I thank the Social Democrats for tabling this motion. Many of the measures in the motion align with proposals Sinn Féin has previously brought before this House, including energy credits and supports. At present, the Irish people are facing unprecedented challenges. They are trying to make ends meet in the face of an ever-expanding cost-of-living crisis. Workers and families the length and breadth of the country are being hammered by soaring prices. If it is not rents, student fees, voluntary contributions or insurance, it is energy bills. Households are bracing themselves for a round of energy price hikes, just like the 700,000 households who depend on kerosene to heat their homes. Over 300,000 people are in arrears on their electricity bills, while the number of people who cannot pay gas bills has soared to over 183,000. This crisis is putting more people in debt, at risk of poverty and in a state of continued anxiety. Ireland already has the eighth highest electricity prices in Europe. Ireland's crippling energy prices are not inevitable. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have repeatedly ignored, pushed back against and rejected Sinn Féin's and the Opposition's proposals to get prices under some control. They dismissed our calls to overhaul the Government's regressive approach to network charges and the public service obligation levy in order that data centres would have to pay a fair share. Not only have they totally failed to accelerate renewable transition at a pace required, they also continue to prioritise private interests of corporate developers overseas over the interest of people on this island. It does not have to be this way. The Government has shown whose needs it is going to prioritise and who it favours. It is not ordinary citizens. Enough is enough. The Government cannot detach itself from the reality that the decision to withdraw energy credits and the failure to deliver an effective cost-of-living package is causing hardship and leading to more people falling into arrears. The reality is people are having to work overtime just to keep up with the cost of living because every week things are getting more expensive. The Government must accept that the most vulnerable people, especially people with disabilities, need an immediate cost-of-living package and a reintroduction of energy credits as an emergency measure.

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