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

I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, the Ministers and their teams. I want to touch on the Pre-Stability Programme Update Report 2023 recommendations, in particular recommendation 2, which contains the phrase “reiterates that lower income and rural households are among the most impacted by the current inflationary pressures and that longer term measures may be required to support these households.” As the committee may know, Kildare South, which I represent, is a very rural constituency. Has the Government conducted any impact assessment to identify the areas where low-income and rural households require the most support in order to resist the inflationary pressures? What additional schemes has the Government considered for low-income and rural households since the publishing of the recommendations to which I refer?