No further plans to tackle cost of living until end of year - Taoiseach

There are no plans for any extra measures to tackle the rising cost of living before the autumn, the Taoiseach has said.

Micheál Martin also rejected the suggestion that the Government could abolish the universal social charge, a tax on gross income of more than €13,000 per year.

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His comments came days after the Government announced a €290 million package of measures designed to mitigate the cost of living.

That package, which has been described as insufficient by opposition parties, includes a rebate on household energy bills increasing to €200 including VAT.

Public transport fares are set to be cut by 20% from April for the rest of the year.

People already in receipt of the fuel allowance will also receive an additional payment of €125. 

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Mr Martin said: “In a package like this, it was never going to alleviate the entire situation for people.”

He defended the extent of the package, warning of the dangers of “chasing” inflation.

Those eligible for the drug payment scheme, which puts a cap on the maximum a family can spend on medicines a month, will see the limit cut from €100 to €80.

The working family payment increase announced in the Budget will also be brought forward from June to April.

The Government also reduced caps on the fees for multiple children on school transport to €500 per family for post-primary schools, and €150 for primary school children.

“What we’ve endeavoured to do is, as best we can, give some alleviation to as many people as possible by doing initiatives that align with government policy as well,” the Taoiseach said.

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Asked on TodayFM what more might be done in the Budget in October, Mr Martin said: “There won’t be any further interventions until the next Budget. We do need to take it a step at a time.”

Mr Martin said that the “jury is out” about how long this cycle of inflation will last and said it was too soon to be discussing what might be contained in the Budget later this year.

It was suggested to Mr Martin that abolishing the USC would benefit everyone.

“It will not be abolished and we have to be honest with people,” he said.

“All the time there are increasing demands on public expenditure. The last two years have seen an unprecedented intervention by the Government, by the State, in the economy, underpinning wages, underpinning employers.”

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