Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Fuel prices have risen by one third in the past year, with heating oil up by more than 50%. Every week, we hear of another rise in the price of electricity, fuel and food, and rents. The fact is the Government is completely out of touch with the lived experience of all these people. The experts on the ground, such as Barnardos, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Social Justice Ireland and others, have warned about the impact the increase in the cost of living is having on ordinary people. Two weeks ago, the Taoiseach vowed to help people who are suffering on low incomes in particular but, instead of helping people, the Government is going to increase bills. Worst of all, it is going to increase the bills of those who are living in older homes, those with less money and those who are already struggling.

Everywhere I go now, people raise with me the cost-of-living crisis. This crisis is now so extreme that people who work hard all week, have never had to worry about paying bills and have had disposable income are now looking at their bank accounts at the end of every week, worrying about what they have left. The Government is telling them it is going to increase their living costs with a carbon tax in May. How is that showing an understanding of what people are going through in this crisis? ESRI statistics released previously show that one in ten people in the State lives in fuel poverty. There is no doubt in anyone's mind now that this figure has worsened.

The Taoiseach is not listening to ordinary people. He is definitely not listening to ordinary people in Cork because they are telling me they are struggling. How can you remedy a 2% cut for people who are on a tight budget, as the Minister of State said? For people who are struggling, that 2% increase means a lot. We are just asking for the Government to show some common sense and give a fair deal to ordinary people. We need to tackle climate change and Sinn Féin completely supports that. However, although we need to address the climate crisis, climate justice without social justice is no justice at all.

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