Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste and we will definitely take him up on that briefing. There are two points here. We know that tariffs increase prices on consumers but even if there were no tariffs there is a cost of living crisis. I really think that the Government does not get it. Whatever way the Government dresses it up, last week it actually heaped more pressure on families through the carbon tax. It makes it more expensive for people to heat their homes. It makes it more expensive to cook their food. This is at a time when they are struggling with grocery prices, rent, insurance and so on.

With regard to the countermeasures that come from the European Union, I presume the Tánaiste's office has been engaged with them or has had sight of them. Will he give us an early assessment of the impact of those measures in Ireland, if they were to come to pass? We all hope that they will never come to pass? However, the Tánaiste told his parliamentary party meeting that we may face difficult decisions, so I am very concerned. In the past, the Government used the issue of tariffs in the context of low-paid workers having to wait longer while at the same time the Government is preparing to increase CEO salaries right across semi-State boards, and protecting the insiders such as we have seen in terms of Brendan McDonagh's salary and all of the rest. I want the Tánaiste to answer that question. I presume he has seen the countermeasures coming from the European Union. Are they in Ireland's interests? From his initial assessment does he believe they protect the all-island economy or do they challenge it further?

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