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bands, providing instead untargeted Value-Added Tax (VAT) cuts for the hospitality and construction sector; — despite clear evidence of an ongoing cost-of-living crisis, the Government withdrew energy credits and cut pre-election once-off payments, that in recent years had cloaked the inadequacy of existing social … have to wait over five months, until October, to find out what supports may be introduced to ease the increase in the cost of living; and — the State has yet to deploy the Apple windfall funds, and carries significant cash balances; recognises that: — Pay As You Earn (PAYE

This is not solely about specific sectors, however, as we know. Just like the protests, this is about a broader issue of cost of living, a crisis that affects so many people the length and breadth of this State, a crisis that is still raging today … increases, a crisis the Government has failed to get under control and, indeed, a crisis it has added to. Right now the cost-of-living crisis is worse than ever. Many households and small businesses are on the brink. The price of green diesel, for example

Research Institute of Budget 2026 measures, households lost disposable income, with low-income households hit hardest; — despite clear evidence of an ongoing cost-of-living crisis, the Government withdrew cost of living supports, including energy credits; — people with disabilities have been hard hit by the Government's callous … decision to withdraw cost of living support, with many people with disabilities left up to €1,400 worse off; — since energy credits were withdrawn, we have seen record numbers of household unable to pay their electricity bills, and many more people struggling to keep up; — the Government measures

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 … when to get some help and support. They need that help and support now. That is why people say there is a cost-of-living crisis. The Government may not choose to recognise or acknowledge that. It can stick its fingers in its ears and refuse to hear

thank the Labour Party for the motion and for suggesting that we should have a mini-budget to address the cost-of-living crisis. We agree with quite a number of the measures and some were in our alternative budget. It is a fact that the rich … getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. While a cost-of-living crisis is going on for working people in this country, where half a million people either are either in gas or electricity arrears and are crushed by the USC, carbon taxes, energy price hikes

Minister is here to hear what the Opposition has to say about it. The Labour Party has continually raised the ongoing cost-of-living crisis that is affecting many households across Ireland and having a particularly profound impact on those with disabilities and their families who are dealing … will finish with an email. I previously highlighted a case of a constituent of mine who has a disability and the ongoing cost of living is putting immense pressure on her and her family. It perfectly sums up the consequence of a Fianna Fail and Fine Gael Government

four people with disabilities is at risk of poverty. That is a terrible statistic. Previously, I have referenced that the cost of living with a disability might average up to €15,000 per year in the current economic climate. That is way beyond what the current supports cover … support grants, electricity credits and the October double payment has hit hard. We then have all the additional energy and fuel-related cost-of-living increases that people are having to cope with thanks to international events. Rents have also increased. The cost of disability is reflected

cost of living for people with disabilities has been highlighted across the Chamber. If we start off with disabilities and things we could have done even before we reached this point and which were asked for, Maurice Noonan, who is from Granagh, and his partner were here last … That equipment is perfect, but they are not allowed to have it. That does not make sense, and now we have the cost-of-living crisis on top of it. Everything has become so expensive. People with disabilities should be treated as equals but they are not. Everything

electricity bills. Families are being forced to make impossible choices every day between paying their bills and covering basic daily essentials. The cost-of-living increases from 2025 alone have led to an average Irish home paying €480 more per year than households in neighbouring countries. When … rising energy, grocery and health insurance costs combined. Energy is not an isolated expense, but part of the wider cost-of-living crisis that is squeezing people to breaking point. When the Minister of State and this Government tell people to wait, that relief is coming and that

escalation of Trump's war in the Middle East and with Putin's continued assault on Ukraine, we have seen a cost-of-living crisis that is biting deeper for families and households across the country, with nearly half a million households now in arrears on energy bills … feeling the pressure every day at the till and in their bills. Despite working hard, they are being crushed by a cost-of-living crisis. This is no accident. It is down to the Government's policies. It is not an inevitability. We can look elsewhere

thank my colleague Deputy Nash for bringing forward this Private Members' motion on the cost-of-living crisis. I listened carefully to the Minister of State's words. He talked about acknowledging the fear and frustration that were evident around the country in recent weeks and how this … change and the Government has to control the controllable by using the might of our public finances to permanently reduce the cost of living and cut people's bills by retrofitting homes while also reducing emissions. It must use the might of the public finances to keep people

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 have been calling for this for some time, and it is welcome … Party to reflect on its own vote to jack up the rent for Dublin City Council tenants in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis while they are dealing with some of the worst conditions people have to live in in this State. The Lord Mayor turned

kids. I asked him what were the kinds of political issues that were on his mind and he said, “The cost of living”. That was May 2024. Two years later I think about that man, with everything that has happened since then – energy costs accelerating to the highest … cost of goods and food, groceries and other everyday items surpassing the rate of wage growth. The core truth of the cost-of-living crisis is that for many people there was a crisis two years ago. There was a crisis when this Government and the Minister

Minister of State spins a story that the Government has acted on the cost of living, but the truth is that the Government has stubbornly refused to do things within its power that could reduce the cost-of-living crisis for ordinary people. On the other hand … orthu a gcuid bunriachtanas a chlúdach. There is so much the Government could, and should, do to help ordinary people with the cost-of-living crisis. The question is why the Government is not doing

welcome the proposals to reduce the cost of living for people. We have had a cost-of-living crisis since the end of Covid. That has escalated and it is now at crisis point. It is a serious situation and Government needs to understand that. Middle … food distribution companies such as McDonalds. We need targeted energy credits for households with income under €75,000. We urgently need a cost-of-living payment for people who are disabled because they are €1,400 worse off this year than last year as a result

their industrial policy to continue to roll out energy-intensive data centres around the country, it is becoming a cost-of-living issue. We have been going on for years about the climate impacts. The Tánaiste's former colleague, Paschal Donohoe, talked about the water demands of data … centres but this is now becoming a serious cost-of-living issue. If it is Government policy to allow unfettered growth in data centres, what is it going to do to ensure that it does not impose additional costs on households already struggling to pay their bills

thank Independent Ireland for bringing forward this motion and giving us the opportunity to talk about these very important issues regarding the cost-of-living pressures people are facing day in and day out. We would take a different approach to dealing with this crisis from … putting families and students under even more pressure. There has been promise after promise by the Government about helping people with the cost of living. What it actually did made matters worse. We really need the kinds of actions that we are talking about

childcare. There are 500,000 people who are in arrears on their electricity and gas bills. We need more than once-off cost-of-living payments and temporary excise cuts. We need a radical transformation of how this country is run. Instead of the Ireland for the rich … morning’s EPA report shows the Government has no interest in cutting fossil fuel dependency to protect us from the climate and cost-of-living crises. It is going to miss the 2030 emissions target by more than half and possibly by three quarters. A pathetic 4% reduction

People living with a disability face a double disadvantage. They face lower employment rates combined with a higher cost of living, as the Minister knows. Those living with a disability are entitled to an adequate standard of living, like the rest of us. That standard includes safe, accessible … budget. It did so by withdrawing critical emergency supports for workers and families and through the withdrawal of €1,400 worth of cost-of-living supports for people with a disability. These actions have directly impacted the quality of life of those living with a disability. These actions

risk of poverty. Yet, instead of strengthening supports, the Government has ripped them away. The energy credits, lump-sum supports and cost-of-living measures are gone. People with disabilities are now effectively facing a loss in supports of more than €1,400 per year compared with previous … disability public consultation is a delay tactic. The Government knows the vulnerable are suffering and finding it hard to cope with the cost-of-living, yet every individual with a disability must fight for supports. Residential places are getting scarce. Respite care is at times impossible

Five hundred of these people live with parents who are over 80 years of age. Of course, the cost-of-living crisis has severely impacted people with disabilities. It is literally a case of heating or eating or charging an electric wheelchair or eating. The cost of home … chicken is up 33%, beef is up 32% and lamb is up 52%. On top of all that, the Government withdrew all cost-of-living supports in budget 2026, hitting workers, families and people with disabilities very hard. Families are being put to the pin of their collar

struggling. They are telling the Government that they are. Failure number two was cutting supports in budget 2026. The Government removed cost-of-living payments which are worth around €1,400 a year to disabled people. While costs remain constant and unavoidable, supports are taken away. That … once-off measures. Disabled people are saying clearly that this is not a temporary crisis. There is permanent pressure from a cost-of-living perspective, so why is the Government still treating it like a once-off emergency? A once-off payment might help for a week

emergency intervention designed to claw back excess profits from energy companies and return that money to ordinary people during the cost-of-living crisis. That was the entire purpose of the scheme. It was supposed to provide rapid emergency relief for families who were being hammered over … finally commit to using this fund for the purpose for which it was intended, that is, direct emergency energy credits and a cost-of-living support for struggling households

council rent by 25%. It will mean thousands of euro extra per year for many families at a time of a cost-of-living crisis that people simply will not be able to afford. It is not just South Dublin County Council. We have seen this in Dublin … completely unaffordable rates. How are people meant to be able to afford massive increases in their rents at a time of a cost-of-living crisis

October budget, which was worth €9.4 billion, left disabled people €1,400 worse off in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. For months, disabled people and their advocates have told their stories of choices between heating and eating. They have appealed to the Government again … years. It knows what the additional cost of disability is. Disabled people cannot wait. The Government refused to give them an emergency cost-of-living payment and now it is asking them to wait for a permanent payment. That is not acceptable. They are under pressure

Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the consideration being given to the impact of ongoing cost-of-living pressures, including increases in energy, fuel and food costs, on retired public servants and teachers; if additional supports or measures are being considered to protect pensioners

Doherty asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he will bring forward an emergency budget to help people deal with the cost of living. [39713/26

Dolan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the level of fiscal space currently available to respond to a potential energy-driven cost-of-living shock; whether provision has been made for additional supports if required; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26600/26

Louis O'Hara asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance to outline the measures his Department will take to address the rising cost-of-living; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40151/26

further purchases of carbon credits or equivalent mechanisms are planned or budgeted for the current Effort Sharing Regulation period given the severe cost-of-living and farming pressures already being experienced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39011/26

Minister for Transport if he will implement an increase to Córas Iompair Éireann pensions to take into account the increase in cost-of-living; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38935/26

higher consumer energy and fuel costs; if consideration is being given to additional windfall taxation measures to support households facing significant cost-of-living pressures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38965/26

Deputy William Aird asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance his assessment of the scope for further cost-of-living measures in budget 2027; the way in which he proposes to balance targeted household supports with the need to maintain medium-term fiscal sustainability; and if he will

which geopolitical instability is contributing to increased import costs for energy, food, and key goods in Ireland; the estimated impact on the cost of living for households; and the measures being taken at EU and national level to mitigate these pressures; and if he will make a statement

Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he is planning to undertake any emergency measures to help people deal with increases in the cost-of-living; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27661/26

March 2022; whether any assessment was carried out on the impact of this increase on motorists, particularly in the context of cost-of-living pressures; and if he will consider reviewing or reducing the current clamp release charge. [37162/26

Post pensions will be approved and paid to members of the scheme; if this will be prioritised in light of the current cost-of-living crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35458/26

Research, Innovation and Science to give favourable consideration to index linking SUSI maintenance grants in line with rising accommodation costs and the cost of living; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34844/26

Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if will review and engage with stakeholders in relation to apprentice wages given the current cost of living crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34345/26

Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Transport if he is aware of the absence of a cost-of-living increase for Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) pensioners; the reason such an increase has not been provided; if any proposals to address this issue are under consideration

Michael Cahill asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance to provide a detailed response to correspondence that summarises the seriousness of the cost of living crisis, where a family with two good jobs are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet; the action he is taking

demands on carers; if he accepts that the current system does not adequately reflect the value of unpaid care work or the cost of living pressures faced by family carers; the consideration being given to removing or reforming the means test for carer's allowance

minimum wage for apprenticeships; whether he will increase the minimum wage for apprentices to encourage participation in light of the rising cost-of-living; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34006/26

rate of tax relief on qualifying health expenses not covered by private health insurance in light of rising healthcare costs and cost-of living pressures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32787/26