Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

Does theMinister of State agree that mortgage costs should be included in the CPI as personal debt is so high in the country? I recently read that, on average, every man woman and child in Ireland has personal debt of €32,000. Perhaps the Minister for Finance could update those figures for us. It is time to seek a more realistic CPI report, given the interest rates that will affect much of the aforementioned debt. This is in addition to an increase of 34% in gas costs and 20% in electricity. Is the Minister of State satisfied that the Government is getting the whole picture using the CPI as it currently exists? Can the CPI be broadened to include those real costs that affect people?

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