Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the family of the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy English, who are in the Gallery, all the way from Bohermeen and Courtown. They are very welcome.

It was early May when I asked the Leader for a debate with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, on his plans to lessen the impact of rising inflation on the people of Ireland and his outlook on the global financial near future in terms of inflation and recession. Two months on, the situation does not look any cheerier. The price of Irish goods and services is 40% above the average of the 27 EU states while alcohol prices, due to taxation, are now twice the EU average. Electricity costs are almost the highest in Europe. The increasingly exclusive banking sector has charged souped-up premiums since 2008. An Irish couple can expect to pay at least €80,000 more than their European counterparts on a €300,000 mortgage over 30 years. Ordinary people are paying extraordinary prices for insurance, hotel rooms, petrol for the car, booking a flight and so many ordinary expenses. As one newspaper put it, we have Scandinavian prices without the salaries that go with them.

Precious few other European countries would stand for it. If you tried to pull this with the French, there would be cars burning on the streets before we could say, "Let them eat cake." As a country, we seem to have come to expect poor governance and poor treatment as the default. While all this is going on, and ordinary people's problems remain unsolved, we are to play out a fantastical piece of political theatre in the Dáil today with Sinn Féin's no-confidence motion, for which it knows it does not have the numbers. Even if it did go through, everything will get put on hold and thrown out while the country spends its time and money on another general election, which no one outside of Sinn Féin wants. Most people have no, or very little, confidence in the Government, but why do we not at least try to tackle some of the everyday problems of ordinary people instead of using them to try to get into power?

Look at what is happening in the UK politically. We need to be ready to absorb the shock waves from that, especially against the backdrop of Brexit. Now is not the time for our political class to throw more turmoil into the mix. Can we please just see what we can do to make life easier for all the people of Ireland?