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parking for regular medical appointments - Tallaght Hospital costs €10 for parking - and good quality shoes to help with walking. The daily cost of living is crazy. She asks what can she do so the Government can hear her voice? She writes that the disabled do not shout

cannot come in soon enough. If this budget is a holding position, it is a woefully inadequate holding position. The cost of living hits people with disabilities a lot more and needs to be put on a long-term footing as soon as possible. I think the Irish

travel to appointments, and specialist items for my son, it's difficult to stay on top of everything. The constant rising of cost of living is crucifying families like ours. I face higher household bills because I'm at home full-time, and any unexpected expense can cause

contribution to the debate. The Minister of State will agree the depth of feeling is very much evident in the Chamber. The cost-of-living crisis cuts deeper and lasts longer for people with disabilities and the Government knows this. The motion sets out an alternative

income threshold for civil legal aid is only €18,000. Incredibly, it has not been updated since 2006. Think of all the cost-of-living crises and everything else we have been through since then. How much additional funding is provided for civil legal aid in the budget

Covid-19 pandemic and, indeed, continuing to reel from the economic outflow of Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine and the cost-of-living issues that have impacted so many people. It is in that context that we witnessed a budget brought forward to this House

there that there was not something for them in this budget. We know there has been a significant increase in the cost of living, so this is the one element of the budget that is disappointing for many people. Again, it is something we have

fógartha againn maidir leis na healaíona agus cultúr na hÉireann chomh maith. At at time when artists are struggling with the cost of living, the Arts Council cannot meet the demand for schemes and most artists do not yet benefit from the basic income for artists scheme

side it is on, which is not the side of those who are stuck in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s perpetual cost-of-living crisis and who worry about how they will keep their homes warm this winter. As usual, this Government has put the interests

keep this country running by going to work and paying their taxes did not get anything. The budget does not tackle the cost-of-living crisis. Food, energy, petrol and rent are all up. Wages and social welfare payments are not keeping pace. The only thing that

Covid cleaning supplement was taken away from schools, they have been struggling. The increases in the cost of energy and the cost-of-living increases that has affected households has also had an impact on schools. This additional €50 in primary and special schools is badly needed

more, in fact, if you add in its once-off measures - in its alternative budget. That budget would add 2.5% to the cost of living and to inflation

absolutely true, and they have been going on for the past month about the cost of living

budget, if you look at the Central Bank's formula for determining this, would have put up inflation and the cost of living

very significant on top of the increases we have had in previous years. That is all recognising the impact of the cost of living on schools and services. We have a rising population and we have an infrastructure deficit. The workers of this country need their jobs protected

This budget can be summed up quite simply: broken promises, missed opportunities and completely crazy priorities. Anyone examining it would think the cost-of-living crisis has been most acutely felt by developers and fast food chains. Millions of euro are going to the likes of McDonald

budgetary parameters that we sent out yesterday. That would have added to inflation and , as the Taoiseach rightly stated, pushed up the cost of living for families. We must make political choices over the course of the Government's five-year term rather than in any one budget

That is insulting. It should have doubled that and increased it by €20 to give disabled people real help with the cost of living, but they have been left behind again. Fine Gael has been in government for nearly 15 years. At its rate of investment, it will

face a €500 fee increase; parents who see no reduction in childcare costs; families who are getting no help in addressing the cost-of-living crisis; and renters for whom there is no radical reset to increase the supply of homes. Indeed, it seems the Government has given

this crucial budget and a commitment to giving security to families who are so hard pressed in a housing crisis and a cost-of-living crisis. People feel insecure and I know the Minister of State is aware of this because he hears it too. He hears … uncertain future and an insecure present. We are a wealthy economy but a poor society, ravaged by a housing crisis and spiralling costs of living with nothing to address those spiralling costs for families and households. In these times, people look to the Government for increased security, improved

this budget, which I welcome. I welcome the increase in social welfare, but when it is matched with the increase in the cost of living, it is worth absolutely nothing. I welcome that the money for artists has been extended. There are absolutely no details whether the existing

beds, no extra nurses, no investment in better endometriosis care, and a pittance for mental health in this budget. There is no cost-of-living help, no childcare help, no increase in pay for early years workers, no extended GP care, and no expanded free transport for young

Many of my colleagues have already spoken about the cost-of-living crisis, in case anyone needed it pointed out to them, that exists out there. Whether we are talking about energy costs, rent and other housing costs, or insurance, we know all the issues. That is even

student fees with a cut to the student contribution fee of €500. That is a landmark reform. It is not a temporary cost-of-living measure, but structural change cooked into the baseline in future and will benefit 108,000 students year after year. It provides the stability

This budget does little to resolve the crisis facing education today. The measures announced will not make a dent in the cost-of-living pressures on schools, in recruitment and retention in teaching or in the problem of oversized classes. We have 600 vacant teaching posts