Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)

Our thoughts are with the young ten-year-old girl in the care of Tusla who has been the subject of an assault. Our thoughts are also with the family of young Vadym Davydenko who was killed last week in Dublin. I am conscious that criminal proceedings are under way in respect of both incidents. I commend the Garda and wish it well with its investigations. I do not propose to say any more about either case at this point.

The Irish Timesreports today that ordinary festive staples will cost 20% more this Christmas than they did last year. The cost of groceries is increasing at roughly three times the headline rate of price inflation, a shocking development for working families. This is having a severe impact on working families, who are hard-pressed and who got so little relief in the recent budget. These are families who have had the small support of one-off payments taken off them this year while their housing costs and fuel bills are going up and they are struggling to make ends meet. It is not just the Christmas turkey that will cost more this year. Rents are 7% higher now than they were a year ago. More than 300,000 households are in arrears on their electricity bills - bills that continue to rise as temperatures drop. These factors are conspiring to force tens of thousands of families across the country to make impossible choices, like the choice between heating and eating.

The Government's Finance Bill will be debated this afternoon. It will give effect to the budget, a budget that we in Labour have characterised as being for burger barons and big builders. Due to the Government's failure to index tax bands in this budget, those earning €50,000 per year can expect to pay an additional €1,000 a year in tax. They will have nothing to show for that in terms of investment in basic infrastructure, public services, housing or public goods, and they are getting hammered at the tills. I heard from a woman in my own community yesterday. She has two master’s degrees and works at what could be described as a "good job", but she is renting and pays a whopping rent for her home. She cannot afford to cover her household or grocery bills. She told me it makes her feel ashamed.

That is the legacy of the Government’s budget and financial policies. People around the country are feeling ashamed because they cannot stay afloat financially due to lack of supports from the State. These are the people who are often referred to in a cliché as "the squeezed middle". What does the Taoiseach propose to do for hard-working families? He repeatedly answers my questions on the cost-of-living crisis by mentioning the terrible war in Ukraine, which, of course, is a factor, as well as geopolitical uncertainty and market forces, but corporate greed is also an issue. I ask that the Taoiseach take on my colleague, Deputy Ged Nash’s excessive prices Bill, which the Government supported on Second Stage. It would force supermarket giants to publish their profits and bring about price transparency, thereby driving down the price of a weekly shop. The Taoiseach could also direct the new Agri-Food Regulator to investigate why food prices are getting so high. These are constructive steps that we in Labour are proposing. Will the Taoiseach adopt these steps to cut the cost of living for families?

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