I want to just inject the voices of ordinary citizens into this debate, if I may. These are the voices of a nurse and a garda that were posted on social media today. The first one said: I am a nurse working in a Dublin hospital but I live in the midlands. I travel 100 km to work and 100 km home every day. We live in the midlands because we can't afford to live in Dublin but we really can't afford to live here either. We're barely surviving. Our main source of heat is oil. We ran out two weeks ago, we can't afford the bill and we can't heat our house. Very few people have that kind of money. We have two kids and it's early nights for all of us now. The only luxury we have is an electric blanket on our bed to keep us warm. The cost of living has gone out of control. I don't get a fuel allowance to help us get to work and back like politicians do. I pay €10 parking fees on top of soaring prices and I know other staff who are paying €15 parking fees every single day. I work it out that I can only go on two more months at this rate. I've already had to cut back on our shopping bill. We literally buy only essentials as it is. I don't smoke, drink or have any social life. A garda responded: I'm a mother of five. I'm a member of the Garda Síochána, as is my husband. We are struggling beyond comprehension. We pinch and scrape but we still seem to not have enough. We live week to week and one unexpected bill will put us under. I don't drink, smoke, go out, have takeaways, have luxuries. We have older cars. I can't remember the last time I bought something for myself. The toll it's taking on us is serious. How is it that people with good-paying jobs are still struggling? It's not right, it's not just. I'm heartbroken that our children are missing out so much because we don't have the finances. This government should be absolutely ashamed of itself.

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