In this Chamber we hear much about the cost of living but the Society of St. Vincent de Paul report from several months ago captured the issue more succinctly. For too many families in this country, it is the cost of survival. There was a report yesterday from the ESRI that demonstrated clearly that those most vulnerable are, once again, lone parents and adults of a working age living with a disability. We need targeted interventions immediately. We in the Social Democrats are asking for advanced targeted measures for people who are worried about the cost of survival, be that to feed themselves or the cost of electricity, and to do it more quickly. We cannot simply say to people who are hungry in this country that they must wait until October and see what happens then. We need it more immediately. We are asking for an intervention that comes before the budget. People are really struggling at this point.

The Government has already taken measures. We accept that people are struggling. We accept the need. There has to be targeted measures, particularly for families and directed towards children in need and children who may be vulnerable, but the budget gives us the framework, but also the opportunity in advance of it to engage with many stakeholders and people who have views on this to make sure that we deal with this strategically. What is happening is unprecedented because of the war in Ukraine. We cannot just have measures every month. That will not suffice. The budget gives us an opportunity on all fronts to redistribute the impact of the unprecedented inflationary cycle on people and to target those who are suffering the most.