I thank my colleague, Deputy Gary Gannon, for bringing forward this motion and, indeed, everyone who has contributed to the debate. The price increase for every day basics are relentless. Rents, food, heating, electricity, petrol and diesel are all through the roof. People's wallets do not stretch indefinitely when their wages stay the same. We are reaching a breaking point. People contact me every day who are unable to cope. Could the Government not see that the country was already in crisis before the tractors had arrived in Dublin? Home heating oil jumped nearly 70% in a single month - the biggest increase ever recorded. Irish households are paying some of the highest electricity and gas prices in Europe. People are stretching every euro just to heat their homes, drive to work, keep the lights on and put food on the table. There are home care workers protesting outside the Dáil right now who are at the coalface of this cost-of-living crisis. Workers from Northside Home Care Service do long and hard hours taking care of our sick and elderly. They provide professional and compassionate care but are not paid properly for their Trojan work. Most are paid just above the minimum wage. This is simply not enough to survive on. They deserve a fair wage for the essential role they play in our community. I urge the Minister of State to speak to his Government colleagues and ensure this pay dispute is resolved. There must be a sectoral wage for care workers and there must be full pay restoration. The Northside Home Care Service workers are just one example of hard-pressed workers struggling to keep their heads above water. People are crying out for help from the Government but are being ignored. There is a real prospect of continued energy price shocks over the coming months and years. This means that to make the best use of possible resources, the response from the Government must be to target resources to help those who need them most and, crucially, to build resilience and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Our proposals get to the root of the cost-of-living crisis. A €400 targeted energy credit would provide much-needed relief for those who need help most. A supplementary mileage scheme for essential workers is also needed as well as a roll-out of solar panels across the country. Every home, every business and every farm building in Ireland should have solar panels. The Social Democrats' solar for all plan put forward by my colleague, Deputy Jennifer Whitmore, would bring down people's bills while also helping us to reach our climate targets. Our proposals are targeted, fully costed and would make an immediate impact while protecting us from future shocks. If the Government is serious about this crisis, it would adopt our proposals.

Sentiment score: 0.08