SPIRALLING ENERGY PRICES “are here to stay” as they are out of the government’s control, Fine Gael TD Richard Bruton has said.

Opposition politicians today repeated calls for action to address severe inflation, following the announcement that from Electric Ireland that electricity prices are set to rise by 10.9% and gas prices by 29.2%.

Speaking on RTÉ’s The Week in Politics, Bruton, a former Minister for the Environment, said: “The reality is international energy costs are are beyond government’s control.”

He insisted that the government has “looked at pinch points that affect different families.

“Of course, more has to be done in the in the budget.

“These energy prices is here to stay with the war as far as we can see.”

But Labour leader Ivana Bacik said that “targeted measures” were needed now, as families face into a “crunch time” with back-t0-school costs.

“I appreciate there are complexities around developing the budget, and that’s what the government had been saying is the excuse for not doing more now. But there is also such a squeeze on now.”

Nearly four out of five Irish people believe there will be a recession in the next 12 months. Bruton said he was among them.

He echoed sentiments from Taoiseach Micheál Martin that the budget must not add to inflation.

St Vincent de Paul has said that many families are on the brink as prices continue to rise.