Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming here. The Minister’s party has tabled an important motion because we all know, especially in recent weeks, that the cost of living has increased. I believe that we must go back to basics and ensure that the people on the margins are looked after, namely, the most vulnerable, who are people who have a fixed income from the State or receive pension or unemployment benefits or a disability allowance and who do not have an opportunity to see huge increases in their incomes.

The amount of money that people spend on fuel is a huge proportion of the income that vulnerable people get from the State and, therefore, we must revise the fuel allowance. I do not think that the fuel allowance should just be provided for a short or certain period in the year. I believe that the fuel allowance should be available throughout the year and at different times because electricity bills are high at other times apart from Christmas time when the weather is really cold, and families must pay their electricity bills throughout the year. The fuel allowance needs to be directed at the people on the margins who are in receipt of an income that will not increase.

We must consider helping families as they now face extreme financial challenges. I concur with what colleagues have said about exorbitant childcare costs as I have two children in a crèche. Sometimes childcare costs as much as three times one's mortgage. People have called for core funding to be increased. Many of us in this Chamber have called for childcare to be brought back into the education system and for the State to properly provide it to help families, and women. I mention women because if people cannot afford to pay for childcare, then ultimately it is down to women a lot of the time to stay at home and mind their children. It is the careers of women, therefore, that are put at risk.

On interest rates, while I acknowledge this matter does not come under the remit of the Minister's Department, I must stress that it is very hard to change a mortgage. Many people have a mortgage with a variable interest rate and they will be crucified financially because it is not easy to switch mortgages due to a lack of financial instruments plus the system is archaic. Therefore, I believe that people should be provided with support to switch their mortgage and get a fixed lower interest rate because it is predicted that interest rates will increase over the next two to five years, which will have knock-on effect on mortgage repayments.

We also must assist the people on the margins who are facing and will face massive fuel costs in the next while. I am sure that all of us have texted pictures of our diesel bills to family members and friends declaring how much it cost to fill a fuel tank and that it cost nearly twice as much as this time last year. The soaring fuel costs are unbelievable. To help anyone who relies on transport for their jobs and families who do a lot of transportation we should cut VAT and excise duties in order to give some comfort to families and give a little back.