Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)

The Irish people are resilient, but resilience should not be mistaken for indifference, nor should the quiet dignity of the Irish people and their endurance be used as an excuse for Government inaction. We are over three years into the cost-of-living crisis and it has touched every home, every dinner table and every shopping list. I speak regularly to parents who are cutting corners and going to bed hungry themselves so their children can eat. I see older people counting coins at tills. I see working families doing everything right yet falling short, living paycheque to paycheque, only a few paycheques away from financial ruin.

The price of butter is up 58%. Milk has increased by 25%. Cheese prices have soared by 38%. A basic basket now costs over €3,000 more than it did in 2022. That is not just inflation; that is an erosion of dignity, financial stability and a fundamental social contract that says that if you work hard, you should be able to live in security. Yet this Government has chosen not to deliver a cost-of-living package, with no meaningful reliefs and no comprehensive plan.

As regards the response from the Taoiseach yesterday to a question from my colleague to the effect that there is a regulator, I have no faith in this Government, nor do I have faith in the man who was part of a Government that left a financial regulator ruin this country in 2008. That is the faith we have here. While I agree with and am open to free enterprise, there is price gouging going on here and it is unacceptable.

I commend this motion and thank the Social Democrats for it.

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