Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

I join with the Ceann Comhairle in welcoming our special guests from County Tipperary, our Little Blue Heroes, who have come to watch proceedings here in the Dáil. They had a busy morning. They had a Garda escort and were greeted by the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, the Ceann Comhairle and Deputy Michael Murphy. I was delighted to attend the Little Blue Heroes ball in Killarney earlier this month. I thank the organisation and all those who support it for the extraordinary work they do for children and families. I pay a particularly warm tribute to An Garda Síochána. This entire charity emanated from a number of gardaí and retired gardaí. Their volunteerism and commitment are second to none. They reflect the degree to which An Garda Síochána is embedded in every community in this country. We are fortunate and thanks be to God An Garda Síochána is so embedded because it gives us the police force we have.

The Government is very conscious of price increases and the cost of living more generally. Even though inflation has fallen and is down to 2%, the bottom line is that the elevated level of inflation, arising out of the post-Covid situation and the war on Ukraine, has meant that food prices are very high. That is acknowledged.

We have provided substantial support over recent budgets, which were decried by the Opposition, with significant financial support to households and businesses. The Think-tank for Action on Social Change, TASC, published its annual report today. It found that the temporary cost-of-living supports such as the pandemic unemployment payment, energy credits and lump-sum welfare payments played a critical role in reducing poverty risk among vulnerable households and that without those interventions Ireland's at-risk-of-poverty rate would have increased to 13% in 2022 and 14% in 2023. Instead it fell to 10.6% and 11.7%, respectively. The supports we brought in were effective for their time without any question.

We have made it clear that budget 2026 will focus on measures that are sustainable and maintainable in the long term, with a particular focus on child poverty, disability and, of course, housing. In addition to those cost-of-living measures we have brought in, last April we extended the VAT reduction to 9% on gas and electricity and maintained the reduction on others. That has benefited households by about €70 each for gas and €55 each for electricity. That is further supported by the 40% reduction in the renewable electricity public service obligation levy for 2025 and 2026 announced on 14 June by the Minister, Deputy O'Brien.

From 1 June, women will receive hormone replacement therapy, HRT, free of charge. From September 2025, free school books will be extended to all students in post-primary schools. That was a major measure that the Deputy ignored completely in her presentation. All primary schools are eligible for free hot school meals. These are significant measures that are long term and that have had a real benefit in terms of bringing down costs. Free public transport for children, including those aged five to eight, will be introduced later this year. We have also acted to shield workers from a higher tax burden by adjusting income tax credits and bands in successive budgets. We are a significant importer of energy and food produce and that has resulted in significant additional costs associated with transport, logistics and our small market size. The Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, has engaged with the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to engage with the industry and provide an up-to-date assessment of it.

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