Cost of Living Issues
Dail Éireann — 2025-12-18
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Barry Ward (FG), Dún Laoghaire

I acknowledge what has been done in the budget in respect of this area. I acknowledge particularly the difficulty in balancing the importance of supports without creating inflationary pressure in other areas. I recognise that this has been done in the budget to a large extent. However, in certain schemes where supports are being provided, there are different pressures on families depending on where they live. The supports that are provided are across the board. There is no recognition of the fact that, for example, housing is much more expensive in cities. There is no recognition of the fact that if you are running a childcare facility in my constituency of Dún Laoghaire, your rent will be higher as will the rent paid by your staff. I raised with the Minister for children previously the idea that we might have varied rates according to where they are in the country, but I do not know if that is possible. Has the Department of Finance looked at the possibility of having staggered rates around the country?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-12-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:29+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-18