Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 16 February 2022
Committee on Budgetary Oversight
Indexation of Taxation and Social Protection System: Discussion (Resumed)
Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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My final question is for Ms Behan. I was interested that she brought up the HICP. There was a new recommendation, I believe it was in November last year, around including house prices. It currently includes rent and the recommendation was that it would also include the cost of home ownership. I have formed what is perhaps an incorrect opinion over the past three sessions that a lot of the early generation of indexation started off linking it to prices, and the current thinking is that it may be more robust when linked to wages. Given that we are experiencing huge levels of inflation with rental costs and house prices, is the HICP of particular interest? Given Ireland's housing crisis, is the HICP a fair reflection of what is happening within our own system?