Search the record

condemn it? The Government knows Trump is just distracting from his domestic failures and from his population, which is suffering from a cost-of-living crisis while billionaires rake in more and more. Thousands are being killed and the lives of Irish peacekeepers are being put in danger … people of Ireland do not want to see that. The other aspect of this that needs to be called out is the cost-of-living crisis. This war is now putting us into a cost-of-living crisis on top of a cost-of-living crisis. The Tánaiste

course, people, Trump's friends, are speculating on all of this. People are getting rich out of it while all this cost-of-living misery has been going on since 2021. We are not Johnny-come-lately when it comes to addressing the very issues we are discussing … have been looking back at our motion, which was the first motion on the cost of living to come before this House at the beginning of the cost-of-living crisis. We moved it on 6 October 2021. It referred to the need for price controls on electricity

propellent), petrol and auto-diesel (heavy oil used as a propellent) and green diesel (marked gas oil) for the purpose of alleviating cost of living pressures; to provide for the extension of such reductions by order of the Minister for Finance; and to provide for related matters. Cuirim … láimhe a thabhairt daoibh arís, mar atá déanta ag an Rialtas le coicís anuas. I am introducing the Mineral Oil Tax (Emergency Cost of Living Reduction) Bill 2026. This legislation is a demand for emergency action and for the Government to stop dithering and delaying

This crisis in the Middle East is going to cause devastation right across Ireland as a result of its impact on the cost of living. The price of home heating oil has increased by almost 50% in recent days. I have been speaking to hauliers and logistics companies … comes on the back of a lorry. The Government's quest to drive up the cost of fuel directly correlates with the cost of living. We cannot afford this any more. The cost of living is rising very high and the cost of fuel is a significant

were thinking, "What will the Government do when under massive public pressure to do something to protect people from the renewed cost-of-living crisis?" Looking at this proposal, however, this measure in particular, it is hard to imagine something meaner. There is a crisis out there. Close … because it is so utterly inadequate in resolving the crisis that people face. We know that people have entered into a new cost-of-living crisis that has come on the back of an existing cost-of-living crisis. We know the impact of that. Four

four weeks to deal with this issue of support for workers and families in the middle of what was already a cost-of-living crisis. It is important to remember that, before the fuel crisis was brought on by the attacks in Iran and the impacts … attacks Iran has launched in the Middle East, we had a cost-of-living crisis. Many families and businesses were already pushed to the pin of their collar. The real challenges people are facing in terms of just meeting basic necessities have been well rehearsed. I have heard

move: That Dáil Éireann: recognises that: — workers and families have been hit by an unrelenting cost-of-living crisis; — the Government have failed to act to end this rip-off, and get prices under control; — the turmoil in international energy markets, as a result of the unjustified attacks … Iran, is compounding an existing cost-of-living crisis, and risks causing severe hardship for many people; — inflation was running far above the Government's projections, even before the most recent shock in energy markets; — record levels of people were already unable to pay their electricity bills, with

feels in many ways like Groundhog Day talking again about a cost-of-living crisis. Of course, this cost-of-living crisis comes on top of a cost-of-living crisis that had not gone away, despite what the Government pretended at the time of the budget … behind that is our continued reliance on fossil fuels and most immediately is short-term profiteering, which we know, in the previous cost-of-living crisis was responsible for two thirds of the price increases. The Government's response, to quote the Taoiseach, is to say that

hoping for a hat-trick. Tá cruachás na gcostas maireachtála ag éirí níos measa, go háirithe ó thaobh tionóntaí de. The cost-of-living emergency is getting worse. The measures the Government announced mean the cost of living will remain stubbornly high for workers and families who cannot … intervene to protect renters? Will it freeze rent increases like Spain has and will it put a moratorium on evictions? What new cost-of-living measures will this Government bring forward for renters? Will it at the very least double the renter’s tax credit, as Labour

cost of living in this country is skyrocketing. Before the war in Iran, 320,000 households were in electricity arrears. People are choosing between heating and eating. The cost of living is impacting more than just energy, though, because there is now the price for education. Exam fees … which had not been in place since before the pandemic, are being reintroduced without warning to parents. The cost of living needs to be discussed this evening

response from the Government to the cost-of-living crisis that has come on top of a cost-of-living crisis is absolutely inadequate. The Government response is miserly in comparison to the scale of suffering in the country. We are seeing rising numbers of people living … from 36% in 2023 to 43%. That was last year, before the current increases, which shows the Government is completely ignoring a cost-of-living crisis and a level of poverty that is completely unacceptable. As I said, it is Scrooge for ordinary people and Santa Claus

Government has done a special scheme just for businesses. It is very revealing of the Government's approach to this new cost-of-living crisis. I do not think the Government gets it that for ordinary people this cost-of-living crisis comes on top of an existing … cost-of-living crisis. People are really suffering. People were already really suffering two months ago. We remember the shocking statistic about four in ten parents skipping or cutting back on meals in order to ensure that their kids have enough to eat. We know there are over

families were already struggling long before these latest price hikes arrived. They were struggling because Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael removed vital cost-of-living supports in the most recent budget and actually left working people and families worse off this year than they were last year even … under. Two weeks ago, a Fianna Fáil TD told me in a TV studio that it was premature to talk about a cost-of-living crisis. It is cloud cuckoo land stuff. I ask Government TDs this evening whether they still think it is premature or have they

households across the State are in arrears on their energy bills under the Minister’s watch. This comes after the Government slashed cost-of-living supports in this year's budget. It left households to fend for themselves, including elderly people and people living alone. People with disabilities … were left €1,400 worse off. It was really shameful and the price increases since this war began have turned a cost-of-living crisis into a cost-of-living emergency. Where has the Government been? It has been missing in action for the past two weeks. Throughout

protect consumers. This is very important legislation, especially because it comes at a time households are being hammered by the cost of living. People in my constituency are reporting huge increases in the cost of home heating oil, a doubling in the cost in many cases, with … number of weeks, which will add more to household bills. The Government is completely out of touch with the reality of the cost-of-living crisis across the State. It needs to take action, it needs to hold companies accountable, it needs to scrap the carbon tax increases

Many people in Ireland are now at breaking point from the cost-of-living crisis. This crisis has not just persisted; it has been turbocharged by global instability for sure but also by the Government's policies. Households are struggling on every front, with the price of housing … when Russia unleashed war on Ukraine, the Taoiseach told people to wait for inflation to reduce and when he cut temporary cost-of-living measures, he told people to wait and see. Households in Ireland need a government that intervenes when costs spiral, not a bystander government

course, we have intervened in the cost of living over the past three to four years. More than any other government in Europe, we intervened with our allocations, both in the once-off cost-of-living interventions that we made for over two years at huge cost … supply chains, there has been an inflationary spiral. It has eased considerably in Ireland in inflationary terms, but the impact on the cost of living and the elevated prices remains for many households. We significantly reduced all the medical expenditures that were there five or six years

watch of this Government. In his response, the Tánaiste did not actually address the question I asked, which was: what new cost-of-living measures will the Government bring forward to protect renters? Will the Government look at increasing the renter's tax credit? At the very least … something the Government could, and should, do because this cost-of-living crisis is impacting renters the most. They are the most vulnerable people in the housing system at the moment

bills, knowing that people are already under a severe amount of pressure and knowing that we are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, whether the Government acknowledges it or not. That cost-of-living crisis is very real. The Government's energy affordability taskforce

terms of the move from a payment of €600 to €400. It is important that the Minister bear in mind the cost-of-living crisis that is unfolding. The Minister will reply that the payment was never a direct monetary compensation. That is correct but it is undoubtedly … support families across the country yesterday and it has to be borne in mind that we may well see a continued cost-of-living spike later this year when the Minister is considering reducing that payment. I ask him to bear that point in mind. We also have

public services, including Tusla, namely, the privatisation and outsourcing of care, the lack of workforce planning and the ongoing housing and cost-of-living crisis, all of which we should be talking about as part of this debate. The SEAs highlight the increasing and ongoing privatisation … ongoing failure of the Government to get to grips with the housing emergency in this country as well as the rising cost of living. Young people are now being left with little choice but to emigrate elsewhere for a better standard of living and to save

illegal war on Iran enters its third week, with no end in sight. The Minister stated earlier that the Government is considering cost-of-living measures and a package of supports for struggling households. There have been many kites flown and many mixed messages from Government. The Minister … State, Deputy Niall Collins, suggested that the Government should consider scrapping the €680 million VAT cut on hospitality to pay for cost-of-living supports. Is that Fianna Fáil policy? If not, when are we going to see clarity from the Government for struggling households? People just want

those homes. They have to feed their children. They have to access childcare and education. On every one of those indicators, the cost of living is getting increasingly unbearable. We hear in our constituency clinics, as I am sure the impressive number of the Government's own backbenchers … behind the Tánaiste today also hear in their constituency clinics, that the scale of the cost-of-living crisis is having an impact on people that we are finding impossible to cope with because solutions are simply not being offered by the Government to address them. What

There has been a cost-of-living crisis in this country for a number of years. That crisis was, to some extent, addressed by way of energy credits and once-off social welfare payments in the 2025 budget. Of course, that … election was bought, and was done and dusted, and the Government did not do anything further except sit on its hands. The cost-of-living crisis for families is devastating as a result. On top of that, we now have the illegal Israeli-US war on Iran. This

thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this important motion on the cost-of-living crisis. As well as the issue of the action the Government needs to take to address the spiralling cost of living, and particularly the cost of energy that has hit hard, I would just

surplus influenced the scale and duration of the proposed fuel price interventions, and if so, how this assessment was balanced against current cost-of-living pressures. [23353/26

asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason fees are being reintroduced for the 2026 State examinations, particularly given the ongoing cost-of-living crisis affecting many families; the reason parents and students are only being notified during the school year; the reason the payment window

increase for a qualified adult for State pension recipients at the same level since 2007, notwithstanding increases in wages, pensions and the cost of living over that period; whether any assessment has been carried out on the real-terms value of this threshold; and if he will make

provide an update on the timeframe for CIÉ pensioners to receive an increase in their pension payments, in view of the ongoing cost of living increases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22275/26

Cahill asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance to reduce as a matter of priority the excise duty on fuel as a cost of living measure. [22246/26

Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance to introduce as a matter of priority a new set of cost of living measures.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22247/26

Cahill asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance to reduce as a matter of priority the excise duty on fuel as a cost of living measure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21981/26

Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance to introduce as a matter of priority, a new set of cost-of-living measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21982/26

Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance to introduce as a matter of priority, a new set of cost of living measures (details supplied)); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21988/26

regarding the qualifying criteria for free State exam fees for 2026; if this criteria will be expanded in the context of the cost-of-living crisis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22189/26

Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection to introduce as a matter of urgency cost of living measures (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22005/26

placements, while student veterinary nurse students complete months of full-time unpaid clinical work, which is no longer viable in the current cost-of-living crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21569/26

steps his Department is taking ahead of the next academic year to expand affordable student accommodation, particularly in light of rising cost-of-living pressures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22128/26

Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether future revisions of the child maintenance calculator will incorporate cost-of-living and necessary expenditure considerations; whether the formula of the child maintenance calculator will be benchmarked to inflation; whether international best practice models

which is placing severe financial pressure on families and workers across the State; whether he has considered the introduction of an emergency cost-of-living payment to support households affected by these increases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21256/26

measure to alleviate pressure on families and commuters; and if he will provide a timeline for any proposed cost-of-living interventions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21257/26

Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if he is satisfied with the adequacy of statutory sick pay in the context of the cost of living crisis; his views on the financial implications of requiring a medical certificate for same; his plans to allow for self-certification

allocation for substitute teacher cover (details supplied) has remained unchanged over the past two decades despite increases in salary scales and cost-of-living pressures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19253/26

Local Government and Heritage if he will revise the Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, amended in June 2016, to account for the cost-of-living crisis and the development of residential areas in Bands 2 and 3; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18528/26

individuals reliant on hearing aids under the treatment benefit scheme; in light of the high cost of equipment and the increasing cost of living; and the inability of many to meet such costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20127/26

Bacik asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is satisfied by the adequacy of illness benefit in the context of the cost of living crisis; his views on reviewing its adequacy as income protection in high cost areas; and if he has corresponded with the Minister

expenditures including housing, childcare, transport, medical costs and existing financial obligation from the child maintenance calculator; and whether future revisions will incorporate cost-of-living considerations to better reflect the actual cost of raising a child. [19985/26

Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth in the context of the Education Plan 2025 and commitments relating to cost-of-living supports and inclusive education, the measures currently in place to reduce the cost burden of school uniforms on families, including steps taken to limit compulsory

number of students who will be required to pay these fees; if she will reconsider this decision in light of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis affecting families; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17441/26

Youth whether the allocation for substitute teacher cover has remained unchanged over the past two decades despite increases in salary scales and cost-of-living pressures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16849/26