Taoiseach Micheal Martin has said the Government has to plan for the cost of living to remain high for the medium term, and certainly for the next couple of months.
Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath, Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe are working on a package of financial measures to relieve the pressure on households who are struggling with soaring inflation.
It comes as the Government is expected to announce on Tuesday that grants of more than €25,000 will be offered to individual householders to help pay for deep retrofits of their homes which in turn should reduce the cost of bills.
Mr Martin said: “The priority right now is to see if we can bring in a range of measures that will cushion the blow for many people out there who clearly are feeling the impact of price rises and that is the agenda at the moment.
“We have indicated more broadly we’re looking at charges, we’re looking at costs that people have to bear.
“We’re looking at a range of charges that perhaps could reduce costs for people in their ordinary, everyday lives and there’s a number of measures currently being looked at.”
Speaking to reporters in Killarney, Mr Martin said it was a reminder for the country of the need to "double down" on the use of renewable energy, and to reduce Ireland's dependence on fossil fuels.
Mr Martin indicated the proposed carbon taxes will go ahead and said what the Government will announce this week, will be “largely funded through the revenues generated from the carbon tax.”
He added: “We want to do some measures like we did in the Budget, targeting people on low incomes to weather this particular inflationary cycle.
"We all need to be realistic in terms of what's achievable."
