We are here today because this Government does not listen. It does not listen to the Opposition, it does not listen to its own backbenchers and, most importantly, it does not listen to the people. The cost-of-living crisis did not suddenly emerge six weeks ago when Trump attacked Iran but it has been growing and growing for years. This Government has had the resources to provide meaningful support to people but refused to do so. Instead people have watched while it wasted countless billions and failed to deliver critical public services, housing and infrastructure, all while giving sermons about the importance of fiscal prudence. That is the backdrop to these protests. Life in this country has become totally unaffordable for an ever-increasing number of people. People working long hours every week, barely seeing their families, are really struggling just to pay for the basics. Pensioners spend long evenings in freezing homes because they cannot afford to turn on the heat. Disabled people choose between heating their homes and charging their mobility aids. The pressure is relentless and it is draining. The cost of groceries, energy and housing have all skyrocketed with no end in sight. For many the fuel increases were a tipping point and these protests were a way to express that. I want to be clear that the Social Democrats do not agree with blockades of critical infrastructure but I do understand people's frustration and their growing sense of desperation. Last week, as protests began to grow, instead of recognising that frustration and that desperation and engaging with people, the Government refused to listen. A succession of senior Ministers issued combative, patronising and dismissive statements. The Minister for justice spoke about sending out the Defence Forces before anyone had even spoken to the protesters. That is not leadership; it is a failure of leadership. The vast majority of protesters are farmers, hauliers and ordinary people who simply cannot keep up with the rising cost of living. One of the most stressful things is the thought of not being able to put food on the table. The mental health impact on people who rely on diesel to do their jobs does not seem to register with this Government. People are terrified. They do not want to be out on the streets; they want their Government to listen to them and to help them. The Government's failure to do so created a vacuum that has allowed a small number of far right actors to try to hijack the protest for their own agenda. The Taoiseach played right into their hands. Now, instead of reflecting on its complete mishandling of this crisis, the Government is engaged in a blame game. The communications Minister is even blaming the media. The Government has come in here today, the first occasion the Opposition has had to ask questions, and ripped up the Dáil schedule to prevent us from doing so, showing contempt for this House as well as for the people who elected us to hold the Government accountable. It is shameful. It shows the complete arrogance of the Government and its complete inability to read the room. It is proposing a package of measures that will be of little assistance to the vast majority of people. There are 700,000 households all over the country reliant on home heating oil. The cost of it has soared 70% in just under a month. There is nothing in the Government's proposal to address this. It is further evidence, not that we needed it, that no lessons have been learned. We all know these latest price shocks are the fault of Trump and his illegal war with Iran. However, the scale of the impact here is not inevitable. It is the result of political choices: a political choice to cut the incomes of disabled people by €1,400 per year; a political choice to sit back while 315,000 households go into energy arrears; and a political choice to fail to make sources of renewable energy like solar accessible. This Government's political choices have failed to protect people from exactly this kind of price shock. That is a failure of vision. That failure is all the Government's. The Social Democrats have an alternative vision for this country and a plan for immediate targeted financial supports for those who are struggling the most right now, which would deliver a €400 energy credit for households earning up to €70,000, and a real, tangible solution to help people who are struggling the most, including a solar for all scheme to double grants to €3,600 and cut people's bills by €450 each year.

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These are proposals that we are not just talking about; we will be bringing them to the Dáil tomorrow.

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