Ivana Bacik: Where Is Support for Struggling PAYE Workers?

Your Honour, Cathaoirleach, Taoiseach, your government has been weakened and damaged over your inadequate response to the energy crisis and fuel protests with further challenges to come. You've now lost a Minister of State and a backbencher, two Healy Rays for the price of one, and a high price indeed. Yes, you won the vote last night, but the pressure for hard-working families and households in this cost-of-living crisis has not gone away. For hundreds of thousands of PAYE workers struggling to pay soaring bills, where is their support package? For those who turned up at the office, the shop or the factory who logged on at home for work this morning, what message have you for them? The Budget last October delivered no relief for working people. Energy credits and one-off payments were withdrawn. You gave tax breaks to developers and fast food chains, tax breaks paid for by workers. You could instead have taken the progressive step of indexing income taxes as Labour sought, but you did not. At the behest of business interests, you delayed the living wage and an increase in statutory sick pay, while voting down our Labour Bill to give workers a real right to remote work. Taoiseach, there is real suffering across our communities. Households facing rising bills. Grocery prices already increasing, set to store further as food security is impacted by global shocks. Rising rents and mortgages. Electricity and gas bills that families are struggling to pay. Taoiseach, all of us are hearing it. People simply don't know how they're going to manage. But the only relief you've given is a few cents off petrol and diesel. Over two emergency packages now, we've seen special supports for those who shouted loudest, but nothing to relieve the real pressure on PAYE workers and families. They're left with no option now but to seek pay rises in the months ahead, and we'll support the trade unions in that endeavour, because more support is needed. In recent days, I've spoken with parents across Galway and Dublin, desperate to see their children stay here rather than emigrating. I've spoken with young adults who see no future for themselves here. So Taoiseach, what help can you offer them? And what are you going to do for the 320,000 households in arrears on their electricity bills, the highest number ever, or the 180,000 in arrears on gas bills? Yesterday, the ESRI report confirmed that Ireland has the highest energy prices in Europe, relieved in recent years, yes, by VAT reductions and energy credits. But that took us down to eighth highest, and those credits are now gone. Taoiseach, we know there are no easy answers to the global energy shock, but you must heed the advice of the IEA. We need radical action now to harness more renewables, to bring down energy costs, tackle climate emissions and ensure fuel security. Will your government publish a national fuel security plan? And can you promise PAY workers that you'll bring forward targeted supports for them and help the households so desperate who are now in arrears on energy bills? First of all, Deputy, I fully accept that people are under enormous pressures, and in particular because of the war in the Middle East. And people have had to endure a range of shocks. If you go back to COVID, right through the war in Ukraine, which has a very severe impact on oil and energy prices, which fed into general significant inflation in those years. And then we hit the tariffs a year ago, which is having an impact on quite a number of our companies. And now a war in the Middle East, which has had a severe impact in terms of oil prices again, and is feeding into inflation. So there's no question that people are under huge pressure, and families are there. But if you look what the ESRI did say, that successive government measures shielded substantially people. Couldn't cover everything. But no government, I'd say, in the European Union has provided as many costs of living supports over the last five years as this government did. That's the reality. But it still doesn't mean that people are not under pressure. And we've introduced some fairly radical schemes that wouldn't have been thought possible five years ago, like free book schemes for every child going to school. Free hot school meals. And right across the board, we have brought in measures in terms of extending free GP care and many other measures in health in particular and in transport to try and ease the pressure on people in a systemic way. And I would welcome a conversation, Deputy. Because I do think you have a responsible approach to politics, although I thought last week you were noticeable by your silence. And the reason being, and I understand why. I actually understand why, and I think we do need a discussion about it in this house. Because there's a lot of what went on that you wouldn't have agreed with, if you're honest. And that was evident in the voting pattern last evening. And I think you got a glimpse of what sidling up to Sinn Féin can mean for your party and the damage it can do to you in the time ahead. What I would say to you is that I would welcome a debate in terms of priorities. Or a discussion and an engagement on priorities. You opted not to go into government, that's fair enough, that's your decision. And you opted not to go into government because you were afraid of the people alongside you. We're in government. We're in government. We're in government. We're in government, Deputy. We're in government. I'll accept any constructive proposal in terms of cost of living. A sustainable way in terms of climate. But also in terms of energy security. And thankfully we have national oil reserves. And last week we had a roundtable meeting with those involved with NORA and energy security. And I can share that with you if you wish to. Well Taoiseach, with respect, you've got to stop rewriting history about government formation. Because as you well know, you had done the deal with the Lowry gang and the Healy Rays. Before the engagement with us. And indeed that deal is now unravelling as we saw with the departure of half the Rays. The deputy deserves to be heard. Also Taoiseach, you've got to stop rewriting history about last week. The Labour Party, in my name, issued a statement last Wednesday morning. Calling on government then to engage with the representative organisations. It took you until Friday afternoon to do that. We also called, by the way, for the lifting of the blockades on Wednesday morning. So we had a very clear position and I won't accept your claim on that. And on the ESRI report. Yes, the ESRI acknowledged government supports had helped. But those supports are gone. And what the ESRI also pointed out is that Ireland has such high energy prices. Because we have never diversified sufficiently into renewables where other countries have. So what are you going to do to ensure that radical action on climate and on renewables that we need for energy security? We're going to diversify more into renewables. We have diversified substantially into renewables in this country. Over 40% of electricity generation now is wind generation. Onshore wind. And as you know we've had two successful auctions in terms of offshore wind. I actually agree that the only way to avoid these type of global shocks is actually by having more renewables as a contributor to the grid. If you look at all the shocks from the 1970s onwards, they're all shocks because of wars or fossil fuel shocks. And they've dislocated economies. They've caused pressures on families and on jobs. We know that from various recessions that we've had to encounter in previous decades. So therefore it makes logical sense that we would invest in the resources that we have. And as you know we've had the auctions in terms of offshore wind. And that is a significant opportunity. I set up a clearinghouse from my department to try and remove barriers and obstacles to the development of offshore wind. Thank you Taoiseach. Deputy Holly Kearns of the Social Democrat. Taoiseach thank you, the clock is in red. Deputy Holly Kearns.