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

I thank the Fine Gael Senators for tabling this Private Members' motion. I am responding to the motion on behalf of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, and the Government. The Government supports the motion on the basis that we agree with its call for a budget to help people, particularly those on the lowest incomes and the squeezed middle, deal with the cost of living. We agree that we need to respond to inflation in a strategic way, rather than doing so piecemeal. Budget 2023 is just over three and a half months away and this is a useful opportunity to listen to the views of Senators. It is timely to have this important discussion now rather than the week before, or indeed the week after, the budget.

The national economic dialogue will take place next Monday. It will provide a forum for an open and inclusive discussion on competing priorities and economic perspectives in advance of budget 2023. As the motion points out, countries the world over are facing significant issues in the context of the cost-of-living crisis. Inflation is currently running at over 8% in Ireland, with nearly half of that due to higher energy prices. This is eroding real incomes. Although the reality is the Government will never be in a position to fully compensate people for the rise in the cost of living, we have already made significant interventions and will continue to do all we can to help people.

The Government has demonstrated its willingness to intervene assertively in the economy when that is needed. If one looks at what happened in the past two years during the pandemic, there was unprecedented support. Approximately €48 billion was provided through programmes such as the pandemic unemployment payment, the employment wage subsidy scheme and a range of other supports. Those supports were designed to help workers and businesses, and they worked. The economy has recovered far faster than anybody imagined.