Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not expect Deputy Boyd Barrett to come in here and give any kind of fair assessment of what the Government has done, but to come in and say it has done nothing is just blatantly incorrect. He knows that. In the most recent budget, and the measures since, we have introduced a package of approximately €2.4 billion of taxpayers' money to support households because we recognise and acknowledge the impact of the extraordinary level of inflation that is currently being experienced. Of course, an inflation rate of more than 8% is a real concern because it impacts on people, living standards and the competitiveness of businesses.

This is a global phenomenon. We have to acknowledge that. In the UK, the rate is 9%. In the US, it is 8.5%. In today's EUROSTAT publication, 12 of the 19 eurozone countries have rates of inflation that are higher than Ireland's. That is why we responded. It is why the Government continues to ensure that we can fund the measures we have already announced, including the reduction in VAT and excise duty. As the Deputy is aware, we have brought in two separate bullet payments for fuel allowance recipients, a €200 energy credit in respect of electricity bills for all households and a cut to the PSO levy from October. There is a major multi-annual national retrofitting scheme. We have put caps on school transport fees for families. We have cut transport fares by 20%, with an additional 50% cut in fares for young people. We reduced the drugs payment scheme threshold to €80 per month, benefiting more than 70,000 families. We brought forward the changes announced in the most recent budget in respect of the working family payment. We completely abolished any hospital charges for children overnight. There are also targeted measures. For example, the 9% rate for tourism and hospitality has, as the Deputy will be aware, been extended. We also introduced specific measures in the haulage sector. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, introduced a suite of measures to support the tillage sector, farmers, and rural communities. I do not expect Deputy Boyd Barrett to give the Government any credit for that. He wants more to be done. That is a reasonable political position to adopt.

What we, as a Government, are seeking to do is navigate our way through this. In order to help the country to get through this period, we are engaging in social dialogue with the main social partners, through the Labour Employer Economic Forum, the trade unions and the employer bodies. The national economic dialogue will take place on 20 June. This will provide an opportunity for a wider set of stakeholders and Opposition parties also to set out their positions. However, we also need to be honest with people. These are extraordinary times. This is a record level of inflation. It has never happened before in the eurozone. In fact, it is global. We will do the best we can as a Government to support and assist people, and we have to date, but it is not possible for any government to introduce measures to completely offset the impact of a terrible war in Ukraine, which has caused such dislocation in the energy markets and in relation to so many foods and materials across the supply chain. We acknowledge that it is having an impact and that is why we have responded to date. That is why we are finalising our budgetary position as we move towards the summer economic statement and the preparation of the budget.

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