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Where are the details of the direct payments? Households are struggling. They have to deal every day with a cost-of-living crisis. Fuel, food, rent and heating have all spiralled out of control. There has been an increase in school bus prices, which are up from … including the carbon tax, on green diesel. The Government created a situation where people felt ignored, so they took to the streets in protest. This was like the Right2Water mark II, but they were met not by a government willing to engage, but with pompous lectures and finger

explaining why the Government has introduced this new package. He claimed, of course, that it has nothing to do with the protests or blockades; nobody believes that. Instead, he said it is because the measures that we introduced a number of weeks ago were wiped … demanding it. That has to be matched with universal measures like a €500 energy credit and measures to stop our reliance on fossil fuel immediately. We need to have free public transport. The force to do that is ordinary people. What the Parliament does, the streets can undo

just to heat their homes, drive to work, keep the lights on and put food on the table. There are home care workers protesting outside the Dáil right now who are at the coalface of this cost-of-living crisis. Workers from Northside Home Care Service do long … must be to target resources to help those who need them most and, crucially, to build resilience and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Our proposals get to the root of the cost-of-living crisis. A €400 targeted energy credit would provide much-needed relief for those

here. It is because the Government parties of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the so-called Independents feared the return of mass protests this week. It was hard to see, indeed, how the Government could have allowed the first phase of these cuts to end in the same … invested adequately in universal public services, building decent homes, developing public infrastructure, tackling the climate crisis and tackling our over-reliance on fossil fuels. People in Ireland have been living with the consequences. It is no wonder the cost of car ownership has become a political football

powerful states acting in defiance of international law. Let me state very clearly: the Iranian Government is brutal and repressive. It has crushed protesters, oppressed women and jailed dissidents. That merits the highest of condemnation but the brutality of one government does not license another to set aside … point, it means we robustly defend international law consistently. Of course, we are already seeing the consequences of all of this here with fuel prices rising sharply in recent days. The price-gouging has started. This needs to be stopped in its tracks and the Government needs

every one of the Ministers - not just the Taoiseach, but also the Tánaiste - to try to make sure that there would be no protest, to sit down and have dialogue, and to see whether we could come to a solution for the hauliers and other sectors out there … anyone. He said Ireland was giving the most. That is because the Government is taking the most. It is taking 65% in the fuel it takes. Parliamentary democracy? There was no democracy because the Government would not come back. It would not speak to the people. The Government

This Government was totally unprepared for the protests that swept the country last week, but how? After all, this did not erupt spontaneously overnight. The signs were there. They were not even subtle. There is a lack of empathy at play. I know the Taoiseach will take great … That is why people were on the streets last week. Everybody understands that the Government does not control international oil prices but these fuel price shocks were a tipping point for so many people. The package of measures the Government brought forward will be of very little comfort

Taxi drivers have been staging protests about Uber, a billion euro company that is pushing a fixed-fare model onto drivers. They held a briefing here in the Dáil yesterday where representatives reported that this model, if it succeeded, could cut the earnings of many drivers … diversion, toll, crash or whatever - they will not pay more than that price. However, any of the extra costs - time lost or extra fuel - are borne completely by the drivers, and passengers should not be fooled. In the US, from 2018 to 2024, Uber increased its prices

People on the doors are talking about costs. I distinguish between those who were protesting and those who were blockading. Many who were protesting were among those affected by cost increases. I acknowledge the measures the Government introduced, the first being worth €250 million and the second … respond to protect their citizens. It is a very obvious but sometimes disputed concept but we do have to transition away from carbon fuels. We are doing a significant amount in this country. What we are doing in terms of retrofitting is incredibly significant. Again, I come back

disabled support grant has been cut by €400, that the living alone allowance lump sum of €200 is being cut, that the fuel allowance is being reduced for disabled people with a net loss of €160 and that the October double payment of €254 and the electricity credits … this issue on the agenda and put pressure on the Government. On 9 December, despite a storm, they were outside the Dáil to protest the Government’s cuts. They said then that the Government is forcing them into a choice between heating and eating. They warned that people

services, showing openness to public investment in the sector. Parents already have enough to manage, from getting to work every day with rising fuel costs, including the recent carbon tax, to paying mortgages. Sometimes, the cost of childcare is nearly as high as the mortgage itself. The everyday … These are top-class providers, as we all know, but they have had to come up to Dublin, stand outside the Dáil in protest and beg for their very survival. They were ignored by the previous Government, month after month and year after year. These are the forgotten

service. I want to express concern for my former constituency colleague, Senator Andrews. Deputy McDonald mentioned how the flotilla of people lawfully protesting the slaughter in Gaza was attacked last night by Israeli forces. This seems to show the Israeli Government is prepared to attack non-combatants whether … extension of the mortgage interest relief until the end of 2025 and a €300 lump sum payment in respect of the fuel allowance. That is leaving aside other social welfare protections that were introduced in the previous budget and that I know will also be introduced in this

punished the most in terms of the haulage, agricultural and construction sectors. I met people from all of those sectors on the protest lines. The Government needs to listen to them. That needs to change and be learned from this. I commend the IRHA president, Mr. Ger Hyland … being taxed out of existence? When they warned that toll avoidance would push HGVs onto unsuitable secondary roads, wasting millions of litres of fuel, they were ignored - another fine example of practical and constructive solutions put forward all the time but no one listening or taking action. There

house. They are repaying the mortgage and an average mortgage now is between €400,000 and €500,000. The Government taxes people in fuel taxes while they are going to work. It taxes people coming home from work, while they are at work and now it will … secure Government TDs' jobs for the rest of their lives. What those in this country who do not vote, whether as a protest or otherwise, are doing is putting hardship on everyone in this country by allowing these Deputies to be elected. The mood is changing

situation, I will comment on a number of specific impacts here. There has obviously been a discussion around what has been happening with fuel prices and the price gouging going on. The Minister will also be aware from her former brief that quite a number of import … have done but there is something else we need to call out in this House. We see members of the Irish-American movement protesting about this and claiming to speak on behalf of the Iranian people while real Iranians are having to organise counterprotests to say they know

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 … living crisis that is impacting households. The start of that campaign is on Saturday, 28 February, here in Dublin with a national protest. That protest will focus on the demand for an emergency winter payment and a cost-of-disability payment. I fully support the campaign