we have resources for the autumn that we think will make a real difference. The work being done between now and then is about getting that balance right between one-off measures in the core budget for next year, measures that target those most in need and measures that have a broader application. There is a lot of work going into that and it is well under way at this point.