Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

There are seven days to go now. I see the Minister for Finance is out of the House, no doubt doing his sums. We need a budget for the millions, not the millionaires. We need real change, not spare change. It is clear, however, and becoming clearer by the day that the Government plans to give less than last year and is trying to lower public expectations. One small example tells a tale. Last year, the moratorium on gas and electricity disconnections lasted for four months. This year, it has been cut back to two months and, once again, it will not apply to people with prepaid meters. Electricity and gas prices are still way above the normal prices we would have been used to. The cost-of-living crisis has not gone away - not by a million miles. People need to raise their voices-----

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