Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I accept that core payments are important. I agree with the Deputy on that. I wanted to put money into people's pockets in order that they could pay their bills.

That is why the lump sums were there last year. They are also there this year. That is in addition to the electricity credits. It is about paying the bills. As I have said, if you look at the data over the year, you will see that people were actually better off with the lump sums. They had more money in their pocket with the lump sums. When this is combined with the €12 increase this year and the increase of €5 in 2022, these people were better off. Again, I will be looking at formulating the budget this year. At the end of the day, regardless of the medium, what I want to do is to put money in people's pockets so they can buy the food and essentials they need. That is the most important thing for me.

See this speech in context