Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The hardship, anxiety and desperation being felt by households across the country need to be addressed today. The cost-of-living crisis is hitting people's pockets hard and families are struggling with rising costs. The prices of rent, childcare, groceries, petrol, diesel and heating oil, as well as back-to-school costs, are all shooting up, while people's wages stay the same. People are under real pressure to cover the price of the basic essentials they cannot do without. Listening to the Taoiseach this morning, we would think that Putin was the cause of all the Government's failures. We would not think that many of the problems we have existed before the war in Ukraine and even before the pandemic, such as the issues with housing, rents, childcare and so on.

We must introduce a cost-of-living cash payment for people who need it. We must cut rents and freeze them, including putting a month's rent back into the pockets of renters with a refundable tax credit. We need to cut childcare costs by two-thirds because they are far too expensive for families. We must also cut the prices of petrol and home heating oil to make them affordable. We must increase core social welfare rates to ensure that the most vulnerable in society are protected. These are targeted measures that are detailed and costed and deliverable if Sinn Féin was in government.

Fuel and energy costs are totally out of control. People are faced with the choice of paying for heating or eating. People are frightened that they will not be able to afford to fill up their petrol tank to drive to work. Older people are staying in bed longer so that they do not have to sit in a cold house. Does the Minister of State think that these people can wait on this Government and for the budget in October? Many of them will be driven over the edge before then if more is not done now. Yet again, we see how out of touch this Government is when it comes to understanding the needs of ordinary people. We need more urgency from the Government now and for it to introduce an emergency mini-budget.

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