I thank the Minister for being here. The collective complacency of this Government has truly been astonishing. It might have survived the confidence motion yesterday but it certainly lost something. It lost some credibility. When we look back on yesterday, we will regard it as the beginning of the Government losing its mandate. Less than two years ago, the Government went to the people of Ireland promising change and meaningful action on the issues that affected people's lives, but in truth things are getting worse. The Government told us that when it came to the cost of living, housing, homelessness, healthcare, education and childcare, change would happen and that it would listen. While the Government has gone about prioritising the EU Presidency and chasing policy ambitions that it has never campaigned on, it has wilfully ignored promises it made and the people to whom it made them. Somehow, the Government tells us to have patience with its social policy as it continuously fails us, while in tandem working to ensure investment funds have the perfect conditions to maximise profit. It seems that the Government only listens to them. The Government does not listen to us. It pretends to listen on the doorsteps. It continuously ignores academic and organisational expertise. It has been an expensive week for this Government but every week is an expensive week for people in our country. The Government's latest €500 million package will leave no legacy. It will make very little to no difference at all to families who have to continue choosing between heating and eating. Once again, it proves who this Government is actively listening to and who this Government chooses not to listen to. I am asking the Government to listen to the Social Democrats today. The Minister could introduce an emergency relief for struggling people and families by way of an energy credit. He could listen to the merits of Deputy Whitmore's Solar for All plan. My worry is that while there are many things the Government could do to follow through on those long-forgotten election promises, many players in this Government are too busy fighting among themselves. They are no longer the parties that have their ears to the ground, but instead have their heads buried in the sand as to what reality is. Targeted measures for those who need them most, for those whom we all claim to represent, for those whom the Government claims to govern, are what are needed now, but this Government is not listening, exacerbating even further our worsening collective complacency.

Sentiment score: 0.02