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

I say to the Minister of State that €1,200 a year is the reality of the increase in grocery bills faced by ordinary people. That is along with electricity at sky-high rates and rising prices in rent and mortgage repayments and the increases in carbon tax put on ordinary people who are already struggling. People are put to the pins of their collars. But at a time when people need help and when the country is awash with money, why does the Government not step in? In the last six months of 2022, Tesco’s profits in Ireland increased by 6.6%. In its 2023 budget, the Government only gave pensioners a rise of 4%. Grocery inflation is running at 17%. The Minister of State can do the maths. We can all do the maths. The Government is not giving people enough money, protection or help to tackle this crisis. That is not to mention children. What are families to do for the summer when their kids are off school and people cannot afford to pay their childminders or to put their kids into summer camp that kids would be at all day long and they cannot afford the snacks and the treats because they are struggling to put food on the table and struggling to manage their budgets? But the Government just ignores all this. What we need is a government to stand up for the people. At the end of the day, it is the people who puts us here. If the Minister of State believes that and the Government believes that then the Government should deliver for those people. This is a brilliant country to live in if you are healthy, wealthy or a home owner but not if you are sick and do not own your own home and you do not have a good job or assets. Those are the people who are suffering. Those are the ordinary people.

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