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people and the communities we represent - people who feel the reality of the housing crisis or the sharp end of the cost-of-living crisis, people with less money in their bank accounts at the end of the week or the month, with grocery and energy bills, insurance … alternative vision and for an active State that can provide for those in need, that can build homes, tackle the cost-of-living crisis and provide public services and those climate action measures that seem to have slipped off this Government's agenda but are so patently necessary

that years of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Government have left us with this disastrous housing and homelessness crisis, with a cost-of-living crisis imposing misery and hardship on working-class people and on the least well-off, and with people with disabilities being forced … snap hits, afraid to turn on the heating because they cannot afford to pay the bills. They will not be getting a cost-of-living support during the Christmas period. Deputy Donohoe cannot escape responsibility for this legacy. The truth, I am sorry to say, is that

views on that. As the new Minister for Finance, I ask that he looks at energy credits and looks again at the cost of living and the difficulties we are having. We have seen the rise of the cost of living. I sincerely wish the best

that we have the best people for the job but it is not all about top dogs and the CEO. In a cost-of-living crisis, will the Minister of State outline the reasoning behind these salary bumps, some of which are over 33%? This morning, I listened … radio outlining that more and more families, particularly middle-income families, are seeking its help because of the massive increases in the cost of living in respect of electricity, heating and grocery bills. In Kerry alone, over 20,500 dinners were provided to families across the county this

between eating and turning on the heating. An increase of at least €16 per week was needed to keep up with the cost of living, while additional increases were also needed in child benefit and a targeted second tier payment should have also been a priority for this … respect of working families and low-income households. These families and individuals raise their concerns with me on a daily basis. The cost of living for many is simply out of control and energy bills are through the roof for many people. Many hope and pray

lives in a bubble in this House. Is it that it does not know or does not care that there is a cost-of-living crisis? Families are struggling to make ends meet, grocery prices are through the roof and we have some of the highest energy prices … Europe, yet there is not a single cost-of-living support in this Bill or in the budget. Families are falling behind with rent, mortgages and energy bills. We should always remember that the measure of a nation is how it looks after its most vulnerable

once again. There was no increase in child benefit, no credible plan to tackle child poverty and no urgency in confronting the cost-of-living emergency. Energy prices are rising again; by more than 12% this winter. More than 300,000 households are in electricity arrears and almost … saving for retirement but rejects this design. Taking money from low-paid workers and locking it away for six months during a cost-of-living crisis is unfair. We believe the State, through the NTMA, should manage these funds safely and transparently for the public good - not hand

tolls on the roads people need to use to get to work. The contracts which allow these unacceptable, punitive increases during a cost-of-living crisis are just another legacy of bad economic policy decisions made by successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments. Private toll companies have … expense of motorists. Then, to make matters worse, the Government is doing nothing whatsoever to deal with the other cost-of-living pressures that families are facing. We had a budget with €9 billion in additional spending. What did the average worker or family receive in return

thank my colleague, an Teachta Pa Daly, for bringing forward this motion. It is timely. In the middle of a cost-of-living crisis the least we should be able to expect from any decent Government is that it would not make things worse. Yet, somehow, at every … insurance companies are making a healthy and handsome profit. The toll operators are doing quite nicely, thank you; there is no cost-of-living crisis there. It is the people I represent in north County Dublin who have been forced into their cars, having been left with absolutely

trucks and delivering food and so on to shops, it is even worse. That is going to put more pressure on the cost of living because, at the end of the day, it is the consumer who will have to pay those costs. If the Government is serious … about doing something about the cost of living, it needs to support this motion and act on these issues. Coming in here and telling us the Government is doing its best and that things are not as bad as we are trying to paint it is not going

limited transport services we have. My constituents are bearing the brunt of motor costs and it is completely unfair, especially in a cost-of-living crisis. Households are struggling to pay their bills, fill their tanks and keep food on the table and it is unacceptable. Families … swimming pools. Parents want their children to have the same opportunities that they had and they are being compromised. The current cost-of-living crisis is affecting every aspect of people's lives and motoring is definitely at the forefront of this. Parents in defective homes are already

make any wonder out of it. The cost of the fuel they must pay each day and tax is driving up the cost of living. Fuel is the main driver of the increase in the cost of living. I have no problem in the world in saying that

crisis in the cost of living is out of control. Every day in this Chamber, the Opposition comes to the Government with solutions to the issues that people are facing every single day. People are having to choose between lighting and heating and are paying through the nose … else with this Government, it is not a lack of ability but a lack of political will that has people facing this cost-of-living crisis. An Teachta Pearse Doherty has repeatedly told the Government how it could properly deal with the rip-off premiums that insurance companies

ever anybody in this State needed proof or evidence that the Government does not care about the cost-of-living crisis or the increased costs on motorists, they can see it in the Minister's own speech from earlier on. He said that this House should reject … sitting on its hands at the moment. It has the power to act against the rip-offs and against the cost-of-living increases but it is doing nothing about

acknowledgement that the pressures on childcare providers are not the same throughout the country. In a constituency like Dún Laoghaire where the cost of living and the cost of accommodation are so much higher, would the Minister consider, as part of the incentives being put in place … challenges are greater for childcare providers in an area like south Dublin than they might be in an area where the cost of living is lesser. Will the Minister commit, acknowledging this is going to happen in stages, to giving us a timetable for how this might happen

will be over the lifetime of the Government that we will reach the target of the €200. On the challenges in cost of living, I feel they are across the country. It is a difficult thing to say the cost-of-living challenges are greater in one party

Yesterday’s Future Forty report from the Department of Finance clearly sets out how housing costs have skyrocketed in line with a cost of living that has spun out of control. Everywhere people turn, there is another bill, another squeeze, another hit. Now, as we head into Christmas … what does the Government do? It hikes up the local property tax. In the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, when people are counting every euro and every cent, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael decide to take more. This is a tax on the family home

Uniforms are supposed to signify unity and equality but now they just mean another additional cost for families when there is a cost-of-living crisis going on. It costs between €40 to €50 for one secondary school jumper now. I have three children that were at high … brand new uniforms all over again with the expense to the family. How are parents expected to cope in a cost-of-living crisis? Back-to-school costs are astronomical. The Irish League of Credit Unions found that one in three parents now say that they get into

This Bill has been proposed by my colleague, Deputy O'Rourke, and by Sinn Féin at a time when the cost of living is on everyone's lips. It is a very aptly called the Education (Affordable School Uniforms) Bill 2025. During the ongoing cost-of-living crisis

dhaoine atá ag fulaingt agus faoi bhrú. I reject completely the Deputy's assertion that the Government has not responded to the cost-of-living issues. Without question, over the past three to four years there has been a significant increase in inflation, particularly in the immediate aftermath … reduced drug payment costs significantly over the past number of years and extended eligibility for access to general practitioners, which eases the cost of living in a permanent way for many families. The Deputy ignores all of that and condemns us for not giving energy credits

running for the presidency, will the taxpayers of Ireland pay for the mistake of running him in the first place during a cost-of-living crisis and after a budget that gave nothing back to working people but increased their taxes? This is the question the members … Taoiseach's party are asking. They want to know whether it will be refunded for putting up a ghost candidate during a cost-of-living crisis

squeezed middle". What does the Taoiseach propose to do for hard-working families? He repeatedly answers my questions on the cost-of-living crisis by mentioning the terrible war in Ukraine, which, of course, is a factor, as well as geopolitical uncertainty and market forces, but corporate greed … getting so high. These are constructive steps that we in Labour are proposing. Will the Taoiseach adopt these steps to cut the cost of living for families

things in and end the rip-off? Surely the Taoiseach now recognises that it was a serious mistake not to include a cost-of-living package in his budget? The Finance Bill is before the Dáil this week. I ask the Taoiseach to see sense and provide meaningful … measures to support households through this cost-of-living crisis

votes with our own money. There is little sign of support for struggling citizens today. The election might be over, but the cost-of-living crisis of recent years certainly is not. In fact, it has taken on a permanence that is dangerous to social cohesion … over meaningful progress on taking children out of poverty or providing some tax relief for working people in the middle of the cost-of-living crisis. There is a further narrowing of the tax base against a backdrop of constant reminders about the vulnerability of the very taxes

renter's tax credit. There are no changes to income tax for workers in the middle of what is a cost-of-living crisis that I assume everyone recognises while at the same time, a total of €2.5 billion in tax cuts have been handed to landlords, developers … hardly success. We can say the same about banks. There are no solutions for regular people who are being devastated by the cost-of-living crisis. I have stated this previously and I will repeat it. There is a particular issue the Government has failed on; there