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Minister for Finance whether, in view of higher inflation than his predecessor predicted prior to the budget, he will bring in an emergency supplementary budget before Christmas to reinstate cost-of-living payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [69658/25

that were crying out to the Government not to make them poorer, as the Government has just done through the budget, and crying out for a winter emergency payment? It points to the utter failure of the State to vindicate the rights of children with additional needs

will mention that in my own area, the Department of Health, I have also secured some funding in the budget for healthcare initiatives for people in emergency accommodation, having worked with the Minister on this issue. We also need to look at services for the vulnerable. This

fair, is developing further approaches, particularly to child homelessness. He received in the budget a further €100 million additionally to focus exclusively on children and families with children to get them out of emergency accommodation as quickly as possible. In the last two to three years, the numbers … local authorities that they must prioritise families with children who are in emergency accommodation. You will begin to see the impacts from the initiatives that the Minister has taken, particularly because of the additional budget he has received. That is the way to try to address the issue

Minister the two questions that I initially asked. Will the Government introduce an emergency winter disability payment? Will it finally introduce a permanent cost-of-disability payment? The last budget before this one recognised the cost of disability. Now, the Government has abandoned

three. Another project involves a 15-cubicle transition unit for patient admissions and discharges to alleviate emergency department admission pressure. In 2020, Naas General Hospital received a €74 million budget. In 2025, the budget allocation for the hospital rose to €130 million. This investment in recent years

homelessness, and specifically child homelessness. The Minister has specific measures. He achieved €100 million in the budget to acquire social housing and housing more generally to take more families out of emergency accommodation and get them into either local authority houses or acquired homes. There is a specific

together a €9.4 billion budget that leaves the most vulnerable worse off. The Government is spending like there is no tomorrow, according to the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, but there are still well over 5,000 children who will spend Christmas in homeless emergency accommodation. That number … basics at the supermarket, so where exactly are these billions going? They are not being targeted at those who need it most. The budget should have been an opportunity to show foresight, discipline and responsibility. Instead, it has become a case study in how this Government ignores expert

European norm. Energy inflation has slowed but it has not disappeared. Prices have risen again by 3.3% this year, keeping pressure on household budgets. Behind these percentages are real people. Some 176,000 households are now over 90 days in arrears, with an average debt … with the energy action poverty plan, emergency schemes have delivered €1,450 worth of credits to households at a cost of €3.3 billion. Regarding home energy upgrades, there has been record funding of €469 million for retrofitting and solar PV in budget 2025, including €240 million

Disabled people and carers are also fighting back. The budget took upwards of €1,000 out of their pockets in nominal terms - worse in real terms - and they simply cannot afford it. They are calling for an emergency cost-of-living payment before Christmas so they

State charges in respect of hospitals - acute hospitals, emergency departments - and in respect of medicine and the cost of medicine, particularly the DPS threshold and other bespoke interventions also. More generally on cost-of-living measures, in the budget we took measures to support families

clear. They are angry about and upset by this Government's decision to slash their incomes by up to €1,400 in the budget. The Disability Federation of Ireland has called this a "devastating setback" which "leaves disabled people poorer, unsupported and excluded." It warned that "without urgent … emergency €400 winter payment. That will still leave people €1,000 worse off, but it will at least go some way towards meeting the cost of food and bills this winter. The question is whether the Government is listening. Every time disabled people raise issues about the budget

substantial budget surplus and in that context he should not be making disabled people poorer. That was a mistake made in the budget. The Tánaiste presumably agreed to it. I am appealing to him in the days running up to Christmas to use the resources … reverse that decision. Do not make disabled people poorer next year. Therefore, do what they are asking of the Government and introduce an emergency, one-off winter payment. It is very simple. That is what I am asking. It is a political choice for the Tánaiste

into use. The purpose of making the budget day announcement, albeit with the lead-in time, was to make it clear to people in this country that if they are sitting on a derelict property or site in a housing emergency, we intend to tax that reality

recent times. Dereliction during a housing emergency is a particular challenge as something that should be almost socially unacceptable. We have an emergency. All of us recognise that. We have different views on how best to tackle it, but tackling dereliction needs to be an important part … they do a good job - to a consistent national tax collected by the Revenue Commissioners. The benefit of announcing the tax in the budget a couple of months ago was that we all want this tax to act effectively as something to change behaviour. We are not actually

asked on behalf of disabled people who are crying out for this to put money back in their pockets via a winter emergency measure, with a one-off payment, and he just bats it away. He did not engage with it at all. These are the people that … made poorer, not just a little bit poorer, but a lot poorer. They are €1,400 worse off as a consequence of the budget. It cut the disability support grant, a loss of €400. It cut the living alone allowance, a cut of €200. It reduced the fuel

short time available to me, I want to call for the payments of an emergency winter energy credit of at least €500. Households, especially those with children, are under huge pressure from the cost-of-living crisis, which is pushing more and more families into poverty. There … recent budget. The measure of any society is how it treats its most vulnerable. Thousands of families will face the coming Christmas with difficulty and it is very worrisome. The least we can do is ease that worry by at least the payment of an emergency bonus this

regressive and shameful. The budget "locks disabled people and their families into another cycle of exclusion". Those are not my words; they are the words of the Disability Federation of Ireland. Will the Tánaiste listen to disabled people? Will the Government introduce an emergency winter payment, which

lists, some for years, without clarity about what supports they need. Today, this Government must declare this backlog a national emergency, allocate immediate emergency funding, launch a tangible plan to hire specialist assessors and therapists within weeks, and monitor and report progress publicly every month until every child … outside Leinster House today. Someone from my community, Sarah Attridge, travelled nearly five hours to get to the gates here today, protesting that budget 2026 has left disabled people up to €1,400 worse off. This is not just a number but a heating versus eating crisis. People

election but, first thing after an election, promise after promise is broken. The Government brought forward a budget that had inflation rates nearly half of what they are currently. Things are worse off. That is why people in wheelchairs were outside the Dáil today. That is why they … coming up in the middle of a storm saying to the Government and the Minister that they need emergency supports this winter. The Minister needs to hear the pleas of the nearly 500,000 people who cannot heat their homes at this point in time

have expanded significantly in recent years. The National Talent Academies network, covering film and television drama, animation and visual effects, VFX, ensures that emerging talent across the regions can access structured development pathways. The Minister of State referred to the regional crew academies in Galway, Limerick and Wicklow … essential if we want a sustainable industry in the long term. The Bill sits alongside the substantial Government support delivered through recent budgets. Through budget 2026, for example, funding for Screen Ireland will rise to €42.96 million, an increase of over 5%. This is a clear signal

Tánaiste's predecessor, Paschal Donohoe, said that there was no need for cost-of-living payments in the budget because “inflation has now returned to normal rates”. He said that inflation would be around 2% this year. That is clearly not the case. We have over 4% food … going to be a cold hard Christmas for many people. At this very late stage, I am asking the Tánaiste to bring forward emergency cost-of-living payments

joined disabled activists and disability groups in a protest outside the Dáil this morning. They were protesting over the fact that the recent budget has plunged them into poverty. One disabled person described how, for example, he has to sit down and consider whether … having to go to food banks to get sandwiches because he cannot afford food. They were pleading with this Government for an emergency winter payment to be provided to deal with this and for a cost-of-disability payment. Will the Minister respond

million euro has been allocated to eight city and county councils with the highest numbers of homeless families – people who have been in emergency accommodation for 24 months or longer, as said by the Deputy. In addition, a further €100 million will be allocated in this regard … need to ensure that the mix, in terms of the number of bedrooms, is correct too. We have provided the largest ever housing budget in the history of the State for next year. The housing plan refers to the provision of 72,000 social homes

thank Deputy Nash for the question. First, we share the same view on the importance of this derelict property tax. In a housing emergency, which we are in, every lever must be used. Having a tax that targets derelict properties is an important one. There is a significant … consistency will be really important in being able to underpin any tax collected by the Revenue Commissioners. As the Deputy said, in this budget we announced the introduction of a new derelict property tax. The aim of this tax is to encourage the activation of derelict properties

Minister for Finance whether, in view of higher inflation than his predecessor predicted prior to the budget, he will bring in an emergency supplementary budget before Christmas to reinstate cost-of-living payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [69658/25

Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he will bring in an emergency supplementary budget before Christmas in order that emergency winter cost-of-living payments can be made to disabled people and carers; and if he will make a statement on the matter