Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge that we are experiencing a cost-of-living crisis. We are seeing inflation at a level that has not been seen for almost 40 years. While this is driven by international factors in the main, it is very much being felt in every home across the State. Everyone is feeling the squeeze and, of course, those on lowest incomes are feeling it most acutely.

The Government's response has been dynamic and we have been responsive to the needs of people during this period of high inflation. That response started in January, when the budget measures kicked in. There was an increase in the minimum wage, reductions in income tax, increases in pensions and welfare payments and a number of targeted supports, particularly in respect of the fuel allowance. That was worth approximately €1 billion. Since then, another €1.4 billion has been given back to people in the form of: a reduction in excise on petrol and diesel; a 9% VAT rate on electricity and gas - the lowest such rate ever on both; a deduction of €200 from people's energy bills; cheaper public transport; cheaper school transport; and a targeted fuel allowance payment to thee poorest families in the State.

Over the summer, people will see increases take effect as well. In the budget, there was a small increase in the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance based on inflation projections at the time. Families will be receiving that payment starting next week. More than 120,000 families in the State will receive the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance next week in respect of over 200,000 children. Because going back to college is, like going back to school, expensive, people will see the changes that were announced in the budget taking effect. There is an increase in the Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grant and there will be more people qualifying for that grant, together with an improvement in the adjacency payments. A package is in place to help with the cost of going back to school and to college. That is an increase on last year and it will kick in before budget day at the end of September.

We will have the budget in September. There will be two sets of measures. These are measures that are one-off and can take effect within weeks of the budget being announced. The latter means that people will have more money in their pockets come the autumn. Then there are the regular actions that will take effect on 1 January.

As the House can see, the Government is responding to this crisis as it unfolds. There has been action in January and since then and there will be action over the summer, in September and again next January. That is the right approach to take because this is an unfolding situation. It is completely appropriate that the Government should help people with the cost of living, given that our economy is strong and we have the financial firepower to do so.

It is also important to point out that no budget on its own is going to enable us to tame inflation. A comprehensive anti-inflation strategy is required which involves: action at an international level, working towards peace in Ukraine; action on monetary policy by international central banks; action at European level by the European Central Bank involving changes to the European fiscal and state aid rules and other things; and, of course, action at home, particularly to bring down some of the high structural costs that exist in this country and that are out of line the level of such costs in other northern European countries. One example I can give in respect of the latter is the cost of childcare.

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