New cost-of-living supports will be more modest than before - Humphreys

Jonathan McCambridge, PA

Financial assistance will be announced for vulnerable groups hit by the cost-of-living crisis, but will be on a smaller scale than previous  interventions, Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys has said.

The Fine Gael TD said she wanted to be “straight with people” that interventions would be less than those announced last year.

Senior ministers are set to meet on Monday to finalise a package before it is formally signed off by Cabinet on Tuesday and announced publicly.

A series of existing cost-of-living measures are currently due to fall away at the end of the month.

These include the energy credit scheme for households, a reduced 9 per cent VAT rate on hospitality, electricity and gas, and the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBES). Excise is also due to go up on petrol and diesel.

The Government has said it wants to avoid a “cliff-edge” scenario and has signalled an intent to extend some measures and introduce other mitigations.

Ms Humphreys told RTÉ on Sunday that she wanted to protect the most vulnerable.

“As Minister for Social Protection, my priority is older people, people with disabilities, carers and, of course, working families with children.

“We did have a very comprehensive package of measures for Budget 2023.

“And I want to be honest, I want to be straight with people, that the scale of these measures will be considerably less.

“But, having said that, we will be able to give that helping hand to those that need it most.”

Sinn Féin was critical over the measures being announced at the “last minute”, with Roscommon-Galway TD Claire Kerrane telling RTÉ’s The Week in Politics programme that her party wanted to see a spring bonus for the most vulnerable.

“A double payment to all social welfare recipients. They all need to see support in relation to what is announced on Tuesday,” she said.