Taoiseach rejects calls for budget saying Government 'can't chase inflation every month'

Sinn Féin says cost of living protests shows people are at 'breaking point'.

 Taoiseach Micheál Martin says Sinn Féin's calls could lead to 'stagflation'.

The Government "cannot chase inflation every month", the Taoiseach has told the Dáil while again rejecting Sinn Féin calls for an emergency Budget.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald told Tuesday's session of Leaders' Questions that Saturday's protests on the cost of living had heard from people who were "at breaking point" and asked for a new budget to be drawn up.

Micheál Martin accused the opposition of urging the Government to chase inflation, a move, he said, that could lead to "stagflation" and to scenes similar to the 1970s.

"If we had followed Sinn Féin's advice from the outset, I think we would be in an even greater inflationary cycle. The ESRI report is a good reminder in terms of the importance of targeting and not just making wholesale cuts across the board, which Sinn Féin has advocated time and time again. 

Sinn Féin would damage the economy. I do not think that it gets the enterprise side of the economy or wants to get it. In my view, we have to watch that side of it and we have to avoid stagflation in itself

In response, Ms McDonald said: "I am not asking the Government to chase inflation. I am asking it to recognise the reality that people are struggling now and that they will continue to struggle through the summer months, not to mention the winter ahead of them. 

"The Taoiseach says we need to protect our economy, and we do, but we need to protect our people above all else. We cannot take risks with them, risks that leave children hungry and parents crying. That is the reality. Unfortunately, the Government is asking people to wait.

"With all sincerity and not in a spirit of political rivalry, I appeal to the Taoiseach to change that position." 

Families suffering

She said families are suffering and desperately need "targeted and thoughtful measures to give them breathing space now". 

"The Taoiseach stated that the Government was not asking families to wait. If he is insisting that the October budget will be the moment when relief is delivered, then he is asking people to wait. That is wrong.

"We understand the need to protect our economy, but we need to protect our people. What measures are you going to bring in now — not in October — now?"

The Taoiseach said he "is worried about the winter period" adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin is leveraging gas supplies against EU countries. He later told Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy that if the Government was to come forward with a plan, it was likely that opposition parties would "be looking for something a month later".

He said he does believe the crisis "could get worse" but October's Budget is the best way to set out a long-term response to the cost of living crisis.