Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

After the events of last night, the Government has only a paper-thin majority and is significantly more vulnerable to pressure. I am of the view that pressure will grow from working people hard-hit by the cost of living crisis. Bus Éireann workers have been threatened with a two-year pay freeze and are not going to wear it. Medical scientists have been underpaid for years and they are not going to take it anymore. Some 87% of Bausch + Lomb workers in Waterford voted for strike action to reverse a pay cut.

With interest rates set to rise and big increases in mortgage payments on the way, I hope today's cost-of-living protest will be just the start and more workers will begin to fight back. What is needed is an Opposition that does not just put pressure on the Government in the House but which helps fan the flames of workers' opposition, which could hasten the end of this Government. Sinn Féin should take note of that. I will conclude with a question. Does the Tánaiste concur that if the mood of discontent hardens among working people, Deputies Hourigan and Costello might be the least of the Government's worries come the autumn?

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