Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

If anyone needed proof of how out of touch the Government is, they got it in spades this evening. I hope the Minister is proud of herself.

There has been a lot of speculation recently about the Government’s intentions regarding people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. The Government has told homeowners they are on their own if they are struggling to pay their mortgage because it rejected Sinn Féin’s motion on mortgage interest relief. It tells renters that, while it recognises rents are too high, it refuses to implement our proposal to freeze rents and reduce costs to them through a refundable tax credit, which would put the equivalent of one month’s rent back into their pockets. While ordinary people are pushed to breaking point and beyond, the Minister and Government have been busy gaslighting them, drip-feeding and leaking bits of information about what they might or might not do to avoid the cliff edge they have created. At the same time, they tell them they have never had it so good.

Then the environment Minister is wagging his finger at people forced to live in energy poverty and warning them they will be weaned off supports they need to keep their homes warm. They are not bold children; they are families who need to keep their homes warm and elderly people forced to go to bed in the afternoon to stay warm. The cold spell is not over and that is why we are calling for an extension to the fuel allowance and a discretionary fund for those who do not qualify but will still struggle to keep themselves warm.

I have been in the Chamber many times while my colleague, An Teachta Kerrane, has raised the issue of community welfare officers with the Minister. The system in place is not working. When they were in the health centres and in the community, they were easily accessible. Now it is a 16-page form and week and weeks of waiting.

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