There was a cost-of-living crisis before the war in Iran. More than 300,000 households were already in energy arrears. This crisis has very deep roots. The Taoiseach failed to acknowledge that. The budget last October left workers worse off and left people with disabilities worse off. The Taoiseach failed to acknowledge that. Families and workers are really struggling and the Taoiseach has no response for them except to talk down to them and dismiss them. I have asked the Taoiseach to introduce an emergency budget.…

It is €3 billion.

It is costed.

It is not.

The Taoiseach cannot count, a Cheann Comhairle. It is very-----

Children with additional needs are being failed by the State. Some 7,860 children will need special class or school places for this September but the Government has planned for only 5,500 places. That leaves at least 2,300 children without appropriate places and takes no account of possibly hundreds more. These are not statistics; these are children being failed by the State. Parents have been left in limbo weeks out from summer and are unsure if their children will have school places. Some parents have received as…

We extend a very warm welcome to the students of the Holy Faith school in Glasnevin who are in the Public Gallery. They are very welcome. There is real anger among workers and families pushed to the brink by the cost of living. People are working and paying their way yet they are falling further behind with each passing week. We finally have a very frank admission from the Minister for public expenditure, Jack Chambers. He now admits that last year's budget - in his own words - did not give workers a break. There i…

The Taoiseach's response is very telling because he ignores the immediate reality of people's lives.

He ignores the fact that hundreds of thousands of households cannot pay their electricity bills; that families the length and breadth of the country are struggling with their rent, grocery bills, and to put bread on the table. He does not want to know that. There is nothing strategically positive about leaving people in poverty. There is nothing good about creating that level of stress or hardship for families and workers across the country. The Taoiseach's own Minister accepts that. He has said out loud what we al…

It seems, no matter how hard it gets-----

-----Fianna Fáil and Micheál Martin, are quite happy to let people struggle on but people will not tolerate that-----

-----and the Taoiseach will get his response again.

The Taoiseach is completely out of touch.

The Taoiseach is completely out of touch. Does he actually pay bills?

Does he go to the supermarket?

Do you?

Do you?

No, you do not.

When?

This morning, we hear of another scandal involving the care of vulnerable children in this State. Forged references were provided for staff at special emergency accommodation for children, putting vulnerable children in harm's way. These settings, as the Taoiseach knows, are unregulated, poorly resourced and unregistered facilities not inspected by the authorities, yet more than 1,000 children were placed in these settings last year. The State pays out literally millions to private operators to run them, all becaus…