Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We are emerging from a pandemic and walking straight into the teeth of a cost-of-living crisis. We have among the highest costs for housing, childcare and energy in Europe. Inflation is at its highest level in 20 years at 5.5% in December and wages are staying the same. Low earners are extremely vulnerable. The 3% or 30 cent rise in the minimum wage will not go anywhere near making up for the huge increases facing families in costs for rent, food and energy. I heard the Taoiseach responding to Deputy McDonald yesterday when she raised this issue on Leaders' Questions and his main defence was that there are global issues. We accept that there are global issues affecting the cost of living but why is Ireland the most expensive or among the most expensive in Europe when it comes to paying for necessities?

We are among the most expensive in Europe for rent, home energy costs, childcare costs and mortgage rates. People cannot cope with it anymore. Food bills are expected to increase by over €700 this year and it will cost more than €500 to run a car this year. Petrol and diesel have shot up in price by one third in the past year alone. Rent has increased by 8% and house prices are up 14%. Lighting and heating increased by 53% and there have been 35 energy price hikes in the last year. Irish mortgage holders are paying over €2,500 per year more than their fellow Europeans due to mortgage interest rates. This has been the case for decades and the Government has done damn all about it. It is unsustainable and unbearable for people. Families are being pushed into extreme pressure and poverty. It is frightening that the Government is doing nothing about it. The payment of €100 from the Government will not even touch the cost increases that families are experiencing. The benefit of that payment will immediately be cancelled out by increases in energy bills.

We need to see the living wage become a reality and we need a proper rent freeze. What we have is clearly not working. We need urgent action on the matter of fuel and household energy costs. The Taoiseach and the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, need to step up. They have to meet the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities and the energy companies to come up with solutions. People simply cannot tolerate these price increases and we need urgent action from the Government. At what stage will the Government stop turning a blind eye to this? The people outside of here can see that the Government is ignoring the problem, putting them further in debt and putting them under further pressure. I ask the Government to tackle it for goodness' sake. We are coming out of the pandemic and now is the time to tackle it. The Government must stop turning a blind eye to it.

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