Extending the temporary reduction in excise duty on petrol and diesel is welcome, but it needs to be extended until budget day and then reviewed. In my county of Meath, public transport options are limited and cars are necessity. For families, fuel is an unavoidable expense, whether for a car or to heat a home. Ordinary families are stretched to the limit with high mortgages and insurance costs. One in four households cannot pay gas bills. Some 308,000 people are arrears on their electricity bills. Grocery prices are at an all-time high. A report from Barnardos last week found more than half of parents are worried that they do not have enough money to put fuel in their cars. Real people and families under real pressure. People with disabilities are choosing between heating and eating. Rents are at an all-time high. People are struggling right now. They cannot wait any longer. That is why Sinn Féin has called for an emergency budget to put €500 back in the pockets of workers, electricity credits worth €400, a €500 payment for people with disabilities and other measures. Going back to the Dáil record for March, Aontú, including Deputy Tóibín, and the Independents group did not cover themselves in glory when voting for the Government's shamefully inadequate measures that triggered the fuel protests. Sinn Féin stood almost alone. Only one left Independent, Deputy Charles Ward, stood with us in opposing those shamefully weak measures that directly led to fuel protests. In April, after weeks of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael refusing to listen, ordinary people rose up in protest and took to the streets. They forced the Government to reduce the cost of petrol and diesel. They had to fight hard for the little relief they got. Workers have never worked so hard but they have so little. People need a break and they need it right now.

Sentiment score: -0.14