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middle who can often feel the squeeze, earning too much to qualify for supports but too little not to notice the rising cost of living. In our view, there are too many people who feel like this. Too many people are working hard, earning good money on paper … disposal and the administrative burden facing investors, and I intend to make further progress on removing barriers to investment. Helping with the cost of living in the here and now Fundamentally, the tax changes I am announcing today and the introduction of the investment account are based

legitimate demands and needs of working people, be they public sector or private sector, or those who are struggling with the cost-of-living and housing crises facing this country. When the Government refuses to listen to workers, they need to take to the picket lines to force … with the unions, which the unions are quite rightly demanding. Then we look at the forward projections for inflation and the cost of living. What did the Government say on pay? It said it had put aside €1.2 billion. It does not mean much to people when they

scale of the pressure that ordinary families are under. If Ministers did, we would see the Minister for Finance announce a cost-of-living package that would take immediate effect. Instead, what he presented is less than €250 for the majority of workers as a serious answer … cost-of-living pressure that workers and families are facing. The same test applies to pensioners. An increase of an extra €10 weekly was announced for the pension, but the Minister knows as well as I know that prices are rising higher than that and that inflation

made by colleagues in the Labour Party, who spoke to the concerns of people who were on picket lines yesterday regarding the cost of living and the pressures they are under. I also acknowledge the representatives from public sector unions who are here. At its core, this debate … contribution made by public servants throughout the State. It reaffirms the Government's commitment to collective bargaining. It recognises that pay and cost-of-living pressures can and should be considered from the outset of negotiations. It notes the substantial provision made in budget 2027 to support

thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward the motion and keeping the focus on this because the Government completely failed to address the cost-of-living crisis in the recent budget. It has fundamentally failed to address it because it does not change the situation whereby Bord Gáis customers … past year. For so many people who are really struggling, this budget simply did not come near addressing the scale of the cost-of-living crisis. What the budget said to me was that this is a Government that is utterly out of touch with what ordinary people

country. Budget 2027 targets resources where they can have the greatest impact, supporting families under pressure, helping workers with the cost of living and investing in the services and infrastructure on which our future depends. However, budget 2027 is not just an exercise in allocation. It is also … package of enhanced renewable energy and retrofit grants, including a boiler scrappage scheme to support permanent reductions to the cost of living. A total of €170 million will be allocated to climate action and the environment. This will include €25 million for the EU just transition programme

families first. It needed to deal with the here and now. It needed to recognise the extent of the impact of the cost of living and to bring in measures to alleviate it. A cost-of-living package was needed but that need was ignored. We needed … cost-of-living package that meets people where they are and that acknowledges that grocery prices are far too high. The Government could have done something about it. It could have cut the price of groceries by giving 1 million households €500 to spend on getting food

increase in public transport fares that the Government intends to plough ahead with in January. The Government has failed to address the cost of living. There is no reduction in electricity costs despite the fact that we have 9% VAT and high standing charges. Of course, households … workers who will get very small changes after waiting a full 24 months for this. It did not do it on the cost of living. It needed to go big on the cost of living and it has not. Pensioners and workers will not keep up with inflation

those of us in Sinn Féin, have been warning the Government about a real, deep anger out there in relation to the cost-of-living crisis. I genuinely believe that the Government does not listen because if it did, it would present a different budget today. When … refused to take responsibility for the fact that the Minister and the Government did not do enough to support people during a cost-of-living crisis. I am conscious that when we are talking about a cost-of-living crisis, it is rents, mortgages, groceries, insurance and across

Bill for struggling families, pensioners, disabled people or the hundreds of thousands of workers who are trying to stay afloat in the cost-of-living crisis. The legislation before us shows the Government’s priorities. I will start with income tax because that is where most workers will … also really needed was investment in the solar for all plan we in the Social Democrats put forward to permanently bring down cost-of-living and energy bills for households on a permanent basis, not just for those who can afford the cost of solar panels upfront

also frustrated by Government delay in beginning substantive talks and putting pay front and centre and by its failure to recognise the cost-of-living pressures they are under. Why did the Government not get into talks prior to June, when the previous pay agreement … Government that was supposed to be for workers, but it was not. It was a sprinkle in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. Middle- and low-income households got crumbs, according to Social Justice Ireland's analysis, and workers on €30,000 or below actually lost

have been raised on behalf of public servants. I hear what has been said. I understand the concerns about inflation and the cost of living. I hear the concerns about the expiry of the public service agreement. I also hear the concerns of public servants … causes disruption for people who rely on public services, families, communities and public servants themselves. We have consistently stated that pay, including cost-of-living pressures, can and should be discussed as a priority in negotiations on a successor public service agreement. We have made it clear that

autonomy that we currently have. It is important that people do not mislead farmers, hauliers and the public at this moment of cost-of-living challenge. We must also continue to work hard to decarbonise our economy. We know that the two recent shocks to energy markets … energy and reduce our reliance on imported fossil fuels. Energy is perhaps the most visible pressure that households are facing but the cost of living is a multifaceted challenge. Temporary supports are necessary. They help, but they are by their nature not a lasting solution. The most effective

Arís eile, tá muintir na hÉireann ligthe síos ag Rialtas nach dtuigeann na deacrachtaí a bhíonn ag daoine sa tír seo. The cost-of-living crisis is pushing workers to the brink. More than 100,000 public and civil servants have been forced into industrial action because … justify that? The Tánaiste knows that people on between €30,000 and €40,000 are really struggling day to day with the cost of living, so why has he made sure that they do not get the same benefit as people on higher incomes? So much for helping

them less than nothing in this budget when you look at how the tax changes relate to the actual increase in the cost of living. Even by the Government's own budget book, nobody is getting more than about 1.5% and many are getting less than 1%, such … against a background where they have already lost out from the fact that their pay has not kept pace with the rising cost of living. The last pay agreement came to an end at the beginning of this year and there has been no increase on that. Workers

doing well - that is who the Government represents - and not for ordinary working people, not for those suffering from the cost-of-living crisis and certainly not for disabled people. It is not a budget for any of us - which is all of us - who will be affected … increase. Many are getting much less than that. That will be more than wiped out as a consequence of the cost-of-living crisis, which is still deepening. That is the reality. More people will be struggling. More people will be in deprivation. More people will

have to take so much tax out of every €10 worth of fuel. This is a problem that is contributing to the cost-of-living crisis. Let us look at the increase that people living alone or old age pensioners are receiving in this budget. It will … very quickly evaporated in the spiralling cost of living. The cost of fuel and energy from the ESB is contributing to that. Yes, there are an awful lot of positives in this budget. It is like a job of work that we are at and we just have

most comfortable people who will benefit from this tax change at a time when the majority of people are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis, and when 40% of parents say they have to cut back so their kids can have enough to eat. That … their kids are not impacted by inheritance tax. Our priority is ensuring that those people are not suffering from the cost-of-living crisis. Something important that is often missed in discussions around inheritance tax is that if someone is passing on a farm or business, that

Minister update the House on how public expenditure within budget 2027 will impact on workers and families struggling with the cost of living? I noticed that he used the term "a better State". I like that term but I hope it is something we can achieve. I know … topic. I am concerned it will not be if everyone is struggling with the cost of living, as they

home heating oil. There was an announcement of €43, which is just nothing in terms of the actual impact of the cost-of-living crisis. Since the start of the year, a fill of home heating oil has increased by €713 or 75%. Does the Minister feel that … perhaps the Government did not get it right in finding a genuine shift for people on the cost of living

incomes. That is the way it should be, and it will continue that way. We have also done a lot on the cost of living, by the way. Over the past five years in particular, we have intervened significantly every year to try to protect people, including working … childcare costs and we have brought in a new cost-of-disability payment. We have taken a lot of measures on the cost-of-living side

that is worth about €4 per week. Think about that: €4 per week in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. I have said that the budget could be summed up in five words: "Gone before you get it". That is exactly what has happened. Whether … little bit back in tax that has been eaten up by the cost of living, renters left handing over more and more of their pay cheques in rent, people on fuel allowance actually getting less this winter than they got last winter, the tiny reduction in the cost

because I have to work, because I have to afford the therapies for my child and just to survive the cost-of-living crisis. I do not have the luxury of not working. It is an absolute insult to call this budget one for the working families … incomes coming into the family home are unable to make ends meet because on one side, the Government is engineering a cost-of-living crisis by overtaxing energy. Today, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, put €41 extra on electricity

some revenues to spare and we have to help people means acknowledging the bottlenecks in the system. The greatest threat to the cost of living for ordinary families is not necessarily tinkering with the tax bands and saying here is a few extra quid for them … school has enough teachers to function and a hospital has enough nurses to clear its waiting lists, we lower the structural cost of living in a sustainable manner. Instead, we are adding to costs by failing to keep our homegrown staff. They are going abroad. Nurses, for example

text from a constituent asking, “How have we arrived at a situation where every dog in the street knows the cost of living has soared and this current Government does not understand the increased pressures and needs of ordinary people?” I want to raise with the Minister … public sector pay deal? How will the Government make it up to them to ensure that their pay keeps up with the cost of living and that their conditions are appropriate to the public sector

give an update on the way in which public expenditure within budget 2027 will impact on workers and families struggling with the cost-of-living. [74674/26

including the ECB's asset purchase programmes and the subsequent tightening of interest rates, on Irish house prices, rents and the general cost-of-living; if so, the findings of such assessment; if not, the reason; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [75247/26

public service agreement; if he will ensure that this engagement is based on a credible approach to pay based on the cost-of-living challenges identified by the public services unions; and if he will guarantee a genuine negotiation process capable of rebuilding trust and confidence in public

excessive and disproportionate customs charges and administrative fees being imposed on everyday purchases and deliveries, which are adding to the cost-of-living burden on ordinary families; and whether any review or engagement with relevant bodies is planned to address this situation. [73894/26

Budget 2027; and the actions he is taking to specifically support recipients of this payment in the context of a very high cost of living. [73734/26

funding for 2027 (details supplied); and the specific emergency financial interventions his Department is implementing to support family farms through the cost-of-living crisis. [70424/26

that grade; and the total remuneration paid to each head of mission in 2025 including all allowances such as local post allowance, cost of living allowance, rent allowance, education allowance and representation allowance, in tabular form by mission; and if she will make a statement on the matter

drugs like Mounjaro for PCOS treatment in the drugs payment scheme, given the expense of the medication and the considerable cost of living issues. [70234/26