Eamon Ryan has defended the Government's new cost of living measures, saying it's "so easy" for the opposition to say they'd spend billions of euro if they were in power.
He said the Government has to take into account what the potential consequences of measures are.
The Green Party leader was speaking after the Government announced a range of new measures aimed at cutting people's bills amid soaring inflation.
Measures include the energy credit being increased to €200, a fuel allowance lump sum payment of €125, and a 20% reduction in public transport fees from the end of April.
Opposition parties have criticised the measures - which amount to around €300m in new spending - as barely scratching the surface of the cost of living crisis.
One Green TD - Neasa Hourigan - had also called for the Government to go further and hold a 'mini-budget' to introduce new welfare measures and raise the minimum wage.
Minister Ryan told The Pat Kenny Show he thinks the Government "got the balance right" with the measures announced yesterday.
He said: “You can never give enough in Government because there are so many different demands.
"For the opposition saying 'we’d do everything and we’d throw the entire kitchen sink at it'… well, firstly you have to raise the money, but secondly we need to be careful we don’t stoke an inflationary spiral.”
Minister Ryan said it's clear the Government had to do something quickly, but they couldn't just "throw caution to the wind completely".
He stressed this was not a mini-budget - noting "you don't just do a budget every second month".
He also said that changes around tax will be an issue for October rather than now.
Public transport
One of the measures announced is the lower fares on public transport, which will last from the end of April to the end of the year.
Minister Ryan said that's partially aimed at giving public transport "a real shot in the arm" as passenger numbers are still only around 60% of pre-pandemic levels.
However, he said it's also clear that working from home will become a "mainstay" of working life in Ireland.
Asked whether the likes of broadband costs for staff should be paid by an employer or be tax-deductible, the Green leader said: “Those are the sort of details we do have to work out.
"If you are using infrastructure from home, it will [be for] the employer and employee to work out.
“But where you’re effectively establishing an office at home, it seems to make sense to me that the cost of those offices are covered.
“It will be significantly cheaper than providing office space in a city centre location.”
Minister Ryan says that also raises questions around the future role of city centres in everyday life.
He observed: “There has been probably too much reliance on offices and everyone driving in and out.
"In this changed world, where that won’t be the same, we have to reimagine and rethink how our city centres work.
"I think we need to bring a much more diverse range of life in, [with] people living in the city centre more.”
He suggested some of the space that was previously set aside to facilitate commuting can be repurposed to create a better urban environment.
