Taoiseach Micheál Martin has indicated that measures around public spending next year may be impacted due to costs involved in taking in hundreds of thousands of refugees.
Mr Martin also said over the next while, the State will target those most in need and people on lower incomes who are struggling with the soaring cost of living.
He said he doesn’t anticipate the Government having to borrow this year to help Ukrainians arriving in Ireland.
He said: “But in 2023, there will be costs and therefore the Budget towards the latter part of the year will have to reflect that and that does create challenges for us, economically and fiscally and so we’ll approach all of this in the context of the forthcoming Budget.
“The economic implications of this war are there and are there to be seen in continuing energy prices, in food security issues and sectorally now agriculture and food are bearing the brunt of this because of high costs.
“Obviously the expenditure is going to be there, there is going to be increased expenditure in education and in health so we got to factor that into the Budget.”
More than 14,000 PPS numbers have already been issued to Ukrainian people who have arrived here since the Russian invasion, Social Protection Minister Health Humphreys has said.
She told the Dáil that supplementary Welfare Allowance is already being paid in respect of over 9,000 people while Child Benefit is also being paid in respect of almost 4,000 children.
When asked about the capacity to build housing and accommodate refugees, Mr Martin said the State now needs to become “more responsive and innovative in terms of the challenges.”
He said: “On the planning side we’re going to have to look at faster timelines in getting projects delivered.
“Because this is a wartime situation, I think we have to look at modular construction for example in terms of the emergency that’s upon us.
“That won’t be immediate but it’ll take a number of months and so on but we have to be innovative in our response now in what is a wartime situation.”
Meanwhile, the Governor of the Central Bank has told a Dáil committee that increases in consumer prices for energy and fuel "are yet to reflect in full the developments of recent weeks and the implications of the conflict in Ukraine."
Gabriel Makhlouf also said that there may be between 15-16 "special purpose entities" registered in the IFSC which may "have some connection with the named individuals" currently under EU sanctions against Russia.
He briefly confirmed that assets have been frozen to date.
When asked about this, the Taoiseach said: “I think the very fact that they've been identified and frozen is a good thing and shows the robustness of our systems.”
When asked if he was concerned that some of these assets meant some of this money was in the Irish system. Mr Martin said “it’s in every system” and that this represents a minority.
But added: “Nonetheless we’ve no wish to see such activities in the Irish financial service.”
He said there is no hiding place here and no one would be sheltered.
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