I all the Minister of State said, there was a complete absence of acknowledgment of the very real pain that people on low-to-middle incomes are under in terms of the price increases. If you look at home-heating oil, for example, and people who do not avail of the fuel allowance increase because they are above those thresholds and cannot afford those increases in home-heating oil, the Government does not seem to be acknowledging that. We have put forward proposals. A targeted energy credit of €400 would be a start to helping households in that situation. We have put forward proposals for investment now, which would mean a long-term and permanent reduction in the cost of living for households that are struggling, by much-improved grants for solar. That would be a once-off investment by Government but it would be a permanent reduction. It would be good for sustainability and good for households that are really struggling. What is really enraging - the ESRI research backs this up - is that when you look at the huge investment that has gone into grants, it is the households with the most resources, those which needed support least, that have overwhelmingly been able to avail of those different grants. The households really struggling to keep food on the table and to heat their homes are the ones that cannot avail of those grants. They simply do not have the resources to do so and they are the ones that are getting squeezed more and more. What is needed is a change in approach so that the greatest supports go to those households that are really struggling with their bills, that is, the low-to-middle income households. The Minister of State should design the grants for those households in a way that they can access them. In fact, why should households on the highest of incomes be able to avail of those grants? They do not need that support or help at all. Why not prioritise the households that really need it? The Government keep on talking about targeting but yet, when it comes down to it, that is not what the Government does. The Government needs to be serious about just transition, which we all need to be serious about, and serious about getting support and buy-in for that. The Government approach, however, has ignored that people across the country want to support that but they have to be able to afford to support it. We have put forward two very practical measures the Minister of State could take - targeted energy credits now to help those who need the help most but also measures such as proper grants that can be accessible to low-and-middle income households to install solar so they get a permanent reduction in their bills, and that would be good for the country in terms of helping to break some of our dependence on fossil fuels. I cannot for the life of me understand why the Minister of State would not adopt our proposals.

Sentiment score: 0.17

I move amendment No. 6: In page 8, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following: “Report on impact of an energy credit 5.Within 3 months of the implementation of the new Mineral Oil Tax rates, the Minister shall produce a report on the impact of an energy credit of €400 for each household with an income up to €70,000 per annum.”. This amendment is about the need for targeted energy credits. As I have said before, the Government is making a key mistake in not having targeted energy credits aimed at low-to-middle-income households that are really feeling pain from this cost-of-living crisis and not just from the increases that have happened since the attacks on Iran, given that we were already experiencing a cost-of-living crisis before that. In his earlier comments, the Minister of State failed to acknowledge that disabled people were up to €1,400 worse off as a result of the budget. This was before any recent increases in home heating oil or any other fuel costs. The Minister of State said that he agreed that there needed to be more support for those who were the ineligible for the working family payment. He acknowledged that there was a gap for people above that threshold on low and middle incomes, yet the Government will presumably vote down this amendment. Indeed, the Government has failed to introduce a measure like this. I have to make it very clear that a targeted measure like this is just part of what is needed. A targeted energy credit of €400 for those who need it most is a start but what is fundamentally missing from the Government's approach and much of this discussion is investment in long-term measures that would permanently bring down the cost of living, such as the proposals that we put forward on solar energy. A targeted energy credit of €400 should be part and parcel of a wider approach involving measures that mean households will have money off their energy bills for good so that they are better able to meet future energy shocks and cope with this existing cost-of-living crisis, and we as a country are less exposed to energy shocks and fuel price increases. We are one of the most exposed countries in Europe when it comes to this so we have to get out of short-term measures, which are necessary, and take measures that will stand with us over the coming weeks, months and years. A big problem with the approach taken by the Government over the years is the use of short-term measures and we end up with nothing to show for it in the long term. We need that combination of emergency measures, as are proposed in this amendment, and measures that will get us out of the hole and help households over the long term.

Sentiment score: 0.04

I find it extraordinary that the reaction to the withdrawal of temporary supports on which people had relied seemed to come as a surprise to the Government and Ministers. People on a low income got a temporary support. To withdraw this support and not put a permanent support in its place was unforgivable. Disabled people on low incomes were absolutely reliant on those temporary measures. They were taken away with a promise that the Government was working on the permanent measures and people were told to wait until they were put in place. This winter people were in very tough circumstances when those temporary supports were taken with a promise of a permanent measure in future. This is no good. People cannot heat their homes on the promise of permanent measures. The Minister of State has said he will look at all of the available data. I ask him to look immediately at the figures from the Central Statistics Office which show the rate of those aged over 65 who are in consistent poverty increased by 70% in just one year. This was as a direct result of choices the Government has made. Tá rudaí go dona ach go háirithe mar gheall go ndearna an Rialtas na roghanna míchearta, ach ní bhíonn sé roghnach riamh an rud ceart a dhéanamh. The Government can always do the right thing. It can do the right thing now by introducing targeted energy credits as an emergency measure. As has been pointed out, the Government has had ample time and warning to put in place its systems for this, and if its intention is to do something in the budget it has plenty of time to get its act in order on it.

Sentiment score: 0.15

I do not want to take away from the investment in disability services, which was absolutely necessary and we have a distance to go there. It is good that progress is being made and it is long overdue. Disabled people make the point very strongly that they are not just people who use services. In fact, a lot of disabled people do not necessarily use services. They need to be able to live, survive and thrive independently. It is a fact we have the highest unemployment rate of disabled people in Europe. That is an area that absolutely has to be addressed because it should not just be an issue of income support. It should be an issue, as in other European countries, of disabled people being able to participate fully. Of course, having a basic income to be able to participate fully, including in the employment market, is key, which is why it is important. I know measures are temporary but to introduce temporary measures, take them out, acknowledge that permanent measures are needed and say the work has not been done on them leaves people in a very difficult situation.

Sentiment score: 0.06

I am happy to let the Minister in again but I wish to press the amendment.

Sentiment score: 0.71