The Taoiseach has ruled out abolishing the Universal Social Charge to address the rising cost of living.
Amid rising inflation, the Government announced a range of measures aimed at helping households impacted by rising bills.
The measures included upgrading the universal energy credit to €200 and lowering public transport fares by 20% for most of 2022.
However, opposition parties said the measures are not enough.
Solidarity TD Mick Barry said the USC should be scrapped and replaced with a wealth tax as part of the efforts to address the crisis.
However, the Taoiseach today said that is not going to happen.
Speaking on Today FM, Micheál Martin said: "It will not be abolished.
"We have to be honest with people - all of the time there are increasing demands on public expenditure.
"The last two years have seen an unprecedented by the State in the economy. We've borrowed a lot to do that."
He added that the Government has sought to ease the burden of inflation with Budget changes to tax bands and the €200 energy credit.
Last week, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe insisted he had never said the USC was a temporary measure.
However, his own party Fine Gael had repeatedly pledged during their 2016 election campaign that they would abolish the controversial tax when in power.
The charge replaced both the income levy and the health levy and is payable on income above €13,000 per year.
The charge currently brings in about €4.4bn per year for the Exchequer.
