The Minister for Finance has said the Government will help people with the rising cost of living in a way that can make a difference.
But he added that it will help in a way that will not create other budget challenges in the year ahead.
Paschal Donohoe said the Government is really aware of the impact that the energy crisis is having on so many and of the added anxiety and concern that is there.
Mr Donohoe said the Government had anticipated that we would see a further change in the cost of energy and a further increase in household bills.
As a result, he added, the Government has been preparing at both a European level in forging a collective response to the challenge and also through national work.
He said work at the European Commission work is really intensifying and he spoke to Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni this morning about it.
He also said he would be chairing a EuroGroup meeting in Prague tomorrow at the same time as energy ministers will be meeting to consider a European response.
Nationally, as well as bringing the budget forward, the Government had made clear there will be additional measures announced to help people this year, he said.
"We want to help, we will help, and we need to get the balance right between helping in a way that doesn't add to the inflationary challenges we have in the Irish economy," he said.
He added that it is not yet clear at what point these energy prices could begin to decrease in the future, and this poses a challenge and a risk.
The Minister declined to put a figure on how much money the Government is willing to spend on the one-off measures this year to help people deal with the rising cost living.
Paschal Donohoe also said the Government would be able to respond back to any EU level changes around energy with national measures.
"I am confident that we will have a sense of likely policies from the EU with regard to this and we will be able to take it into account in our national budget plan," he stated.
He said it has been difficult until now to put a figure on how much the planned EU measures might cost to implement in Ireland, because the Commission's programme has so far only been outlined in broad terms, but more detail is likely after tomorrow's meeting of energy ministers.
Mr Donohoe said the Government will need to consider to what degree the proposals from the EU fit in with the particular characteristics of the energy market in Ireland.
He said the EU energy market does have certain broad features but country by country there are still national characteristics and Ireland is no different.
