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

I certainly hope that does not turn out to be the case. We have always said that we cannot fully insulate everyone from the rising cost of living but that we would try to insulate people as much as we can, particularly those who are the most vulnerable. In any household budget, there are three elements. There is how much you get paid, how much you get taxed and how far the money goes. To take the first element, pay is going up. Public sector pay, private sector pay and the minimum wage are going up. Welfare payments are going up, including weekly payments and other payments as well.

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