It is a bit ironic that we are now paying the price for a horrific imperialist adventure by Trump and Netanyahu, which the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach have never once condemned. The Taoiseach spent a whole day in Washington and managed not to say one thing about the attack on Iran. In relation to the emergency motion the Tánaiste is bringing through the Dáil, where is the emergency action for the disabled people who have lost out on €1,400 a year, the 320,000 people in arrears on their electricity who have been mentioned and the 180,000 in arrears on their gas? I will support this measure if it does anything to decrease prices for people. However, it is far from going to deal with the situation. We need emergency measures to lift the burden off the general population, not just hauliers and bus companies. There was an academic on TV last night who was talking about people having become too reliant on these one-off measures and needing to be weaned off them. There seem to be some people living in an alternative universe, not realising the hardship that people have been going through in this country for the last number of months. In relation to electricity, the ESB should be taken back into public ownership and it should be run on a not-for-profit basis, as it used to be. We need to bring down prices and the cost of living all across the board for ordinary people. On price controls, groceries have gone through the roof. There is power under the Consumer Protection Act to immediately introduce maximum prices at affordable levels for necessities and food staples. Likewise, why not use this as an opportunity to introduce free public transport? It would be a huge benefit to people's pockets and also to the environment. Why is a cost-of-disability payment not being introduced? It should have been brought in immediately. I obviously welcome the measures for people on fuel allowance, but that is a limited number of people. Tens of thousands of people are suffering. I am very concerned to hear that there will be backdated rebates for hauliers and bus companies. The books should be opened up. It should not be across the board. If they are needed, they could be given in a targeted fashion, but some people have been profiteering off the situation as well.

Sentiment score: -0.01