Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 May 2026
52. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the consideration being given to the impact of ongoing cost-of-living pressures, including increases in energy, fuel and food costs, on retired public servants and teachers; if additional supports or measures are being considered to protect pensioners' incomes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40402/26]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, Government has introduced two packages of supports worth over €750 million to help absorb some of the impact of rising energy prices.
These measures built upon the permanent, sustainable supports we have introduced as part of the Budget to assist with the cost of living, which included a €10 per week increase for recipients of the State pension. More broadly, my Department's distributional analysis of Budget 2026 shows the budget package is progressive, with all households receiving a boost in their net disposable income.
The distributional analysis shows that people with the lowest incomes fare the best from the changes made in the Budget. Furthermore, after accounting for Budget 2026 measures, the at-risk-of-poverty rate for the whole population falls by 1.7 percentage points, with the largest reductions for older people. This represents an important step in fulfilling our Programme for Government commitments, which focus on addressing poverty and ensuring that under-represented communities thrive.
Government will of course continue to closely monitor the situation in energy markets and in the Middle East and reserves the right to adjust its response as appropriate. Ultimately, the best way to ensure we are in a position to sustainably address the cost of living challenge is by adhering to a balanced and sustainable budgetary policy in which targeted, permanent measures are introduced as part of Budget 2027.
