Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)

With respect, I do not need lectures on work and on jobs. We are the party of work. Labour is the party of workers' rights. We have a proud record on job creation. We absolutely agree with the Taoiseach that, of course, job creation and work is crucial, but I meet people all the time - the Taoiseach must meet them too - who tell me they are working hard, getting up early in the morning every day, to use an expression pioneered by one of his Government colleagues, and yet they cannot afford to meet basic household costs because of rising prices, rising costs, and the cost of childcare and the cost of housing, which are too high. Even though they are working, they simply cannot meet all of the costs they have to meet. This phenomenon of the working poor is something that the Government has failed to take effective measures to address and we are not seeing any indication, just a few weeks out from the budget, that there are going to be any measures adopted in this budget that will help families who are struggling in this way, who simply cannot find a way to meet their household costs.

People are looking for reassurance from the Taoiseach. We are looking for some indication that the Government will build that sustainable safety net for families and households that are struggling and that it will offer them some hope in this budget that they will be able to meet their rising costs.

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