Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As we know, the summer economic statement was published last week in a context in which we are seeing the living standards of hundreds of thousands of people fall because of prices rising beyond their control and the soaring inflation rate, which was nearly 10% in June.

Will the Taoiseach confirm whether the budget will increase social welfare payments in line with the rate of inflation? Will he introduce a windfall tax on the profits of energy companies at a time when, according to the ESRI, one third of households are in energy poverty? We believe a windfall tax would fund more targeted measures to address this. We also know that when announcing the summer economic statement the Minister said there would be scope for additional one-off measures on budget day that would not result in a long-term increase in Government spending. How much exactly has the Government planned for these cost-of-living measures? Will the Taoiseach commit to a windfall tax on energy profits and increase social welfare in line with the cost of living as part of the budget?

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