I thank the Social Democrats for this motion. Constituents and disability support groups across County Clare have been contacting me. They are shocked and deeply disappointed that this Government is refusing to call for an emergency winter payment for people with disabilities. They cannot understand how money can be found for developers and for those who are already flush, yet people with disabilities have to make the stark decision to eat or to have heat. The Taoiseach has stated that such a measure is not fiscally sustainable. People have said to me that asking people with disabilities to wait is what is truly unsustainable. They are absolutely right about this. They are not looking for luxuries, they are looking for help to meet essential needs - extra costs for heating and to run specialised life-sustaining equipment. Is that really too much to ask? Just before Christmas on a bitterly cold winter day, I met protesters outside this very Dáíl. One protester said to the crowd with devastating sarcasm, "Is it not great the Government is giving us extra fuel allowance? It is giving me enough to buy firelighters for a fire that I cannot even afford to keep lit." That is the reality - a very stark reality. They have told me the extra €10-a-week would not even come close to covering their real living costs. The message of that protest was simple and shameful: eat or heat. I find that utterly disgraceful. Delaying supports does not save money, it pushes people with disabilities into debt, into loans, into financial holes they may never climb out of. Some are spending their days in local libraries just to stay warm. What kind of way is that for this Government to treat people? I am asking that it does the right thing and supports this motion. People with disabilities deserve dignity, not delay; and certainty, not excuses.

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That is what they have to do.

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