Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)

It is right that inflation has tamed but costs and prices are still sky high. I have instanced four separate electricity companies that are telling us that prices are going up as early as next month. Prices are up and a record number of households cannot meet their bills. That is the reality of the situation. I will make no apology to the Minister or his friends across Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Lowry crew for arguing the case for households, workers and families who are struggling in the here and now. I am simply stating that the Government should support our proposal, which it will see in our pre-budget submission, for the payment this winter of €450 in energy credits that households desperately need. If, as he says, the Minister shares an empathy and compassion and understands how badly families are struggling, he should have no difficulty confirming that the budget will contain that precise measure.

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