The Taoiseach has paid tribute to the efforts made by Cork businesses during the pandemic but has cautioned that the economy will face challenges caused by rising inflation and the war in Ukraine.
Micheál Martin was speaking at the Cork Chamber of Commerce annual awards in Páirc Uí Chaoimh last night where almost 1,000 people from businesses in the city and county gathered for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic.
The Taoiseach told attendees that Ireland is rebounding incredibly strong from the recession but warned the international economic situation is very serious, with inflation hitting people’s living standards and impacting on business.
He said the government will keep responding and said that any politician who promises the public that they will make the impact of rising import prices disappear is not being honest.
Speaking to RedFM News at the Cork Chamber awards, Taoiseach Micheál Martin says the government are developing a plan to help ease some of the pressure caused by inflation.
"It's International because of the war, particularly on eery, food, and in respect of some commodities like fertiliser.
"We can mitigate it, we've already allocated €2bn to reduce the impact, but we'll never be able to mitigate 100% the impact of this inflationary pressure.
"I think we have to work together as a society. We are in exploratory talk with unions and employers to see if we can develop a more strategic response as a country, to this particularly inflationary cycle which is fundamentally caused by this terrible war on Ukraine manifesting itself in terms of energy prices, food prices and so on."
