Cost of Living Crisis: PM Warns of ‘Difficult’ Winter as Energy Supplies Dwindle

Ireland's Prime Minister Micheal Martin speaks during a debate as part of a plenary sessio
FREDERICK FLORIN/AFP via Getty Images

Ireland’s Prime Minister has told the public that they are in for a “difficult” winter as energy supplies across Europe begin to dwindle.

The Irish public is in for a ‘difficult’ winter when it comes to energy supplies, the country’s pro-EU Prime Minister, Micheál Martin has reportedly said, with a lack of Russian gas and oil rendering the availability of various fossil fuels more and more scarce.

Martin’s warning comes as the European Parliament approves a further tightening of the bloc’s carbon emission rules, a move MEP Cristian Terhes told Breitbart London would result in even more hardship for individuals and businesses in the bloc.

According to a report by the Irish Examiner, the Prime Minister recognised that the population was due to face significant additional hardship, but said that his government would not act to alleviate the issue for fear of worsening inflation.

“The winter will be difficult, particularly on the energy front,” the PM reportedly said, while also claiming that authorities could not “chase inflation from month to month” with emergency measures.

“We know from the 1970s what happens if you try to chase inflation,” Martin claimed. “You get second and third rounds of inflation which last for a much longer period.”

Instead, the Fianna Fáil politician claimed that the government would look at alleviating issues through various means while writing up the country’s annual budget, which is due to take place in October.

While many within Ireland’s ruling elite seem happy enough to wait until Autumn to begin acting on the cost of living crisis facing the country, many within the general public are likely losing patience with state authorities as it gets harder and harder to afford essential goods and services.

To make matters worse, even before inflation Ireland was already tied for the most expensive state in the European Union according to recently published data by European statistics agency Eurostat, while inflation in the country has also begun to outstrip economic growth.

Ireland is not the only Eurozone country in extremely rough shape however, with Russian gas-addict Germany now treading water after Moscow decided to drastically reduce the state’s supply.

Overall, growth rates within the currency union now appear to be in jeopardy, with preliminary data collated by financial information org S&P Global revealing that Eurozone growth hit a 16-month low in June.

Meanwhile, the European Union’s central bank boss, Christine Lagarde, has begun to sound economic alarm bells, saying that Euro markets could soon see an “abrupt” and “disorderly” fall in the price of assets.

“While the correction in asset prices has so far been orderly, the risk of a further and possibly abrupt fall in asset prices remains severe,” the banking tsar said, noting that risks to “financial stability” had increased since the start of 2022.

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