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

That is the upshot of the Barnardos report. It is an echo of Social Justice Ireland, which equally recorded those stresses and strains. Insulting me does not take from that reality. I have put to the Taoiseach that he has made and stated his intention that he wishes to tackle the cost of living. He has made quite a production around this. That is good and he should do that. I am saying that hiking diesel and petrol prices in August and then again in October will not achieve that aim. On the contrary it will make a difficult situation far more difficult, particularly for families that live in rural and isolated communities, and for other families who must rely on their car for all sorts of reasons. Why would he do this? I am asking him to put his money where his mouth is. If he believes he will tackle the cost of living, he should start by scrapping and being explicit that there will be no hike in diesel and petrol costs in August or October. It is that simple.

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