There is no doubt that families across this country are under real pressure. I see it every day in my constituency, with people coming into my office looking for help and non-political point scoring. That is exactly why I stand here. I am looking for real, tangible solutions to what the people of Ireland require and need. People are worried about their next electricity bill, the price of home heating oil and the cost of filling the car just to get to work. For many working families, the cost-of-living crisis has not gone away. It is still there week after week, bill after bill. When international events drive up energy prices, it is ordinary households who feel it first and hardest. We know how serious the situation already is. Hundreds of thousands of households are struggling with energy bills, with many already in arrears on electricity and gas payments. At the same time, petrol, diesel and home heating oil prices are rising sharply, putting additional pressure on workers who commute, on families trying to heat their homes and on pensioners to get through the week. This debate really matters but we also need to be honest about solutions. Our conversation must be solution-focused; not rhetoric but real action. While Sinn Féin's motion focuses heavily on reducing fuel taxes, Labour believes the most effective response is targeted support for households that are struggling the most. Labour has set out practical measures that could be implemented now. First, we have proposed an energy income tax credit of up to €400, targeted at households with incomes below €80,000. That would provide real support to working households who are earning, paying tax and struggling with rising energy bills. Second, we have called for four additional weeks of fuel allowance to support households that depend on the payment to heat their homes during the colder months, such as many older people and vulnerable families. Third, we believe the Government should introduce a double social welfare payment as outlined by my colleague. Taken together, these measures would deliver targeted support where it is needed most, and, importantly, they are affordable. The Government already has a €1 billion contingency fund set aside in this year's budget meaning the capacity exists to support hard-pressed households if the political will is there. We must address the issue of sudden fuel price spikes. We have seen how prices can surge almost overnight when international tensions escalate. The Labour Party is, therefore, calling for the use of maximum price orders tied directly to the real costs faced by suppliers to prevent excessive price increases during periods of market instability. We should also examine whether strategic oil reserves held by the National Oil Reserves Agency could be released, as Ireland has done previously in co-ordination with international partners, to help stabilise fuel prices. These are practical actions that could ease pressure on households in the short term and are very much Labour Party-focused actions. There is a long-term question in relation to this debate and that is our approach to carbon tax. I understand that people are frustrated - I meet them on a daily basis - about the rising costs. Those concerns are very real but the Labour Party and I fundamentally believe we must be careful not to undermine the very measures that help households reduce their energy bills permanently. I am not here to defend Government action on this but I am being realistic that the revenues from carbon tax fund the fuel allowance, support vulnerable households and invest in home retrofitting programmes that make homes warmer and cheaper to run. Those programmes are not abstract climate polices; they mean warmer homes, lower bills and less exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets. Every home that is properly insulated, every retrofit completed and every household moved away from expensive fossil fuels is a household that is less exposed to global energy shocks. Yes, we must move forward with more retrofitting, warmers homes and lower energy demand and with renewable energy that reduces Ireland's dependence on imported fossil fuels but moving forward does not mean ignoring what we can do right now. There are actions that can ease pressure on families overnight and I will go back to them. We can introduce the €400 energy income tax credit for working people; we can provide additional weeks of fuel allowance for those who depend on it to heat their homes; we can deliver a double social welfare payment to households struggling with rising costs; and we can act to stop sudden price spikes by using maximum price orders on heating oil and examining the release of strategic oil reserves if necessary.

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