Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)

Sorry, I am rusty after the summer recess. It is good to be back in the Chamber and we have serious work to do here over the course of this Dáil term. For the Government, its long to-do list has lengthened over the summer months. There is so much for the Government to do. It must build homes. It must address the suffering of all of those locked out of secure housing. It must provide basic and effective healthcare, in particular to end the agony of children waiting for vital spinal surgeries.

We have seen a shameful increase of nearly 10% since the start of the year, with 135 children now waiting. I want to join in expressing my deepest sympathies to the parents of young Harvey Morrison Sherratt. I spoke with Gillian, Harvey's mother, over recent weeks, and I want to note the dreadful trauma they went through.

I could go on naming Government failures, but today I want to focus on one such failure touching every household in the country, creating new inequalities and deepening the plight of families fighting every day to keep afloat. I am talking about the cost-of-living crisis. Ireland is a rich country, but for far too many people it feels poor. Despite high GDP, child poverty rates now match those experienced by families after Fianna Fáil crashed the economy in 2007. This crisis is really hurting children more than anyone. We are seeing prices rising faster than wages, price gouging, which has taken root, and greedflation, with soaring food prices in particular. Energy and housing bills are among the highest in Europe.

The impact on children is immense. One fifth of children now live in poverty. That is 225,000 children. There are long-term impacts on those children and on their parents, who are suffering heartbreak as they watch this. There has been no indication from the Government that it will use its €9.4 billion to bring struggling families any meaningful respite in October. If, indeed, the Government is going to prioritise ineffective tax cuts in this budget, then it must be honest with the public and admit it will be at the expense of families struggling to stay afloat and families worrying how to keep lights on, how to keep the house warm, how to pay for Christmas and how to afford housing.

That is the Government's choice in this budget. It is a political choice it will make. The media say the Government is not going to do a cost-of-living emergency package. The Taoiseach's task, however, is to create a sustainable future, so we need to see the reinstatement of targeted energy credits, the extension of the ban on disconnections for families, and, crucially, a second targeted rate of child benefit now and not some time in the future. We need to see permanent abolition of the means test for the carer’s allowance and a cost-of-disability payment that is meaningful. Will the Taoiseach make the necessary choices in this budget to prioritise ending child poverty and providing supports for struggling households?

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