According to page 33 of A Programme for a Partnership Government, the Government "will seek to alleviate pressures affecting household budgets across energy, childcare, medical and insurance costs." The Tánaiste may know that Electric Ireland and PrePayPower have announced price increases for gas and electricity, raising the cost of living further for ordinary working families. This follows on from an increase last year despite the fact that we in this State already have some of the highest energy costs in the EU.

The announcement comes just days after the Government and Fianna Fáil came together to propose imposing carbon tax increases on those who can least afford them. Any increase in carbon taxes on top of the price hikes will hit each and every household. Carbon tax increases will not change behaviour or help the environment, but they will put further pressure on families in the midst of a growing cost-of-living crisis. Will the Government do the right thing and take the prospect of increasing carbon taxes off the table and give those working families a break?

I suggest that the Deputy read the Oireachtas committee's report on climate change. It makes a very strong case, not only for investing in changing the way we produce power at a business and home level, but for carbon tax forming a part of the solution to encouraging a change in behaviour. No one is proposing a dramatic increase in carbon tax in the short term. Rather, we are talking about setting a target for 2030 and incremental increases until then so that people can know the trajectory of this cost and be encouraged to consider more sustainable and renewable ways of heating their homes.