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

First things first. I am not asking the Taoiseach to chase inflation. I am asking him to recognise the reality that people are struggling now, in June, and that people will continue to struggle through the summer months, not to mention the winter ahead of them. The Taoiseach says that we need to protect our economy, and we do, but above all else we need to protect our people. Above all else we cannot take risks with our people, risks that have children hungry and parents crying. That is the reality. Unfortunately, the Taoiseach is asking people to wait.

With all sincerity and not in a spirit of political rivalry, I appeal to the Taoiseach to change that position. Families are suffering now and they desperately need targeted and thoughtful measures to give them breathing space now. The Taoiseach stated that the Government was not asking families to wait. If he is insisting that the October budget will be the moment when relief is delivered, then he is asking people to wait. That is wrong. It is not real and is totally unfair. What measures will the Government introduce with all due haste now, not in October?

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