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conclusion but does the Minister of State accept or acknowledge that if fertiliser prices rise again - compounded by high gas and fuel inputs - that may make many Irish fruit and vegetable producers unviable? We currently import 83% of our vegetables. This is a food security issue. There were … targeted supports - like the Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, spoke about in the Dáil yesterday - for the horticultural sector, and a dedicated horticultural crisis fund like we brought in during the spike in prices at the start of the war in Ukraine. The agriculture sector is worth

thank the Deputy. I am very much aware that the cost-of-living crisis is still real for very many families across the country. The Deputy has asked me a specific question, so I am going to spend the time on it. I do want to acknowledge that … number of measures to protect the most vulnerable, including a very significant increase in the working family payment, an expansion of the fuel allowance and the permanent reduction of the VAT rate on energy bills. There is also the fact the Christmas bonus, which is paid to pensioners

current intention is that these temporary measures will be restored on a gradual and phased basis, but as we have done throughout this crisis, the Government continues to monitor developments closely. We look at the international situation, the global energy markets and the price at the pumps … green diesel. We increased the maximum repayment rate under the diesel rebate scheme from 7.5 cent to 12 cent per litre of qualifying fuel, supporting the road haulage and passenger transport sectors. We provided an additional €152 payment to fuel allowance recipients. We deferred the scheduled May increase

nearly a month into this crisis and the Government is finally acting but the measures announced today do not go far enough. A temporary cut to excise duty to provide some relief at the pumps is long overdue but where are the targeted supports for those who need … Government, having spent weeks and weeks reviewing the situation, has come into this House and done the bare minimum. It is extending the fuel allowance for a few weeks but it barely scratches the surface of what is required to support people who are struggling the most. There

breadth of this State. It is not just about petrol and diesel; it is about the constant rising prices everywhere: electricity, food, fuel, mortgages and interest rates. It is about all the pressure that is being put on people. What should be happening in this emergency sitting … that the Government should be talking here about the proposals it is bringing forward to support individuals during the cost-of-living crisis. Instead, we have this farce of the Government asking us to vote for the date on which it can make life harder for people

European Convention on Human Rights, the State has a positive obligation to protect its citizens from the foreseeable harms of the climate crisis. I do not mean that in an abstract sense. The European Court of Human Rights found exactly this in the recent KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz case against … year, confirmed that states must use all means at their disposal to prevent harm from greenhouse gas emissions, including, expressly, emissions from fossil fuel consumption, which includes aviation fuel. A legal analysis of the passenger cap removal commissioned by Opportunity Green and prepared by barrister Tim Johnston

give young people real alternatives. We give them self-esteem, structure and connection. We need to stop treating youth justice as a crisis response system and start treating it as a chance to build up rather than clean up. Alongside local supports, we need to recognise the growing … their identity, self-worth and connection is shaped online. Social media can be a force for creativity and belonging but it can also fuel anxiety, impulsive behaviour, peer pressure and isolation. Platforms designed for instant gratification and public validation can distort a young person, which can lead

August? Is that his thinking at this point? Can he give some parameters? We know that things are fluid. We know that fuel prices are set by international energy prices, which themselves are reacting to geopolitical events. What I argued for initially was that there would be parameters … saying that the cost will go up by 32 cent. That is worrying for people in the middle of this cost-of-living crisis

substitute for fixing Ireland's energy system. That is the other thing to say. Such is the extent of the energy crisis we are in that immediate assistance is desperately needed for households up and down the country while we deal with the underlying problem. We need … demand from data centres, then that renewable electricity cannot simultaneously help us electrify transport, decarbonise industry or move households away from fossil fuels. Almost all new renewable energy that is being generated onshore in this country through wind and solar is being gobbled up by data centres

move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — a cost-of-living crisis exists in this State; — Budget 2026 was predicated on an inflation rate of 2 per cent, but it is now at 3.2 per cent; — prices have increased by 23.5 per cent in the last five years; — food … food and energy companies; — appoint an agri-food regulator to tackle rip-off food costs; — introduce price control of food, electricity, gas and fuel costs; — implement a rent freeze; — implement a living wage; — benchmark social welfare increases to the minimum essential standard of living index; — introduce a weekly

system and to bring down energy bills. The fundamental way to do that is to accelerate renewables by reducing our dependence on fossil fuel. That has to be done and that is what we are doing. In relation to the measures we will take, the Deputies are perfectly … living budget. It will be about protecting families, workers, working families and the most vulnerable in our society through what is a global crisis. We are not going to be able to protect everyone from every single price increase but we will do our level best to protect

reduced the incomes of disabled people by up to €1,400. If someone is €1,400 down, a €152 extension in the fuel allowance is better than nothing but it does not begin to meet the gap that is there and the urgent need for support that people … missing is the political leadership to get that job done. While Spain and Portugal have insulated their people from this global crisis in terms of energy prices, the Government has left Irish households exposed to the actions and the chaos being created by the whims of Trump

data is coming from but the hard facts and the prices that are advertised and people are paying contradict that. Before the energy crisis, kerosene was approximately 95 cent per litre. This week in Laois, the cost is €1.68 per litre. For households which are under pressure … poorest hard-pressed households are paying up to €1.82 per litre. People are afraid to turn on their heating. I acknowledge that fuel allowance and the thresholds for eligibility have been increased. The Government can go further with that in the budget. I accept that. All those workers

them and how vulnerable that makes us to price shocks. Successive Governments have been too slow to move away from expensive, imported fossil fuels and worse still, are now reversing the existing policy. The Government must expedite investment in our renewable energy infrastructure to insulate us from … wave power should be the priority and funds from the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund should be used for that. The energy crisis and climate change disproportionately impact the most marginalised. Efforts to address climate change, like carbon tax, the cost of retrofitting and electric cars, also affect

terms of the big step that was taken last week with a huge package of additional funding to deal with the emergency crisis to end the protest and the blockades, does the Minister believe the Department will get the financial backing across the Government to take some … necessary when we see for the second time in four years the vulnerability of our economy to its addiction to fossil fuels and the consequent impact on our emissions? If this climate action plan does not contain some big, bold and new ideas to decarbonise and does

join others in congratulating Senan Molony on his retirement. This is a Government permanently stuck in reaction mode. A crisis happens, pressure builds, people protest and, eventually, the Government scrambles to put together an emergency response. This is not a cost-of-living strategy; it is a desperate … fees and so-called voluntary contributions. That is on top of already extortionate rents, mortgages, childcare, groceries and energy bills. Yes, extending the fuel supports will help but it will not help enough. The most frustrating thing is that this Government is in a position

actions. Ireland has long had connections with the Middle East. Many countries in the gulf are home to large Irish communities. The crisis is being felt directly by our citizens. We have Irish people living and working across the region and many of them now face heightened risk … this region. Global instability has already begun to impact international oil markets and we are seeing immediate and sharp increases in oil and fuel prices here. Households and businesses are feeling this pressure. International events can influence global markets but consumers in Ireland are entitled to fairness

pinch and felt they could not pay the people who mind their children when they go to work and pay for the fuel to go to work and pay for everything else. I ask the Government not to leave those people behind if things are still … paying. We then see that we have no bother in the world giving €40 million to Ukraine in the middle of the crisis. That is on top of all the other money it was given. We borrowed approximately €1.9 billion for a loan for Ukraine

inward investment from successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments. They operate on incredibly slim margins. In the face of drastically increasing fuel prices, they are looking to the Minister of State and his Government to alleviate that burden so that they can produce food, transport … taken aback when Members of the Opposition continue to raise this with them. The Taoiseach thinks people are failing to realise that the crisis has arisen due to international events outside of his control. The frustration being felt by hauliers, farmers, farm contractors, coach operators and many more

absolutely acknowledge that the energy shock and the particular energy crisis we are now in are, of course, caused by international events, in particular Trump and Netanyahu's illegal war on Iran. We are all conscious of that. The question is how we respond. There are two things … change the way we work. We need to change the way we do business. We need to change our reliance on fossil fuels. Therefore, we need that renewables revolution. The Taoiseach did not respond on that. Yes, it is welcome to see measures on retrofitting, but the upfront

review systems in the European Union. The response to the workers who are stuck in traffic is to hike up their tolls and fuel taxes. Some people in Meath are suggesting a toll strike, refusing to pay tolls on the roads. Some are suggesting they block traffic … senior Minister or public servant in the room in Navan on Thursday week, to listen to the people on the crisis they are going through

bring the Ring of Kerry road up to an acceptable and safe standard. Deputy Barry Ward - To discuss incentivising the use of HVO fuel to support achieving climate emission targets. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin - To discuss ongoing issues surrounding the Bus Éireann school bus transport system. Deputy Robert … Neville - To discuss progress of the three-school campus project in Celbridge. Deputies Mattie McGrath and Michael Murphy - To discuss the ongoing crisis in ophthalmology services in south Tipperary. Deputy Thomas Gould - To discuss the closure of Sarsfield Court dementia unit. Deputy Gary Gannon - To discuss the development

everyone's lips. It is a very aptly called the Education (Affordable School Uniforms) Bill 2025. During the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, the cost of school uniforms has become a huge financial burden on families. The average cost of a full school kit, including gym gear … Food and grocery prices have risen by 27% between 2021 and 2025. Property tax has gone up by 23% since 2021. Fuel, home heating and electricity bills are the highest in Europe. There is a double cost attached to these uniforms because, as sure as night follows

five children, over 225,000, live in families below the poverty line when housing costs are accounted for; — the cost-of-living crisis is deepening with annualised food price inflation in August up by 5 per cent; — Ireland already has some of the most expensive energy costs … scourge of vacancy and dereliction; and — the introduction of targeted energy payments, an extension of the moratorium on disconnections, an increase to the Fuel Allowance payment and widened eligibility to include those on the Working Family Payment. This Government is presiding over record levels of child poverty

acting right now at a record level in the economy, supporting people at the fuel pumps and through reductions in electricity VAT rates. We are supporting people right across the economy to ensure they are not cut off. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has met with … number of measures he said he costed at €100 million a month, to be brought forward at the start of this energy crisis. The Government is doing much more than that. Sinn Féin says the Government is doing nothing this side of the Border, but on the other