Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. There is a constant dread that is now hanging over people’s lives. It is a quiet, growing panic about whether they can make it to the next payday. We have more evidence today of the huge cost-of-living pressures people are under. A new survey in the Irish Independent confirms what we already know, which is that costs have soared again. Households are now spending on average an extra €2,000 per year just to get by. People who could never afford luxuries now cannot afford the basics. Everything they earn is swallowed up by skyrocketing rents, childcare fees, mortgage payments, and energy and grocery bills. As those people desperately tread water, this Government refuses to throw them a lifeline. Even when Eurostat tells us that electricity prices here are the highest in the EU, at nearly 40% above the average, the Government is still telling people to wait until the budget in October, or maybe even next January, to get any support. Does the Taoiseach realise how crushing that is to hear if you are already at breaking point? The Government has the resources to act; it is just choosing not to do so. The Social Democrats have a comprehensive plan that could be adopted now, with targeted measures to support low- and middle-income workers who are now under enormous pressure, including a €400 energy credit targeted at households earning up to €70,000, a supplementary mileage scheme for essential workers like nurses and carers, and a €400 emergency cost-of-disability payment. As the Taoiseach knows, disabled people were struggling long before this energy crisis. Disability was meant to be a priority for this Government. What will it take for disabled people to be heard? We need emergency supports today and solutions for tomorrow to protect households from future energy shocks. That is why we have proposed a "solar for all" plan that could be rolled out rapidly and would bring down costs instantly. It includes making solar panels free for the homes most at risk of energy poverty, doubling grants to €3,600, a new grant for battery storage and finally rolling out plug-in solar, which this Government has delayed for far too long. Imagine the difference it would make to people’s lives if they could simply plug in solar panels from their balconies and watch their bills fall. These measures are practical and achievable, and would make a real difference, so why is the Government not doing any of this? The Taoiseach says he supports targeted measures and says this is an unprecedented crisis, so why will his Government not act like it and deliver the targeted support people need now?

Sentiment score: -0.01

This is not about ignoring certain measures the Government has introduced but when I ask the Taoiseach about targeted supports for people who cannot pay their bills, in the context of an energy crisis and rising costs of 70% in a month for home heating oil, it is not that I have no regard for the free book scheme. For somebody watching, who is struggling to pay their bills, when the Taoiseach is asked about targeted energy supports for people who cannot pay their bills and he talks about the school book scheme, they despair. In the context of these rising energy costs, the Taoiseach understands there is an energy crisis, understands we have energy costs that are 40% higher than the European average and understands how much people are struggling. How does he expect people to wait until October? We already had hundreds of thousands of people in arrears on their energy bills before this crisis. We already had disabled people out on the street protesting for an emergency disability payment. Even before that, we knew that one in five disabled people is living in poverty but the Taoiseach will not bring in any measures between now and the budget for these people who need help.

Sentiment score: -0.12