Dr. Tom McDonnell:

I suppose what we are saying is if the measure was worth doing on a once-off basis because we think it is good policy, it is something that we should be thinking about doing as a policy measure full time. Therefore, we reduce that cost of public transport and we provide free school books in perpetuity rather than just because we had a high level of inflation one year whereas, hypothetically, an energy credit as a once-off measure would presumably not be continued in perpetuity as a social transfer for everyone. Some of those measures might be worth doing in 2026 and 2027 because we think they are good policy and, therefore, one says that one thinks this is a good idea, if one does, and then it becomes part of core current spending year on year but something that is a once-off payment, while helpful at the time, once it is gone, it is gone and inflation is continuing. The prices are going up and up every year and it is not helping those households in years to come. Rather than using up the precious fiscal resources on the once-off measures, we should be baking in a system that is sustainable based upon measures that are good long-term policy.