John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have two final questions for both Ministers. One is for the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. There are some groups which are more vulnerable than others. I am thinking of community groups and schemes, where the grants and subventions that they get from Government are being eaten up. I am thinking of block grants. The Taoiseach mentioned heating bills for schools, so the Minister will be aware of that. I know where the Minister's heart is. I am advocating for them, so that notice and attention is given to the fact that they may have received a certain amount which would have covered the cost in a normal year, but the increase in energy costs is eating into their daily running costs, and I ask the Minister to take account of that. This Government has been exceptional in its sports capital investment and I am thinking of such projects. Many clubs around the country are finding that construction costs have increased so much that the sports capital grant they received is, in one case, barely covering the VAT of the original cost. Is that feeding into the Minister's thinking?

I have a question for the Minister for Finance. We have done much work and received a lot of information from witnesses about the index-linking of social protection payments and measures. What is the Minister's view on that and how is that informing him in the run-up to budget day?