Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Natural gas costs £1.65 per therm on international markets, compared with 42 pence per therm last February. Higher gas prices have pushed up electricity costs as gas was used to generate half of this country's electricity last year. The latest CSO data on wages shows that average weekly earnings rose 5.4% in quarter 3 of 2021 from a year earlier and were up to 8.9% from their pre-pandemic levels in quarter 3 of 2019, which is contrary to much what has been said here in the past number of weeks. That said, added to the energy issues, quantitative easing to respond to the pandemic globally is a factor. As we emerge from Covid, the fact that supply has not met demand in terms of products manufacturing and the supply chain and blockages, which were real but are easing somewhat now and we hope will ease further throughout 2022, are the causes of the current cycle of inflation.

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