The Taoiseach has refused to speculate on the future of cost of living measures and has said he doesn't want to "raise expectations".
But he had said an announcement is coming in February about what financial help is coming down the line. Most of the planned payments will be targeted toward certain groups.
At the end of next month several measures will end. They include reduced VAT rates for the hospitality sector, excise duty cuts on petrol and diesel and VAT reductions on electricity.
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During Leaders’ Questions, Right To Change TD Joan Collins raised concerns about the cost of living crisis. She said: “The economy may have grown by 12.2% but people aren't feeling it. There's no reflection of growth in people's pay packets.”
Mr Varadkar said that he accepts that while inflation may be falling, prices remain high and that “people are continuing to get worse off if their incomes don’t rise as fast as prices are rising”. As I said and the Tánaiste said, there isn't going to be a cliff edge at the end of February. A number of measures that were due to end at the end of February are now under review.
“We acknowledge that we're going to need to do something to help people with the rising cost of entry throughout the spring. We haven't made any firm decisions on that. The key ministers involved will set it down next week and look at options with a view to making an announcement certainly by the middle of the month so that people have certainty going into March.”
He continued: "There are a number of options that we need to consider. It probably wouldn't be useful for me to speculate on the options now because it might just raise expectations.
"I agree that the measures need to be targeted. It might even be the case that there are still some universal measures. But generally speaking, they need to be targeted at those who need them the most and those who are struggling the most.”
It has been widely touted that another energy credit could be applied to bills coming into the summer. But Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said that this may not be needed as energy prices have fallen. The Taoiseach told the Dáil last week that the Government did not “have the resources” to continue all measures.
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