Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for her questions. The Government has put in place an analysis of the impact of the different measures we have brought in and what they mean for disposable income. We have not been able to do that on a geographical basis. Instead, we have done it on income level. Very broadly, those who have the least have benefited the most because they need the most support.

Just to give the Deputy some figures in respect of this, for the bottom decile, that is the lowest 10% of income earners within our country, the measures we have brought in since the start of 2022 have been equal to approximately 15% of the income of those who are earning the lowest income within our country. For the second decile, that is the next 10%, it is 14%. For the third decile, it is 10%. As I have said, those who are on the lowest income have experienced the largest increase in their income due to these measures. When it comes to energy, in many cases the measures that have been brought in by the Government, particularly the energy credit for those who are on low incomes, mean that most of the income loss those citizens would have experienced due to prices going up has been offset.