Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)

Tá brú ollmhór ar theaghlaigh de bharr praghsanna atá ag ardú. Ní chreideann daoine a gcluasa nuair a deir an Rialtas nach ndéanfaidh sé a dhath le tacú leo. Ní féidir leo a thuilleadh de na praghsanna seo a fhulaingt. Caithfidh an Rialtas pacáiste tacaíochta a thabhairt chun cinn láithreach a thabharfaidh faoiseamh d'oibrithe agus do theaghlaigh.

Soaring prices - that is what everybody is talking about out there. In the last couple of weeks, we put out a cost-of-living survey online. Thousands of people replied to that survey and the results mirrored what we hear every day. The price of everything is going through the roof and people are finding it harder and harder to keep their heads above water. Almost 70% of respondents to our survey say they were just managing to get by. People are sick of seeing their hard-earned money swallowed up by out-of-control prices and are fed up with barely keeping up. They are hit from all angles, whether extortionate rents, massive energy bills, the high cost of petrol and diesel or unaffordable childcare. The one thing that is putting households under most pressure at this time is the cost of food. Some 91% of respondents told us they were struggling with runaway grocery prices.

As part of the survey, we asked them to tell us their stories. I want to share a few of them today. Jackie wrote:

My weekly food shop bill has doubled. 4 years ago I wasn’t worried about the summer holidays. But kids will want days out and treats. Just like ice cream. I can’t afford that. I haven't brought myself new clothes in 3 years. I don[']t sleep well with worry.

Paul says:

When we go grocery shopping we tend to buy the cheapest brands and try to get our meat and poultry at a discounted price in the sell by date fridge. We worry that we’re not eating properly. We're afraid to turn on the heating when it’s needed [because] our bill goes through the roof. We’ve a 7 year old son. It hurts telling him that we can’t afford to buy him nice things.

Lorraine told us:

As two university graduates with 4 children, we struggle every week. Only one parent can work full time as childcare is too expensive. We are trying to manage 6 people on 1 salary. Our grocery bill has skyrocketed. We try to save on our electricity bill but this is also way higher than it was 4 years ago. Our health insurance puts us into debt but we have to pay it because one of us has a life threatening medical condition. It’s infuriating. My teenagers are going to college soon. I have no idea how we will pay for that.

Thousands of people filled in this online survey. That is a snapshot of what they are feeling about out-of-control prices and what they are doing to people. It is a nightmare for folks out there and they cannot believe their ears when they hear the Tánaiste or Taoiseach, or their partners in government, stand up and say they will not do anything for them and will not bring forward a cost-of-living package in this year's budget. The State has never been better off but the hard-working people who made that happen have been left high and dry. How is that fair?

The Tánaiste says - and I am sure he will say it again - that the Government is aware of what people are going through, but then he does nothing. He rules out a cost-of-living package. He cannot keep patting himself on the back for the things the Government did last year or the year before. People are under pressure right here, right now. That is Paul's experience, Jackie's experience and countless experiences across this State. They need help now. I am pleading with the Tánaiste to change his mind. I ask the Government to do its job and bring forward a package of supports that will provide relief for these households. It needs to bring a cost-of-living package forward without delay.

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