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This gives a measure of respite at the pumps for the general public who depend on fuel for their daily activities. While the country faces the most serious crisis in recent history, with oil supplies disrupted in the Middle East, energy markets in turmoil, there are those

living to come before this House at the beginning of the cost-of-living crisis. We moved it on 6 October 2021. It referred to the need for price controls on electricity, fuel, petrol and home heating oil. It also referred to the need to boost the retrofitting

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 and hard hours taking care of our sick and elderly. They provide professional and compassionate care … 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 who need help most. A supplementary

backs were up to the wall to the extent that they simply could not sustain the fuel price hikes they were enduring. That is on top of a cost-of-living crisis that is absolutely crushing people in terms of the cost of accommodation, energy price hikes … cost of childcare and so on. It should be obvious to the Tánaiste that the Government has utterly failed to address that crisis. The demands that were made by those who were on the streets, which the Government is refusing to bow to, were for price controls. That

additional €20. We will do more in the forthcoming budget. If you look at the changes we have made to the fuel allowance scheme, a two adult household will benefit by about €2,300 per annum as a result of that. A lone parent family will benefit … undoubtedly created huge pressures all round. The biggest issue is uncertainty about how long this crisis will last and the direction it will take in terms of the impact on fuel prices, which will then impact everything else. We have to be very careful too of the inflationary

stood with the people yesterday, and I voted no confidence in the Government. People protesting over fuel prices appreciate that the Irish Government is not responsible for the international crisis. People were protesting because when a crisis occurs, they expect their Government to have their backs. Twice … need the Government to stand up and stand with the people. Sinn Féin has outlined how we could achieve the cuts to fuel prices that we have advocated for. The question for Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil

response to heightened fuel prices. As a Government, we do not control the wholesale price of oil or home heating oil, but we have acted in a very significant way to assist households with the real impacts of the current energy crisis. The Sinn Féin Private Members' motion … have done since the outset of this crisis, we will continue to keep the situation under review in the time ahead. We will continue to respond in a way that protects those most vulnerable to fuel poverty. For the reasons I have stated, I again press the Government

genuinely do not believe in this case that that is what happened. Unsustainably high energy and fuel prices in the State have made a pre-existing cost-of-living crisis even worse. I believe that the Government further compounded its failure to its citizens by not reconvening … contain little to no relief for the vast majority of workers and households, who are left completely exposed to a cost-of-living crisis and mounting inflation." The question we ask here tonight is if this is fair? As we heard, home heating oil is the most expensive

insurance, groceries and other essentials have meant that households today simply do not have the capacity to absorb the large increases in fuel prices we have seen in recent weeks, yet the parties in government and the Independents who prop them up seem completely oblivious to the pressures … that, for many families, the cost-of-living situation has moved beyond a crisis and become an emergency? Of course, one of the reasons that the Government refuses to act is simple. Higher fuel costs are not an accident. They are Government policy. Since 2020, the cost

this budget. Where is the help for workers who struggle with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis in this budget? They got nothing or rather they got another increase in fuel costs, with the latest increase in the carbon tax. The Government could have scrapped … week, HIQA published its long-awaited report on the delivery of urgent and emergency health care in the mid-west region. Acknowledging the crisis with capacity we have faced for years in the mid-west region, it made three recommendations. One of these was the delivery

none the wiser about their future income and job security. Despite the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, looming back to school costs, winter on the horizon, the cost of fuel, third level education costs, and rents being reset to market value, the Government is leaving these workers

businesses. Deputies will be aware that we have brought in targeted measures in what is an international crisis in order to support 470,000 households. Those measures included extending the fuel allowance to those on the working family payment scheme. This is a direct payment to households. Insofar

more affordable for people. I cannot understate how much people are struggling with the rising cost of fuel, but that is on top of a constant cost-of-living crisis the Government never got. Its members gave themselves a pat on the back. I have listened to some

screaming into doing so. Even then, it could not get it right. Unsustainably high energy and fuel prices in this State further compound a pre-existing cost-of-living crisis that has been going on for the last number of years. We keep saying this but, cynically, when … work. What about the ordinary person stuck on the M50, N3 or N4 trying to get into work? They are burning up fuel they are paying much more for at the pumps. Just this week we learned that Ireland has the highest energy rates in Europe. I think

drove up wholesale prices and exposed how dependent Europe had become on imported fossil fuels. Prices have come down from the 2022 peak but nobody at home feels as if the crisis is over. Prices are still too high and people are anxious opening their emails … place four rounds of electricity credits, worth €3.3 billion, cut VAT on energy and gas to 9%, expanded and increased the fuel allowance and targeted extra protections for vulnerable customers, including the disconnection moratorium over winter months. It is now putting significant resources behind long-term solutions, such

ambitious but instead opted for a series of modest measures that would be quickly swallowed up by the huge cost-of-living crisis. Despite record tax receipts and substantial budget surpluses, families, workers, pensioners, farmers and small business people will continue to experience financial pressures. There was little … robbing Peter to pay Paul. The cost of living, fuel and energy are just so expensive. Why does the Government have to take almost 50% out of every litre of petrol? All I wanted when this crisis arose with Iran was a cap so that we would have

question. After what has been a tumultuous couple of months, I reflect on the fact that this is the only question on the fuel support schemes during the hour and a half we have this morning, which I will take as an indication that the interventions we have … fruit and amenity crops. I fully recognise the impact of the Middle East crisis on the sector and, in particular, certain subsectors within it. Indeed, the announcement on 12 of April of a fuel support scheme made specific reference to the horticulture sector, as I have outlined. This

budget 2026 has left disabled people up to €1,400 worse off. This is not just a number but a heating versus eating crisis. People with disabilities face impossible choices between warmth and food this winter. Despite acknowledging the extra cost of living with a disability, the Government … accident. It is the result of policy decisions. The coalition is calling for emergency winter fuel funding. The Minister of State cannot stand idly by and not accept that that is a crisis. We need urgent action including, as I say, an emergency winter payment and a long

fossil fuels that are hurting families is wrong. It misleads the public as to why fuel prices are increasing and, in a cruel irony, it makes households more vulnerable to the next crisis. The Dáil passed that resolution on Tuesday. By Saturday, the cost of home heating … Siberia or until President Trump has his next tantrum in the White House? It is not a question of "if" with fossil fuels; it is a question of "when". We have a huge energy affordability problem in this country. The problem is not the carbon

needed to support struggling households but we recognise that temporary measures alone will not solve this crisis. Unless our energy market is fundamentally reformed and our reliance on international fossil fuel markets significantly reduced, households will continue to suffer from one global conflict to the next. I thank

have all seen both the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and the increase in the cost of living. When we go to the fuel tank at home or the petrol pump or when we go to Dunnes or SuperValu, we are seeing it. It is doubly

hand the decline in the fishing industry. The sector has suffered quota cuts, fleet reductions and fuel pressures. The input of cost increases in recent years has left them facing crisis after crisis. This is following decades of neglect, mismanagement and weak negotiations on their behalf by successive

distant from the daily lives of people. It deals with a crisis that has struck at the very heart of Ireland's supply chain. The sudden and severe spike in fuel prices following the attacks on Iran is drastically affecting large swathes of our constituents. The haulage industry … choice and the increases had to be passed on immediately. Yet now, when prices are falling and the immediate shock has eased, fuel industry representatives are telling us, as reported in the Irish Independent this morning, that it will be some time before reductions are reflected

that will bring us to a better future. The purpose of this motion is twofold: to support workers through this cost-of-living crisis and to increase collective bargaining coverage across Ireland. The reality facing workers is becoming increasingly difficult. Workers have never worked so hard and struggled … many workers are being left behind. Wages are being steadily eroded by soaring fuel costs, rising energy bills and everyday expenses that continue to climb. The cost-of-living crisis has not gone away. It is persistent and placing enormous pressure on working people and their families. Workers

fuel poverty; and highlights that, the Government remains cognisant of the pressures faced by households and businesses as a result of increased fuel prices owing to the conflict in the Middle East and will seek to address this as part of Budget 2027.". As Deputies will be aware … Since the beginning of the crisis, this Government has acted to reduce excise duty on diesel, petrol and marked gas oil and to ease pressure at the pumps. We moved to defer the 1 May carbon tax increase on home heating fuels