Within my office in the last few weeks we have been discussing the emails that have been coming in. These are from ordinary working people who are living with fear, desperation and pressure because of the cost-of-living crisis. We wonder whether the Government gets the same emails we do and whether it can be dealing with the same issues we are. If it was, the Minister of State would not be standing across from the Opposition benches pretending that everything is fine and pretending that there is nothing to see. The Minister of State would be acting on at least some of the measures that have been brought forward here today. I wonder if the Minister of State has ever lain awake wondering how he is going to get to the next pay cheque. I will tell the story of one of my constituents in Dublin Fingal West. She received a notice to quit but she was lucky, and I mean she was really lucky, to get a rental property a week before she was to go into emergency accommodation with her children and dog. She told me that she can afford to rent or she can afford to eat, so she will go without food because that means her children do not have to suffer the trauma of going into emergency accommodation, and she did not want to lose their dog. Think about that for a moment. In one of the richest countries in Europe a mother is prepared to go without food to keep a roof over her head. She felt embarrassed by this but it is not her who should feel embarrassed. The Government should feel embarrassed that in a rich country, renting a home or having a hot shower is becoming a luxury. The Government should be embarrassed that parents stand at checkout queues having to figure out what they are going to send back because they simply cannot afford it. Working people are one break away from financial disaster. Perhaps a car needs repairs, dental work needs to be done or a washing machine breaks down. Any one of those events can completely clear a family's savings. There is no safety net; just constant pressure and worry of what is going to come next. Urgent action is needed because carers, disabled people, lone parents and working people across the country are at breaking point. Where are the €200 a month fees that were promised for childcare? That was to be part of the cost-of-living package also.

Sentiment score: -0.03