Money ministers Paschal Donohoe and Michael McGrath unveiled a €400 million-plus cost of living package that will give every home in the country €200 off energy bills next month.
It is the main plank of their cost of living plan that they hope will help soften the blow of the soaring costs of living for ordinary households.
The plan will also see a 20% to all public transport fares to help commuters and our older citizens will have peace of mind with an extra €125 in fuel allowance.
But the effort has already been dismissed by the opposition as not going nearly far enough.
Labour leader, Alan Kelly, said it should have been at least €1billion of new money and he predicted the Government would be back in the same position again in a couple of months.
And Sinn Féin finance spokesman, Pearse Doherty, said the package only “scratched the surface” and he said that it showed the Government is “completely out of touch.”
The plan was unveiled in Government Buildings last night by Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, and Minister for Public Expenditure, Michael McGrath.
It came after an emergency meeting of the Cabinet’s special economic subcommittee of select senior ministers, chaired by Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Leo Varadkar.
