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income motorists; and — annual increases in Carbon taxes raise the price of motor fuels, with the Minister for Finance holding overall responsibility for tax policy; regrets that: — despite a raging cost of living crisis, motorists are faced with price hikes at every turn, particularly those living in rural … cancel these planned increases and lessen the burden on workers, families, and businesses in the midst of the cost-of-living and fuel crisis; and calls on the Government to: — reverse the carbon tax increase of May 2025 on home heating oil and gas, reverse the carbon

their child's school has moved away from textbooks. Families with two or three children simply cannot keep up. Others are paying for fuel or taxis because they are excluded from the school transport scheme - a scheme that is supposed to ensure equal access to education but instead … costs should never add to that burden. All of this is happening against the backdrop of a deepening cost-of-living crisis. Groceries, rent, energy, fuel - everything is going up, while wages and supports fail to keep pace. Families are being pushed to the limit and the Government

aware that families are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. Between spiralling rents, mortgages, energy, food and fuel, the list of ever-increasing bills is growing longer and longer. Each bill puts further pressure and stress on working families. When it comes to their children's education

families are seeing no let-up in the cost-of-living crisis. Ireland is one of the most expensive places to run a car, with recent analysis showing that we have the third highest motor fuel costs in the EU. Couple this with rip-off car insurance costs … their policies. Budget 2026 was a clear example of how the Government had failed to support families during this cost-of-living crisis. In that budget, the Government decided to withdraw cost-of-living supports and to continue to increase the carbon tax on petrol and diesel

social welfare payments, €8 or €16 for child payments and €5 in the fuel allowance. There was no meaningful cost-of-living package and no changes to personal income taxes. Meanwhile, housing remains in crisis despite €5 billion in capital commitments. The minimum wage increase to €14.15 barely … commercial entities; they are pillars of their communities that support local events, charities and even political activities. Such hidden changes erode trust and fuel frustration among the electorate. At a time when transparency and fairness should be paramount, these stealth increases will leave a bitter taste among rural

Fine Gael's policies, they are fuelling the cost-of-living crisis because there are solutions at their fingertips, but they are choosing to ignore them. At a time when Irish motorists pay the third-highest fuel prices in the EU, the Government increased the carbon tax again

careful not to repeat them. Let us look at the position we have today. Ireland is massively over-dependent on expensive imported fossil fuels leading to some of the highest energy prices in the EU. I do not think anyone will disagree with that. Ordinary workers and families … four short years. There are now 300,000 households that cannot afford to heat their homes or turn the lights on. The crisis will only deepen further following the impact of another round of energy price hikes combined with the cruel decision to withdraw and rip away

most horrific places to live in the world in a war that the UN has labelled as the worst humanitarian crisis. Reports from the UN and humanitarian organisations indicate that the RSF is effectively instrumentalising and manipulating humanitarian aid in an attempt to maintain control. The flow … possibly other countries, such as Russia and neighbouring countries. All of them must stop the flow of weapons that is escalating and adding fuel to the fire of this conflict. Whatever leverage Ireland has must be used. Ireland, the EU and the United States all have strong connections

thank the Deputy. I am very much aware that the cost-of-living crisis is still real for very many families across the country. The Deputy has asked me a specific question, so I am going to spend the time on it. I do want to acknowledge that … number of measures to protect the most vulnerable, including a very significant increase in the working family payment, an expansion of the fuel allowance and the permanent reduction of the VAT rate on energy bills. There is also the fact the Christmas bonus, which is paid to pensioners

review systems in the European Union. The response to the workers who are stuck in traffic is to hike up their tolls and fuel taxes. Some people in Meath are suggesting a toll strike, refusing to pay tolls on the roads. Some are suggesting they block traffic … senior Minister or public servant in the room in Navan on Thursday week, to listen to the people on the crisis they are going through

everyone's lips. It is a very aptly called the Education (Affordable School Uniforms) Bill 2025. During the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, the cost of school uniforms has become a huge financial burden on families. The average cost of a full school kit, including gym gear … Food and grocery prices have risen by 27% between 2021 and 2025. Property tax has gone up by 23% since 2021. Fuel, home heating and electricity bills are the highest in Europe. There is a double cost attached to these uniforms because, as sure as night follows

know the issues that exist at the minute in relation to the cost-of-living crisis. The Government's budget did not have any solutions for those who are suffering at this time, whether we are talking about the issues of insurance, rent or the cost of housing … many people. If we are talking about roads, we know the addition of carbon taxes means we will have really significant fuel costs. The idea of carbon tax was to dissuade people. We all know a number of things have changed since, including post Covid and the cruel

struggling with food, energy, housing and transport costs while the Government congratulates itself on token increases that barely touch the size of this crisis. Core welfare payments are falling behind inflation once again. There was no increase in child benefit, no credible plan to tackle child poverty … proposed a €25 increase in the domiciliary care allowance, a €450 set of energy credits and a boost of almost €300 to the fuel allowance. We also called for €2.2 billion in additional funding for social protection - double what the Government provided - to lift families out of poverty

respect of the living alone allowance, the lump sum of €200 was cut. That is another €200 gone. The fuel allowance was reduced for disabled people, resulting in a net loss of €160. The October double payment of €254 was cut. The electricity credits of €250 were … nominal terms as opposed to real terms. In real terms, namely in the context of inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, it is even worse. We know that the cost of having a disability in this country back in 2021 was over €10,000. Today

toll increase, in the words of the IRHA, was the straw that broke the camel's back. An increase in carbon taxes on fuel eats into the narrow profit margins for haulage companies and makes routes increasingly unviable. The hauliers who bring food to our supermarkets and deliver … Once again, it is the people who can least afford it who are paying for Government inaction. We saw the consequences of this crisis with the collapse of Fastway Couriers last month. Hundreds of workers, contractors and franchisees are left in limbo, some owed weeks

working family payment they can now benefit from the fuel allowance payment, which is up to around €1,000 during the fuel season. In terms of the actual amendment, the USC yield was €5.7 billion in 2024. It has a yield of €5.6 billion forecast … would mean around 63% of taxpayer units would not be liable for the USC at all. Deputies will recall that during the economic crisis, it reached a point where 45% of all income earners were exempt from income tax. So, we would be going much higher in terms

asks, "What can we do about the cost-of-living crisis?" The Government created the aspect of the cost-of-living crisis that relates to tolls. It was Fianna Fáil that brought in the public-private partnerships back in the 2000s in the years of the Celtic tiger … service is not working in the same way as it used to. They have been pushed back into paying higher costs of fuel and we can see that the traffic in Dublin now is absolutely diabolical. It has got worse and there is gridlock. People are forced

accountability matters, it will not in itself feed a starving population. The humanitarian situation in Sudan is catastrophic. Over 20 million people face crisis levels of hunger and aid agencies are warning of famine in several regions. Access for the UN and NGOs remains dangerously restricted. Bureaucratic obstacles … sides in this war. We know that Russian-linked networks, including successors to the Wagner Group, have profited from Sudanese gold and helped fuel instability. We also know that without co-ordinated diplomacy, outside powers will continue to hedge their bets, prolonging the conflict rather than helping

households in this country in fuel poverty. It is incredible that nearly half a million households in this country are in fuel poverty. The prices of electricity are extremely high. Energy prices in Ireland are three times the wholesale prices. That is one of the biggest gaps … involved in super-normal profits in terms of its revenue. The ESB made €706 million profit last year in a cost-of-living crisis. That is an incredible situation. Even the pricing of electricity happens within this State as a function of the dearest element of the production

here to Leinster House for the same reason we are talking on this today, for the road hauliers. At a time of crisis in this country, they travelled the roads to make sure that we had food and energy in this country. I have a letter from Martin … when I brought the truck in here, to 2025, the overall increase in the cost of equipment has been 40%. Government taxes on fuel are 89.56% up since 2021. Commercial vehicle roadworthiness testing, CVRT, has seen a 19% increase. Tolls have seen a 13% increase. The minimum wage

about €11,500, an increase of nearly 8% on the previous year that was driven largely by higher fuel, insurance and maintenance costs. Petrol and diesel prices in Ireland continue to rank among the highest in the EU. As of last month, petrol averaged €1.86 per litre compared … bump up the profits of operators. People have better things to do with their money in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis than handing it over to some private investment vehicle. The motion also points to the fact that paying motor tax in instalments is more

behind on retrofitting targets and so carbon emissions continue to rise. People living in draughty homes have no option but to rely on fuels that are unsustainable both for our planet and for household finances. It is three and a half years since Russia's horrific onslaught … worth waiting for. In the Minister's previous response, he talked about a report due in 2026, but in a cost-of-living crisis, people need protection now against corporate greed. Labour has called on the Government to force supermarket giants to publish profits, yet the Government

diesel in the UK than here. We are strangling the development of that particular SME sector by increasing the cost of fuel, including diesel, every year. Extra holidays will be legislated for. That is another cost to carry. There are also warehouse rents, planning permission, general regulation … sector and into haulage and logistics and get very little profit out of it. There is no encouragement there. Then, when a crisis is reached and drivers are wanted, it is nearly impossible to get them into the State. I have been asking for a greater effort

SMEs are under unbearable pressure. According to them, jobs are at risk. In Kerry, local businesses are telling me the same story. Rising fuel costs, insurance and toll hikes are all pushing them to the brink. According to Chartered Accountants Ireland, costs have increased for almost … cost of living. It pushes up prices for basic necessities which are already sky high. Is the Government taking the cost-of-living crisis seriously at all? On top of this, we face a severe HGV driver shortage. A total of 4,000 drivers are needed over

week in this Bill. I think of the struggling young person already burdened by the housing crisis, the cost-of-living crisis and rising energy bills now finding themselves unemployed or put on reduced hours in hospitality or retail. How far is €10 going to go for them … this budget. Instead of introducing a cost-of-disability payment worth over €1,000 a year to soften the difficulties, increasing the fuel allowance more to keep up with energy cost inflation, giving relief on energy costs or properly increasing the disability allowance, the Government chose to leave