Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In north Kildare, too many people are being put to the pin of their collar to pay the rent if they can find somewhere, pay for childcare if they can manage to get a place, pay to fill the car to go to work because the only area they can find work has no public transport, keep the family warm and put food on the table, all with wages worth less with everything costing more. My niece, who works at a supermarket till, tells me people are lining up the very basics at the front of the row and asking her to remind them when the cost reaches €50, €70 or whatever their budget is. They leave the rest if the budget is exceeded. A mother in the north Kildare town of Prosperous — forgive the irony — is going without a meal herself in order to feed her children. People have no more to give. They are on the floor because of the cost-of-living emergency.

The Government talks about ring-fencing the carbon tax, which sounds like a great idea. Regardless of the fact that it is not doing so, it has come up with a retrofit plan that sounds more like the SSIA scheme in that the more money you have, the more money the Government will give you. The Government is lashing out money on the wealthy so they can retrofit their first home and the holiday home they drive to in their electric SUV, while leaving ordinary people literally in the cold.

The Government talks about carbon taxes as if they are going to save the planet, yet there is no offer of an alternative for people. For example, there is no strategy for green hydrogen. The reality is that people on ordinary incomes have no choice as to how to heat their homes, cook their dinners or get to work or school. The tax is unethical because all that the Government is ring-fencing is hot air. When the Government was introducing property tax, it said it would be ring-fenced for libraries, parks and amenities. Any councillor who has worked in a local authority will state the vast majority has been used for roads and footpaths because the Government has cut local authority funding. Ring-fenced, my eye.

People are being hammered. In 12 months, the price of gas has risen by 28%, home heating by 50%, petrol by 30% and diesel by 32%. People need to take a breath. The Government's job is to protect the people. They need a hand from the Government, not a beating. The hike is due in May. The Government should not let it become a Mayday for people, including workers and families, across the State.

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