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

On the last matter, we are scoping out the Covid inquiry at present. We hope to have it established by the Oireachtas mid-year. It will not just be about the State's response; it will be about the wider response from all society, including the private sector. It is impossible to put a timeframe on it but given the scope and scale, it could take a long time. That is the truth of it. I cannot possibly put a time on it.

With regard to the first matter raised, it is important and was not acknowledged in the questions that poverty had been trending downwards in Ireland for a number of years, as had income inequality. Ireland, as judged by the Gini coefficient, is one of the few countries that has not seen inequality increase in recent years. That should be acknowledged and it is largely down to the policies pursued by Government in recent years.

However, the cost-of-living crisis changes thing and it has caused a considerable set-back. I acknowledge that many families are really struggling to make ends meet and to pay for very basic things, whether it is energy, fuel or food.

We are taking a lot of action. There have been wage increases, with the national minimum wage rising by 7.8%. That kicked in in the last few weeks and is in line with inflation. We are now likely to see inflation of less than 7.8% this year. It might not have been in line with inflation last year but if one takes inflation over a three, five or ten year period, the national minimum wage has increased ahead of the rate of inflation and ahead of the cost of living. We had the public sector pay deal as well and we have increases coming through by way of employment regulation orders and across the private sector pay increases are happening as well. We have pension and welfare increases which just kicked in in the last few weeks, amounting to an extra €12 per week. There have been more targeted measures like the extension of the fuel allowance to tens of thousands more people. There have been income tax reductions, including the rent credit which I know will be welcomed by a lot of renters. We are taking action on the social wage by reducing the cost of public transport, school transport, childcare, college fees, and providing free schoolbooks. All of these things make a big difference.

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