Ministers brace for public outrage as NO cost-of-living supports in next Budget

Extra.ie​

3 days ago

The Cabinet is preparing for a 'storm' of pushback from the people as ministers rule out any cost-of-living support measures in the budget.
One senior minister yesterday said there will 'definitely' be no utility bill supports or double welfare payments, despite growing concerns over soaring prices.
It comes as an Extra.ie analysis of everyday food items confirms prices have risen by almost 9% in just one year, well over 50% higher than the overall rate of inflation. Alan Dillon (Centre) Pictured with Micheál Martin and Simon Harris. Pic: File
Cabinet sources admitted they are becoming increasingly concerned about the rising cost of families' weekly grocery bills and have asked the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Alan Dillon, to look into the matter.
However, ministers firmly ruled out a return of cost-of-living supports, which cost €2.3 billion last year.
One Cabinet member told Extra.ie: 'We have the National Development Plan coming in the next couple of weeks and the public will see the massive demands on capital spending contained in that.
'Many of our projects won't get funding and there is no financing for a cost-of-living package. We introduced a widening of the fuel allowance grants and there are expanded student grant schemes and other benefits that were guaranteed funding in last year's budget. But a cost-of-living package that the electorate may have come to expect since 2022 is not happening this year.' The Cabinet is preparing for a 'storm' of pushback from the people as ministers rule out any cost-of-living support measures in the budget. Pic: Shutterstock
Ministers also cited tightening EU budgetary rules and a deteriorating global economic outlook following US President Donald Trump's announcement of 30% tariffs on European goods as other impediments to a cost-of-living package.
Another minister said: 'We'll be expecting a storm of pushback though when the electorate realise that payments that many households came to rely on to pay the bills are not happening this year.
'The voters will also accuse us of a massive pre-election financial stunt, and that will play a role in the next election, the Presidential one.' It comes as an Extra.ie analysis of everyday food items confirms prices have risen by almost 9% in just one year, well over 50% higher than the overall rate of inflation. Pic: Shutterstock
The lack of supports for families comes as charity leaders warned many parents 'dread' the summer holidays and forgo even the cheapest family days out to keep food on the table.
Figures published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) this week show that food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose by 4.6% between June 2024 and June 2025.
That was well over double the general increase of 1.8% across 12 categories in the CSO's Consumer Price Index, which also includes energy, recreation and clothing. By far, the biggest increases in that time have been on products that are primarily produced in Ireland, such as beef and dairy. Pic: FabrikaCr/Getty Images
However, an Extra.ie analysis shows 15 of the most common supermarket purchases now cost 8.58% more than this time last year. The CSO publishes its National Average Prices list each month, showing the average price of over 40 food items.
A basket of 15 of those items – selected as the most commonplace – would cost €97.90 now compared to €90.17 this time last year. By far, the biggest increases in that time have been on products that are primarily produced in Ireland, such as beef and dairy.
According to the CSO's National Average Prices data, a kilogram of beef for roasting costs 20% more than this time last year – €15.20 instead of €12.64.
And butter has risen 30% in that time, from €3.73 per pound to €4.83 per pound. Milk has risen 13%, from €2,20 for two litres to €2.47, while a fillet of fresh cod has gone up 11%. Tomatoes, potatoes, and sugar were the three items on our list that have come down in price over the last 12 months.
Research published by the children's charity Barnardos this week found that two in five respondents to a survey had skipped meals or reduced portion sizes to ensure their children had enough to eat. The same number said they had borrowed money to provide for their children.
Barnardos' national policy manager, Stephen Moffatt, said parents are 'doing their absolute utmost to make sure there's food'. However, he added that in doing so, they are 'knocking off a lot of other things' for themselves and their children.
He added: 'They're having to go without or cut back on activities for their children, like maybe swimming lessons. It can be days out and these aren't luxurious days out – it's things that children might do during the summer.'
One mother reported she can no longer take her three children to the beach. Mr Moffatt told Extra.ie: 'She doesn't live that far away, but she knows a trip to the beach – even though there's no cost to get in – is going to cost €20.' Tánaiste Simon Harris speaking in Brussels on Monday. Pic: Olivier Hoslet/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
He said anxiety around school holidays 'comes up a lot when I chat to parents'. He added: 'For some families, it's 'How am I entertaining these children for a couple of weeks?' 'It's not that they're saying they want money to be able to do expensive trips or holidays. It's really the smaller things where parents are weighing things up more.
'There are families saying they would usually go out for a day or literally drive somewhere an hour away or going to visit family – they would just be a bit more conscious now about spending the money on the petrol.'
He said families on 'very low incomes' may even struggle to scrape cash together for a city bus to go do something 'ostensibly free', adding that the stressed-out 'psyche' of cash-strapped parents rubs off on their children.
St Vincent de Paul (SVP) national president Rose McGowan also said the charity is seeing a rise in the number of families seeking help.
She revealed how a mother told her a few weeks ago she was 'dreading the summer holidays'. Ms McGowan said: 'The mother said, 'They're here, they're in and out of the fridge all the time.'
'Where the summer holidays should be relaxing – as in, there's no getting up early in the morning, getting them out to school, etc – she's worrying about feeding them and what that will cost for the month or two of summer holidays.'
SVP has reported a rise in the number of callers to the charity and an increase in appeals for food. Of 91,022 calls received so far this year, 53,595 related to food or food and another issue. This is an increase on the 89,270 overall calls recorded on the same date last year, of which 51,239 related to food.
Ms McGowan said that whereas once it was once mainly single parents and elderly people who availed of its food banks, the charity is now helping 'more and more low-paid workers'.
She told Extra.ie: 'People don't think about that. 'For many a year, people would have felt it was only people on social welfare that would come to St Vincent de Paul. It's not like that at all this year.
'Now we have two parents or one parent working, and yet they cannot survive on maybe one or two incomes. They have mortgages. They have rent. It's colossal.'
Explaining the hike in beef and dairy prices, Damian O'Reilly, senior lecturer in marketing and management at Technological University Dublin, said the 'beef herd has reduced significantly'.
Mr O'Reilly told Extra.ie: 'The demand has gone up because we've got a bigger population over the last year, 18 months, and the supply has diminished, partially because of EU measures [addressing] biodiversity issues, water issues, pollution issues and so on.
'So feed, fertiliser and fuel have all gone up significantly in the last year, and that's pushed costs up for beef and dairy products,' Mr O'Reilly added.
Conversely, unusual weather conditions on the continent, which demonstrate the need for climate measures, have pushed prices up elsewhere. Mr O'Reilly added: 'Particularly in Spain and Italy, it has led to shortages of things like olive oil, tomatoes and some other fresh produce we buy from the continent.'