Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Merci beaucoup. For more than a year, households have been hammered by a cost-of-living crisis that is out of control. Workers and families do all they can to keep up with sky-high bills and runaway price increases, but people still cannot catch a break or catch a breath. They are crucified by the extortionate costs of housing, energy, fuel, groceries and insurance and everything going up and nothing coming down. Last night, a Minister of State offered people advice on dealing with this cost-of-living crisis. His big idea was for people to stop complaining and to shop around. Those were callous and indifferent remarks from a Minister of State who is paid €140,000. The Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, has form in blocking legislation that would force big insurance companies to stop fleecing their customers. His words reflect the attitude of a Government that is utterly out of touch with the struggles of ordinary people.

Many households are deciding whether it is best to pay their massive gas bills or to put food on their tables. It took the Taoiseach’s Government a year to wake up to this crisis. For months, we have asked that VAT be removed from energy bills, but the Government did nothing. No work was done with the European Commission. There was no effort at all. The Government has now spent another four months talking about possible actions. Indeed, in the time it has taken the Government to give people a one-off payment of €100, it has managed to give one top civil servant two pay hikes worth €6,000. There was no dithering or delay there; it was done with the snap of your fingers. When it comes to workers and families, however, the response from the Government is slack. There is no urgency and no determination to get the job done.

Many things can be done to tackle this cost-of-living crisis. Sinn Féin has proposed these measures: cutting rents, banning rent increases, cutting childcare costs and expanding eligibility for the fuel allowance payment. We have also called on the Government to scrap its planned carbon tax hike. This hike will increase gas bills and push home heating oil costs up substantially at a time when people are struggling.

Carbon tax hikes add to the cost of everything, particularly food, due to increased transport costs. Farmers have been telling the Government this for a long time but it has not listened. Is ualach trom é an ghéarchéim costais mhaireachtála. Tá daoine faoi bhrú ollmhór ag íoc billí fuinnimh móra. Ba cheart don Rialtas fáil réidh leis na harduithe cánach carbóin atá molta. Ní dhéanfaidh sé ach an saol níos deacra.

Hiking carbon taxes is the wrong call at the wrong time. The Government's €100 credit is far too little for far too many families. March is very far away for people who cannot afford their energy bills today. That payment must be increased and delivered quickly. I call on the Taoiseach to scrap the carbon tax hike and set out how he will support struggling families in a meaningful way. Workers and families now need a bailout. We need a package of measures for those on low and middle incomes.

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