Budget support measures will extend into next April, Michael McGrath says

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath has said that while the detail of this year’s budget won’t be finalised until Sunday, the Government is conscious of the fact that energy supports for families will have to extend into next March and April given recent fuel inflation.

Mr McGrath said the final decisions on the precise supports for families have yet to be made, but the Government is conscious “there will be a long hard winter ahead for many families and measures introduced in the budget will aim to take account of that”.

“We’re putting the finishing touches to the budget at this point — still settling estimates with a number of our Government colleagues but making very good progress, and I anticipate that Minister [Paschal] Donohoe and I will present a final package to the leaders come Sunday.

“I think it will be a budget that will bring significant benefits to people very quickly. It is going to focus very much on cost of living, supporting households, supporting businesses, [because] the months ahead will be tough, and we acknowledge that.”

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Speaking at the official opening of the new Port of Cork container traffic terminal at Ringaskiddy in Cork Harbour, Mr McGrath said the supports which the Government will offer families in the budget will be framed and structured so as to extend through to March and April next year.

“There will be supports that are directly linked to energy costs. That is the root cause of much of the inflation, and inflation has broadened. We acknowledge that in terms of other household bills, groceries and so on.

“And that’s why with the resources that we have available, the focus here is on cost of living, alleviating to the greatest extent that we can the pressures that people are facing. We’re not saying that we can lift the full burden off everyone entirely — we cannot do that.”

But Mr McGrath would not be drawn on speculation that the budget will include a €200 energy credit to help families with rising fuel inflation, though he did reveal that the likely measures will “kick in pretty much immediately” to help families.

“We’re just a few days away from giving them that certainty. I’m not going to add to speculation. We have to present a package to the party leaders and then, ultimately, the full Cabinet has to approve the budget and that will happen on Tuesday morning,” he said.

“We know that people are hurting. It is really difficult now for a lot of people to make ends meet, bills are rising, and the bills are going to rise further, many of the announcements we’ve had in relation to utility increases have yet to fully kick in.

“And as the weather gets colder people would be using more energy and the bills will rise further. And that is exactly when we need the Government supports to kick in, so we have been considering this budget now for a number of months. Intense work has been undertaken.”

Mr McGrath said the budget will focus on assisting not just those in receipt of social welfare payments but also those who are working and who don’t get State benefits but are feeling the impact of inflation across everything from foodstuffs to energy costs.

“We will target significant resources to those most in need… we acknowledge that many people who are working, who don’t get State benefits, are feeling the pressure too and are going to have really high bills in the months ahead, and they will need State support and we will provide that.

Asked if the package of measures is likely to satisfy Sinn Féin calls for greater support for beleaguered families, Mr McGrath took the opportunity to criticise Sinn Féin for what he claimed are uncosted demands for supports that would ultimately be damaging to the Irish economy.

“I’m not sure we’ll ever keep Sinn Féin happy, but I do look forward to studying their pre-budget submission and in particular seeing how they’re going to fund all of the extravagant promises that they’re making,” he said.

Mr McGrath said the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael-Green Party Coalition had worked well in Government to manage the economy and the public finances in a responsible way, and that was why the exchequer returns were showing a surplus for this year and a projected surplus again for next year.

“We have to bring forward a credible package, which can be funded, and it will be funded because this Government has managed the economy well. The reason that we have a large surplus this year and expect to have a large one next year is because of the management of the public finances.

“It’s because of the way in which our enterprise policies have enabled a strong economic rebound… giving us resources to help people. The Sinn Féin policies will do the opposite — they’re happy to say how they would spend the money our policies have helped to generate, [but] that doesn’t add up.”