Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests and apologise in advance if I am a little repetitive. I will put my question to IFAC first. Mr. Barnes referred in his opening statement to high energy prices contributing to inflation and he seemed to be advising against wage increases. How does he suggest we relieve the pressure on both workers and older people considering the price of items such as a bag of coal will reach €50 in the coming weeks? It is going to cost €1,500 to fill a tank with oil for home heating. Business people in a very small rural town tell me they cannot pay the rent for their businesses any more. Older people, particularly pensioners, are really worried that they are not going to be able to eat. They say they will have to choose between food or fuel. In terms of surplus and deciding between the rainy day fund and the National Pensions Reserve Fund, does Mr. Barnes have a preference for choosing one option over the other? What proportion of each fund does he suggest could be used?

We have heard a lot about inflation today. Deputy Doherty mentioned a wealth tax.

Can we get some insight on that?

On a question to the ESRI, I am conscious of energy inflation being a major concern. We hear it trotted out all the time about the war in Ukraine. Although I might be wrong, it is my opinion that it is not necessarily the war in Ukraine that is causing this energy crisis. We have known for quite a while that there is going to be an energy crisis and the inflation around that. I ask Mr. Barnes his opinion on the causes around this, whether I am right or wrong and how to deal with that. How much price gouging does Mr. Barnes think is going on? I think there is a great deal of price gouging going on currently and I wonder what Mr. Barnes’s opinion is.