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

While I was sitting down today writing this speech, I thought about the difficulties that many people were experiencing at the moment because of the cost of living crisis and about how they were suffering.

They are finding it hard and life should not be hard. If you are going to work every day and doing everything right you should be able to put food on the table, heat your home and look after your family, especially your children. The other day I listened to the Tánaiste talking about full employment but where is the full story? What about all of those people who are working and who are in poverty? How can this Government accept that people are going to work every day and that they cannot pay their rent, put diesel in the car or pay their electricity bills? People are struggling but if you listen to the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach, they say how great things are. For a lot of people things are not great.

We are putting forward a constructive proposal. We understand that the Government cannot do everything; we know that but providing €200 for people today makes a difference. Providing €100 for people who are earning over €30,000 and under €60,000 makes a difference and pays a bill. The Minister of State talks about the €2 billion the Government provided but that was too little and was not targeted at the people who needed it. There are people struggling. I was talking to people and they are angry. They are looking for leadership and for their Government to listen to them and to act. People are intelligent; they know the Government does not have a magic wand but they also know that the Government should be doing more and it is not doing so. In Sinn Féin we are saying that we are elected by the people and for the people and that we need to deliver for the people. We ask that the Government would finally recognise the solutions we are putting forward, including the ones Deputy Kerrane has spoken about today. We cannot sort out everything but we can make a difference if we choose to do so. I ask the Minister of State and the Government to listen to people because they need help and they are hurting and it should not be like that.

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