Cost of Living Issues
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-26
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Simon Harris (FG), Wicklow

I am not sure that the Deputy's take on the Irish people is where they are at. The Irish people get the fact that this Government responded with one of the largest packages of support in the European Union, so nobody has been asked to wait at all. We reduced excise on diesel and petrol and put in place measures for key sectors. All of that benefits every citizen in this State in terms of trying to put some downward pressure on what the Deputy rightly said was rising inflation. The Department of Finance estimates that the overall package will reduce inflation by about 0.5% on what it otherwise would have been. We are taking proactive measures but I have to be honest with the Irish people - the winter could be very challenging. We have to try to make sure we can have a well-considered package for how we assist people, families and business not in a temporary way, but in a way that looks at structural change. I am open to positive and constructive engagement. We had a discussion about this in the budgetary oversight committee today.
What can we do structurally on energy? What can we do to make it easier for people to make their own homes warmer? Are there measures we can take there? However, getting into that annual budget cycle is to the benefit of citizens in this country.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:04+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-26