Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have to be quite frank. When I saw this proposal initially, I thought the Government really needs to try harder. This does nothing to tackle the spiralling energy costs and multiple price hikes over the last year. While it might take the edge off the winter electricity bill, it will do nothing for the ones coming after that. We know that the spiralling cost of living in this country is leaving those most vulnerable behind and leaving them in a significant amount of debt. CSO figures show the annual rate of inflation was at a 20-year high last month. That is mostly made up of jumps in costs of energy, transport and rent.

I spoke to a constituent this week who by chance found a shopping receipt from last year for her lunches for her children every week. Every single item on that receipt had gone up, some by a couple of cent and some by considerably more. That is the impact that people are feeling every single day. The finances are simply not there to meet that ever-increasing cost of living. They are under real pressure. They need to see from Government realistic, long-term solutions that are much more far-reaching than €100 off the next electricity bill.

I want to raise another issue in respect of the universal aspect of this payment and wants versus needs. We have all come across that at some point. I do not know one person sitting in this Chamber who needs this payment. I can think of vast numbers of people in my constituency who need it. I will leave it up to Deputies' own moral compass as to whether they want this payment. There is nothing here about surrendering that money if we make the decision that we do not need it.

There is nothing in this that deals with holiday homes. My constituents will struggle to put food on the table, a roof over their heads and shoes on their kids' feet but another individual in a financial position to own two properties will get this payment twice. There is gross inequity in that as surely the Minister of State sees. I also ask that the Minister of State engage meaningfully with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. It does tremendous work in communities the length and breadth of this country. It too are under substantial pressure from people coming to it in dire straits because of utility bill debt. Will the Minister of State engage with it?

We have heard the fuel allowance bandied about on media in recent days. The fuel allowance needs reform but while the Government is focusing on those who receive the allowance, it is completely disregarding those who do not qualify for it, who are ineligible but still have to put food on the table and a roof over their heads and still have that ESB bill coming in the door. If the Minister of State gets a couple of minutes this afternoon he should read the comments on the poll the journal.ieis running.

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