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took four weeks into this global crisis created by a warmonger in Israel and his boor in the US for this Government to take some action. The reduction in excise duty was a welcome step but it did not go far enough. People will still be paying more … home heating oil by reducing the price by a whopping 2 cent per litre. That is a reduction of about €20 on fuel that now costs almost €2,000. The Minister is taking the mick. Thousands of people in my constituency in north Kildare rely on home heating

hospitality sector that will be introduced on 1 July in the teeth of an energy crisis where people across this country are really suffering. The net effect is that after the budget, people who would have hoped to experience a pay increase have seen that pay increase taken … justification for some of these measures. I accept that some of them are targeted in the way we would like, for example, the fuel allowance. This is a very good idea and I am glad the Government accepted the Labour Party's argument. We were being briefed that

sectoral pay agreement for care workers, they are a group that is particularly vulnerable and disadvantaged during this cost-of-living crisis. I urge the Minister of State and his colleagues to back them and sort them out and ensure that every care worker gets paid the same … they make those decisions? How, when it has the resources available to invest in targeted energy credits to lift people out of fuel poverty and invest in solar energy, does it continue to sit on its hands and not act or use the resources at its disposal

country, people are being pushed to the pin of their collars. They are struggling to pay for basics, such as food and fuel. They are also struggling because of the Government's inability to provide basic health services. This is most evident in the dire state of primary … watch their children fall behind, denied the opportunity to reach their full potential. What is the Government going to do to address this crisis in our primary healthcare service

heat and 23% missing a rent or mortgage payment. Research by the Vincentian Partnership in April 2022, before the cost-of-living crisis, showed that income supports for carers were inadequate and caring households incurred additional weekly expenditure of €244 per week. This effectively wiped out the carer … This family is under severe general and financial pressure and was recently threatened with electricity disconnection. This week they were refused the fuel allowance on a technicality. This is absolutely shocking and this Government must do better

Europe, at 38% above the EU average. Restaurant prices are 29% above average, we are the most expensive for electricity, gas and fuel, housing is 50% more expensive and childcare is 58% dearer than the EU average. We have the most expensive transport and public transport costs. Irish … union movement in this country to act on this issue. The unions' leadership has been completely silent as the massive cost-of-living crisis has engulfed workers. It is as though that crisis is finished. It is not finished. Just because the Government is no longer giving targeted

others have said, the crisis and the knock-on cost of living, which has arisen because of variables completely outside of our control in this country, have brought us to this point. They have also brought us to the point where we have to collaborate and co-operate … required. There are opportunities for us. There was an excellent conversation on EnergyCloud and the targeting of the surplus energy to those in fuel poverty, and I think that is a matter we must examine as a matter of urgency. Accountability and efficiency are required to achieve balanced

remove bureaucratic impediments to aid are at the heart of our diplomatic engagement. Ireland's response also recognises the impact of the crisis on neighbouring countries, particularly in welcoming refugees. As the Deputy is aware, last year, we provided €14.3 million in humanitarian assistance to support the people … through UN and EU channels. All parties must comply fully with their obligations and refrain from any actions that prolong the conflict and fuel further violence

petrol, diesel or home heating oil on ordinary working people any further in the midst of a years-long cost of living crisis. For families across Ireland, the cost of living, the cost of the very basics, is continuing to spiral. The costs of simply getting to work … right. They are working, paying their taxes and trying to provide for their families, but they are still falling behind as costs of fuel, groceries, energy and housing continue to put pressure on household budgets. That is where our focus must be. We also need to consider what

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 with … people are €1,400 worse off and I have no doubt those costs have increased massively due to the ongoing price rises in fuel, food and rent. In my constituency office, I continue to see the consequences of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael's poor decisions. Disabled people

symptomatic of an approach to both crises where the Government mandates without due consideration of other impacts, whether emissions, biodiversity, family-farm incomes, fuel poverty or poverty generally. That is one reason it is regrettable that during the last CAP negotiations the Government did not throw its weight … been hampered by a shrinking budget which has not been restored to the levels that were in place before the financial crisis. In Monaghan the annual allocation is only 10% higher than it was under the programme from 2014 to 2020. Inflation during that period has wiped

Workers and families across the State are being absolutely hammered. They are facing an unrelenting cost-of-living crisis and now we see the price of petrol, diesel and home heating oil spiralling once again. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are doing nothing, absolutely nothing. They are sitting … relief. We are calling on the Government to scrap the planned carbon tax increase and to enact Sinn Féin's legislation to cut fuel costs now, not at some unidentified time in the future

cost-of-living crisis is putting significant pressure on workers and families. Bills are rising, rents are soaring and wages are simply not keeping pace. While employment figures are often hailed as good news, they only tell part of the story, because behind those headline numbers … predominantly rural, so one carer, Jean, travels 44 km between one client and the next. She has no choice but to put fuel in her car, or her clients will be without care. Yet Jean is now at the point where she can barely afford

This is a global energy crisis we are facing and we need to see it in those terms. Showing solidarity to those who are victims of war right now is a good thing. While I support these measures, the challenge has been that many of those … every day. Not alone did they not see sufficient benefits - there were some in the budget, but they were not sufficient - but once fuel prices increased, it became a significant problem for them. What we have to do in the context of the coming budget, and in prioritising

meeting of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, I said that more problems would arise. Other EU countries were getting fuel subsidies at the time for their fleets; Irish fishermen did not get these because we did not apply. Why bother? It is one thing … affect both jobs and survival in coastal towns. When the Dáil held a marathon fisheries debate, I and multiple other TDs outlined the crisis in detail. The message was the same: the situation is at breaking point. We highlighted EU quota cuts, the pressure on the whitefish fleet

about €11,500, an increase of nearly 8% on the previous year that was driven largely by higher fuel, insurance and maintenance costs. Petrol and diesel prices in Ireland continue to rank among the highest in the EU. As of last month, petrol averaged €1.86 per litre compared … bump up the profits of operators. People have better things to do with their money in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis than handing it over to some private investment vehicle. The motion also points to the fact that paying motor tax in instalments is more

behind, not just in the budget of 2026, but also in the recent fuel supports, as announced. Those protests were not just about fuel costs. They were also about much more than that. They were about energy bills, renting, house prices, childcare fees, education costs and more. Fundamentally … their heating simply because they cannot afford the bills. It is clear the Government has no plan to address the cost-of-living crisis that is impacting so many workers, self-employed people, carers and older people. This is why people took to the streets. They are looking

behind on retrofitting targets and so carbon emissions continue to rise. People living in draughty homes have no option but to rely on fuels that are unsustainable both for our planet and for household finances. It is three and a half years since Russia's horrific onslaught … worth waiting for. In the Minister's previous response, he talked about a report due in 2026, but in a cost-of-living crisis, people need protection now against corporate greed. Labour has called on the Government to force supermarket giants to publish profits, yet the Government

bring in all this different legislation but we are not able to follow through on it, which is disappointing. We have the housing crisis. Students are qualifying in different fields within medicine and then have to leave the country because they see no future here. It is down … only future is to leave this country." We have inflation issues, over taxation of people who are working and over taxation of fuel for cars which are necessary for people to go to work. Every young person who wants to stay here is given no option

glad to get the opportunity to talk about the energy crisis. I thank Sinn Féin for giving it to us. What I have to say I have said several times before. Since Bord na Móna was closed down by the previous Government in 2020, the cost of electricity … something about it. Where individuals build their own houses, the banks are stopping them from putting in chimneys or having solid fuel heating because they want the energy rating as high as possible. Chimneys always let bad air out and good air in. The different approach is hurting

tackled by ensuring recommender systems are turned off by the various social media websites to combat the spread of hateful material. These systems fuel and push violent and reactionary content to users. It is concerning that this proposal was notably absent from the online safety code brought forward … between local authorities and communities that are able to advocate for victims effectively. We must expand and upgrade refuge spaces, not just for crisis response but to provide real long-term stability. While refuges are essential, they are not a permanent solution. Our aim should be to allow

acceleration of energy prices. Those prices were already the highest electricity prices in Europe and that was before the onset of the energy crisis brought about by Trump's illegal war in Iran. I asked the Government what its advice would be for people on low incomes … support 22% of electricity demand going to data centres and corporations as well as the reliance of this State on imported fossil fuels from an LNG terminal. The Government must act now and introduce the Social Democrats' energy credit for 800,000 households most in need, implement

have treated other policy areas as emergencies. We know the capacity exists to respond to issues in an emergency manner but the housing crisis has never been treated as an emergency. In fact, the vast majority of measures the Government took that we welcomed were ones … Government's policy is doubling down on the bits that do not work and is casting aside protections. The Government has thrown fuel on the fire and now it is ripping out the fireguard. That is the reality of the situation - record rents, record homelessness and record house

that. I also acknowledge the promise to look at a reduction in excise for hydrotreated vegetable oil, HVO, which is a much cleaner fuel that can be used in diesel cars. It is really important that we examine this. I regret that the help to buy scheme … available to help people as much as we would like? No. However, it is a responsible amount. We are grappling with a security crisis whereby one Member of the House was assaulted through the window of his car in the past few weeks. Does Deputy Conor D. McGuinness

prices and households and businesses are under sustained pressure, and this has all been well debated in this House. I welcome the Government fuel support scheme announced yesterday. I acknowledge in the House today the work of the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Ministers, Deputies O'Brien, Heydon, Canney … series of cost pressures from increases in vehicle prices, repairs and maintenance. Often, these costs are forgotten when it comes to a crisis like the one we have at the moment, such as CVRT testing and insurance premiums, toll charges and, most recently, a rise in the cost