Yesterday, I asked the Taoiseach to cancel the carbon tax hike scheduled for 1 May. Struggling households are under huge pressure trying to pay soaring energy bills. The very last thing they need is the Government adding to that pressure with a tax hike. Yesterday, the Taoiseach refused to cancel that increase and indicated that the Government is determined to press ahead with it. In that decision, the Government is ignoring the fact that every single euro counts for workers and families and that many households are literally down to the cents. If the Government proceeds with this, it will push ahead in the full knowledge that low-income workers, older people and rural communities have been hit especially hard.

The Taoiseach did acknowledge yesterday that what he termed a "wider initiative" is required to tackle this unprecedented cost-of-living crisis, which has been driven by inflation levels not seen since the 1980s and exacerbated by Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. I am glad the Taoiseach has finally recognised the need for a comprehensive set of measures and an inclusive process to get the living costs down. This comes after months of resisting Sinn Féin's calls for exactly such a package. In February, we brought forward a broad suite of measures that would make a real difference and bring genuine relief and breathing space for households. We urged the Government to adopt these measures, which are realistic and deliverable. The Taoiseach refused to do that. We proposed a mini-budget that would target those areas during this crisis. Does the Taoiseach now accept the need for a mini-budget? Has the Government moved from its position of waiting until October to act? In other words, when will see this comprehensive set of measures? Will these measures include targeted cost-of-living payments to lower and middle-income workers and families? Will it include relief for renters? Will it include relief for childcare costs? We have proposed cutting these initially by one third. That is necessary to give parents breathing space. Above all, urgency is required on this matter because the fuel allowance is due to end on Friday. It is crucial that this payment is extended, initially for six weeks at the least, and that eligibility for it is expanded.

Tá mion-bhuiséad ag teastáil uainn chun dul i ngleic leis na réimsí atá i gcroílár na géarchéime sa chostas maireachtála. Laghdóidh íocaíochtaí airgid díreach agus gníomhartha ó thaobh cíosanna, cúram páistí agus an liúntas breosla an costas maireachtála do gach duine.

The Government can of course introduce a mini-budget to deliver direct cost-of-living payments, to cut rents and childcare fees and to extend the fuel allowance, but it must also scrap the carbon tax increase due on May Day. Although the Taoiseach clearly attaches little importance to this increase, the backbenchers in his own party and, it seems, in Fine Gael, have a very different view on this matter. I am asking the Taoiseach to seize the moment, to introduce measures that will cushion households and help give them some breathing space and, of course, to cancel the hike in carbon tax.

First, the Deputy did not actually call for anything of the sort that I proposed in the House yesterday in terms of the comprehensive approach I and the Government want to take to what is, without question, a very serious issue for the Irish economy and the European economy. That is manifested in the main at the moment by inflation. I said yesterday that we have had two, if not three, shocks to our economic model. The first was Brexit. We dealt with that, as a country, as best we could. The second was the pandemic, which was a once-in-a-century event. Thankfully, because of the economic measures the Government took to protect jobs, incomes and businesses and to keep them intact, we have bounced back very significantly as an economy, largely speaking, in emerging from Covid. The Central Bank's report today confirms that. Government initiatives in the teeth of a major crisis, that is, the pandemic, worked, notwithstanding that the ending of the emergency phase of the pandemic has created a huge inflationary cycle. Add a terrible war, the war on Ukraine, and energy prices have exponentially grown and risen. The sanctions the European Union, the United States, Canada and other democracies have imposed on the Russian Federation within themselves create economic impacts and shocks, some of which we are not clear on yet. The only thing from now to the end of the year, as far as I can see, is uncertainty. I would not understate the economic recovery in Ireland.

I fully accept the enormous pressures inflation is putting on households. We are very concerned about those on low incomes. Hence, we increased the fuel allowance from €630 when we came into government to €1,039. When the €200 cut in electricity bills is added, that is €1,239, up from the base of €630 when we came into office. Other aspects of the economy also illustrate the point I was making yesterday. The Central Bank is saying inflation could go to 6.5%. It has revised downwards growth forecasts. It expects the jobs market to remain strong with an increase in employment of about 88,000 this year.

The Department of Finance is preparing the spring forecasts.

We had the highest employment growth in the European Union last year, with the number of people work soaring by nearly 230,000 to just above 2.5 million, marking a record high and already surpassing our target for 2024, which was contained in the economic recovery plan. Employment has increased for all age groups and across all geographic regions. GDP went up by about 13% but it is modified domestic demand that we are focused on and that grew by 6.5%, which is now 7% above the pre-pandemic level. The unemployment rate is at 5.2%, which is close to full employment. Those are the plus points but there is one huge negative, namely, inflation. The challenge for us is not to undermine progress in other parts of the economy. I am saying the best way to do that is work with the social partners, trade unions and employers on the pay policy dimension to this, which is important as there are tax, social welfare, income protection and climate change implications. Then there is the issue of the costs for people on low incomes and for those who are going into work every day. In the €800 million package we put in place since the budget we have already reduced transport and medical costs. That is an intelligent way to go about this.

I have asked the Taoiseach to set out what this comprehensive approach will amount to. It has to be all about bringing costs down. I ask again whether it will include measures to give relief to renters and if it will cut childcare costs. What other measures does the Government have in mind? We all agree that costs must come down. I also asked the Taoiseach to act with urgency. The Taoiseach should bear in mind that both finance Ministers in the Government have previously said they are not minded to do anything until October. Sitting this out until October is not a viable option because people are under pressure now. I reminded the Taoiseach that on Friday, we will see the end of the fuel allowance, which gives an indication of just how urgent these matters are. What is the Government's comprehensive set of measures? Is it a mini-budget? When will we see it? I put it to the Taoiseach that at a time when people have to choose between eating and heating their homes, he could not rationalise, much less justify, an increase in carbon tax.

Hear, hear.

Hear, hear.

The way the carbon tax was structured benefits those on the lowest incomes, as the Deputy knows. That is the factual position and the research shows that but I know that evidence-based research is not the Deputy's forte in matters of this kind. That is what the research shows.

That is not true.

Patronising. The múinteoir scoile.

That said, we are conscious of the impacts of the carbon tax. That is why the fuel allowance has risen so dramatically-----

It is ending on Friday.

-----and we have extended it significantly. It is also why we want to enable people to retrofit their homes, to develop energy efficiency to reduce costs

There is a three-year waiting list.

The Taoiseach is talking down the clock. Can I have an answer?

The approach I suggest is a broader one which has to involve engagement with our social partners. It is not just about one single measure every week as we move along. That cannot be the way we react. We reacted intelligently, effectively and fast as a country to deal with the pandemic's impact on the economy. The pandemic brought about the greatest decline in our economy since 1939 in 2020, a recession.

The Taoiseach has not answered.

We bounced back because of intelligent policies.

Intelligent.

The Taoiseach has no answer.

With the greatest of respect, the Deputy is about-----

The Taoiseach has a monopoly on intelligence now.

-----the electoral and political exploitation of this, rather than looking at it from a point of view of substance.

I asked the Taoiseach a straight question that he has refused to answer.

The Taoiseach cannot answer.