A decision on the measures will be made in the “next couple of weeks”.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said that the government is working on a package of measures in an attempt to tackle the fastest rise in the cost of living in “20 or 30 years”.
The Tánaiste was speaking in the Dáil on Thursday (3 February) in response to comments made by Sinn Féin Deputy Leader Pearse Doherty.
Doherty stated that inflation had reached its highest levels in 20 years in the 12 months to last December and that the cost of rents are “spiraling out of control”, attributing the latter to the government’s housing plan.
He also said rising energy prices and high childcare costs are putting workers and families “under pressure like never before”.
“Your government has had months to deal with this, to deal with the cost of living crisis, but you’ve failed to come up with a comprehensive plan to support these households,” Doherty told Varadkar.
“The Irish people deserve a government that understands the difficulties that they are facing, not a government that ignores, delays or indeed even makes things worse in some cases.”
Adding that the time to act is “long overdue”, Doherty called for an additional €5 increase in social welfare core rates, a refundable tax credit equivalent to one month’s rent and a ban on rent increases for the next three years.
He also said the government needs to halt plans to increase the cost of home heating oil and gas from May.
In response, Varadkar acknowledged that the cost of living is increasing, stating that it is rising “faster than it has in 20 or 30 years”.
“People are feeling the squeeze. Whether it’s the shock of looking at your gas bill, whether it’s the electricity bill, whether it’s the rising cost of filling a tank of diesel or petrol, everyone is feeling it in their pocket,” he said.
“And, of course, those on lowest incomes are feeling it more so than those who are not.”
Varadkar said that the government has already taken action to help families with the cost of living but agreed it is “not enough”.
“For that reason, the three party leaders who we met on Monday night commissioned my ministers to develop proposals for a package of measures that will allow us to help families with the cost of living,” the Tánaiste explained.
“That’s being worked on at the moment. We’ll have further discussions on it today.”
Varadkar said there would be a meeting with unions and employers on Thursday, followed by a meeting of the economic cabinet committee next week to discuss the package of measures.
“We will make a decision on it and we’ll make it soon, certainly in the next couple of weeks,” he added.
“We do acknowledge that the cost of living is rising… and we acknowledge that as a government we have to do something about it.”
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
