The programme for Government and the confidence and supply arrangement include provision for the Government to take action on spiralling costs for families, including in respect of energy, child care, housing and insurance. The consumer price index suggests prices have not changed much. Indeed, if one did not dig deeper into the basic inflation rate figure, it would be very welcome. The reality, however, is that education and health care costs have risen and everybody knows there have been massive increases in fuel costs. This week in the Chamber we discussed the substantial rise in insurance costs. What action is the Government taking, not only to implement the requirements under the programme for Government and the confidence and supply agreement but also to make a real difference for families by ensuring they have a few more quid to spare for other essential items instead of all their money going simply to meet price increases?

The Government has introduced significant changes in this regard. Just this week, we implemented a reduction in prescription charges for persons aged over 70. Some months ago, we introduced rent caps to protect tenants living in areas with high rental costs. We have an action plan on insurance costs which the Minister of State, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, is pursuing and which will help to bring down the cost of insurance and make it more affordable. A freeze has been imposed on waste charges in the Dublin city area to protect people from proposed changes that would have imposed substantial difficulties. I will not stray into the area of water other than to say we have suspended charges. The Government's approach in this area has been consistent. We want to ensure not only that we are competitive internationally but also that there is value for money for consumers. The evidence is there that we are succeeding in this regard. Prices are being kept quite tight in this country compared with what is happening elsewhere. We are improving our competitiveness and taking targeted action in areas where Government can make an impact.

The programme for Government includes ambitious plans for the recruitment of additional nurses and midwives. In fact, that undertaking is mentioned in no fewer than five sections of the document. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, is scheduled to take industrial action next Tuesday and while talks are taking place at the Workplace Relations Commission, the proposed action has not been cancelled. We all know this situation has come about as a result of chronic underfunding, dire working conditions and serious issues surrounding pay. Together with the failure to recruit, we now have a crisis of staff retention, with personnel leaving in their droves. Many of us have spoken to nurses who rediscovered their grá for their profession after going abroad for work, where they were treated fairly and enjoyed a proper working environment, compared with the stressful, dire conditions they endured here. What does the Government propose to do to meet the targets set out in the programme for Government? What is the plan to begin the work of addressing the chronic shortage of nurses and midwives in our creaking health service?

We have invested €1.5 billion in our health services, €900 million of that in the past 12 months. This has involved the recruitment of 9,000 extra people in the public service, most of them across medical, nursing and related areas. Notwithstanding that investment, there are continuing pressures on the recruitment of nurses, especially in particular skill areas.

The nurses are going to the WRC, which I welcome, but the Public Service Pay Commission will examine each sector and pressures within same so as to ensure that, as we negotiate a successor to the Lansdowne Road agreement, we address specific problems in public services. We are committed to a good environment for professional workers in our health service within available resources. The public pay commission, coupled with the reinvestment, is the approach that we are taking to deliver that.