The Government has not protected the most vulnerable. In the last hour, the consumer price index came out and it shows families had to pay more for basics like clothing, footwear and education costs over the past year. Inflation may be slowing but prices are still rising. The Minister knows this because under his Government's watch, the price of beef has increased by 44% in the last five years. It has gone up 24% in the last 12 months alone. Butter and milk prices have risen by 45% in the last five years. In the last year, the price of butter has risen by 10% and that of milk by 5%. In real terms, diced beef prices are up €4.10 in the last five years alone. This is the economic cut of beef to make a stew or a casserole and its price is up by that amount. The price of two litres of whole milk has increased by 73 cent in the last five years. This impacts everyone who has to go to the supermarket to feed a household. The average price of a pound of butter has increased by 55 cent and that of a kilogram of cheddar cheese by 62 cent in just one year. These price hikes are hitting people really hard, especially now when we know from research that one in five people planned to borrow money just to get through the short but expensive Christmas period. It is not just the everyday costs that are going up. This week, we saw Diageo, a multibillion-euro company, announce that the price of a pint of Guinness will go up by 20 cent. An Post has announced that the price of a stamp is going up by 20 cent. This is just to send a simple letter. These increases are constantly chipping away at people's disposable income and their sense of financial security. The most recent data we have on motor insurance costs show a rise of 9%. The cost of health insurance has risen by almost 10%. As we know, Irish households are paying more than most in Europe for electricity. People are getting hit in every single direction. The Government is even piling on the direct pain. The cost of third level education rose by €500. Road toll prices are going up. Energy prices go up while the energy support payments are gone. Hope that this Government has any interest in tackling the affordability crisis has all but disappeared. A recent study by Core Research shows the cost of living remains the defining concern in 2026, with 74%, three quarters of the population, not expecting it to ease. Of adults surveyed, 72% are unconvinced that housing affordability will improve. Some 52% of adults also now expect Ireland to face a recession in 2026. This is a damning indictment of the Government's ability to tackle the affordability crisis and to provide hope and confidence to people. The question that has to be asked is whether the Government has just given up. It has no answers for increased grocery prices, no answers for increased insurance costs and no answers for increased utility bills. When is the Government going to step up and provide direct supports for those working people, vulnerable people, who need them? Is it prepared to look at such measures as windfall taxes on the big energy companies and the big supermarket chains to target supports at people struggling to pay their bills?

Sentiment score: 0.02

Has the Minister dealt with anyone who has tried to apply for hardship funds for a utility company? It is an absolute nightmare. None of these measures, unfortunately, are working enough. Why are people stopping me in JC's supermarket asking why I cannot reduce the price of groceries? Why are people turning up to my clinic, Deputy Wall's clinics and my colleagues' clinics with utility bills that they cannot pay? It is just not enough. That is the reality of it. The people who cannot pay their bills this month will not get any comfort from what the Taoiseach said yesterday about the Minister, Deputy O'Brien's affordability group that is being set up. No one is going to get any comfort when they cannot pay their bills this week and are going to have to go to St. Vincent de Paul or their community welfare officer and beg, plead and borrow. These are working people who are doing everything they can to try to keep a roof over their head. This Government does not do legislation. That is clear from last year. It does task forces and working groups. It does not even do them well. What it does is procrastination and inaction, or, when it can, it does deflection. It is very hard to do deflection on the cost of groceries. The Government can do it on housing when it tries to blame immigrants, but it cannot do it on groceries or utility bills. When is the Government going to take on the big utility companies? When is it going to take on the big conglomerates? When is it going to provide targeted payments to those who need it, those workers who are doing everything right and are being let down by the Government?

Sentiment score: -0.04