We turn now to Questions on Policy or Legislation. I call Deputy Carthy.

Many people are still reeling from the fact that in the middle of a cost-of-living emergency, the Government has further increased the costs of home heating oil and other fuels this week. Imagine how those families felt when they learned in this morning's Irish Independent that the Government provided a mechanism for millionaires, with net assets of millions, to put off paying taxes during the Covid pandemic. Why is it that the Government can always find schemes to benefit wealthy people? In this instance, it allows them to warehouse €6 million in taxes without paying interest, yet the Government constantly finds a reason to delay, frustrate or simply refuse to support families and workers in heating their homes, getting to work or feeding their families.

As was predicted in this House for many months, we now know that groceries are the latest necessity to see significant price hikes. Does the Taoiseach now accept the Government needs to introduce a comprehensive package of measures to address the cost-of-living crisis? This crisis was made worse by the Government's actions this week through another carbon tax hike.

That is a very dishonest presentation. This Government intervened in an unprecedented way during the Covid-19 pandemic to protect workers, in the main, businesses and enterprises right across the economy to an extraordinary degree. It was the right thing to do because of the protection it gave to workers and jobs. That was evidenced by the rebound in the economy in the aftermath of the pandemic as we emerged from the emergency phase of Covid itself.

Workers were not able to warehouse their tax owed.

Please.

The cost of living is a very serious issue brought on by the war in Ukraine and, as economies rebounded from Covid-19, the major imbalance between supply and demand. Since the budget, we have allocated €2 billion to a whole range of measures to reduce VAT rates, for example, in addition to the decision to increase the free fuel allowance. Some €914 was paid to eligible households over the course of the winter. An additional lump sum of €125 was paid to 370,000 households and a further €100 on top of that.

So the answer to the question is "No".

Please.

"No" is your answer.

We have brought in a very comprehensive range of measures on the cost of living. The Deputy knows that.

You increased the cost of home heating oil this week.

Please. Deputy Bacik.

We offset it.