The rising cost of living once again dominated Dáil proceedings on Thursday, as the Government resisted calls from Sinn Féin to go further to tackle inflation.
It comes amid ever-growing concern about the impact of inflation on the poorest households, worsened by the war in Ukraine.
A study by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) published on Wednesday said inflation could hit 6.7 per cent this year, a level not seen in Ireland for decades.
In the Dáil, Sinn Féin finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty also cited a study by the bank KBC, which calculated that Irish households may be €2,000 worse off due to inflation.
“This is going to hit lower and middle income earners hardest.
“Workers and families cannot bear these costs without significant financial hardship.”
Squaring off against Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe, Mr Doherty warned that price rises will push people into poverty.
“Rising prices doesn’t affect everyone equally. They impact lower earners hardest.”
Mr Doherty said that he understood the Government could not help everyone, but said it “can and must do more”.
Pointing to the cost of home heating oil, the Donegal TD urged the finance minister to bring forward a package of social welfare measures.
“Many households simply cannot afford this increase without cutting back on further essentials. That is what is happening in the real world.”
“Act to protect those who are most vulnerable,” he told Mr Donohoe.
The minister defended his record and that of the Government.
“We are aware of the worry that many are now contending with.
“It is in precisely in recognition of the additional costs that so many are facing that the Government has already acted.”
Mr Donohoe said that since the Budget last autumn, the Government has provided a payment of €125 for those most at risk of fuel poverty, while a €200 rebate on energy bills was in the works.
He also pointed to a recent cut in excise duty on fuel.
The ESRI report, he said, contained more than simply data on inflation.
The Government, he said, was coming into the crisis “with an economy that is growing, with 2.5 million people at work, with flexibility and the capacity to respond back”.
He said that the Government response to the pandemic had paid off and would again with this latest crisis.
“We did our best, each day, to do all we could as a Government to act in a sensible way while being conscious that the challenge is one that could be with us, and indeed was with us, for a significant period of time.”
Once again, he said, the state is grappling with “forces beyond the control of our country”.
He also hit back at Mr Doherty and Sinn Féin, telling him: “Your own party in Northern Ireland has just voted through a rate increase in Northern Ireland.”
“They are facing the same pressures and challenges we are here.”
“That is the decision your party is making in Northern Ireland at the moment, the very kind of decision at this moment this Government is trying to avoid.”
Mr Doherty spoke of the “anxiety” people are feeling, knowing that the Government may not intervene again until the October Budget.
“They are looking for a Government that has a responsibility to act in the national interest and to protect those who are most vulnerable,” he said.
The Finance Minister, who insisted the Government was aware of the struggles of families, said that there was a difference between them and the opposition party.
“This Government is busy implementing measures that we believe will make a difference.”
“You are busy deleting your policies, deleting the measures,” he said, in an apparent reference to Sinn Féin recently deleting statements from its website.
The party has said this was because it is building a new website.
But the jibe prompted a furious response from Mr Doherty, who shouted: “Nothing until October – disgraceful.”
