Louise O'Reilly

You give them money and then run away.

I thank Deputy Ó Broin for putting forward this motion and for all the work he does in this area. It at least gives people hope to know somebody listens, cares, is paying attention and has a solution. Time and again, we see Government policy making the housing crisis it has created even worse. We warned it that its legislation would result in a surge in evictions. We warned it would contribute to …

Hear, hear.

Who is going to negotiate if you are going to break promises?

There is evidence that it is broken.

With the cost of the bike shed, of course the Government can.

How many bike sheds-----

But it was not. The Minister should suigh síos. She has no answers.

I thank the Deputies for bringing forward the motion and using their Private Members' time to give us an opportunity to debate this important issue. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, will know well that Sinn Féin has been calling for emergency measures to support workers and families experiencing an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis. Sinn Féin supports the call for an emergency budget. We …

There is nothing amusing-----

There is nothing amusing about-----

-----the poverty that people are living in at the moment.

I am on my feet.

Dún do bhéal, le do thoil, and perhaps listen.

Perhaps you would open your ears.

Perhaps you would listen. If you listen, you can hear. I am speaking-----

-----on behalf of people who are getting crushed by a cost-of-living crisis. When they look to the Government, they see a Government that is out of touch and out of ideas. We have presented what we believe needs to be done. Others have done the same. The Government has chosen to turn a deaf ear to that. The message is being received loud and clear. This Government is telling people who are in dire…

The next slot is the Social Democrats. The Deputies have two minutes each.

I ask all Deputies to address their remarks through the Chair.

In accordance with Standing Order 85(2), the division is postponed until the weekly division time on Wednesday, 13 May 2026.

This matter relates to the telephone support allowance. It is one of those things that is an essential part of the income for a lot of people. The organisation ALONE has highlighted not just the value of this allowance but also the fact that it has not been keeping pace anywhere close to inflation. It was not increased in the most recent budget. I understand that the primary objective is to allow …

To increase it to €7.50.

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I do not mean this disrespectfully but when I have asked a question about the telephone allowance, it is probably not helpful for anyone listening in who might be conscious of the issue of the telephone allowance that the Minister of State listed other payments. We understand that there were modest increases in the budget. They did not keep pace with in…

I acknowledge the words of the Minister. She mentioned two counties in her contribution. She did not mention County Dublin. There are people living in my constituency who were living there when they were abused by Michael Shine because Our Lady of Lourdes is the local hospital for Balbriggan. I am sure that was an oversight on her part. What is at the heart of this is that these kids and their fam…

Hear, hear.