When I was listening to the Tánaiste's spat with Deputy Doherty earlier, I was thinking this House must be full of bowsies. I, too, went to jail, along with dozens of other ordinary people, fighting the cost-of-living increase in 2003. Bin charges, which are now privatised, are going through the roof and vast profits are being made, and this is one of the issues in the current cost-of-living crisis. However, today's ESRI report is really startling and shows that there are many more thousands of people living in energy poverty than this Government ever calculated for. The Government calculates energy poverty based on the number of recipients of the fuel allowance. The ESRI calculates energy poverty based on the number of people spending more than 10% of their income on fuel. The number of households living in energy poverty has risen to 550,000. The measures the Government has introduced and which it goes on about, such as the increase in the fuel allowance and the €200 payment for electricity customers, do not even scratch the surface of what needs to be done. The Government must intervene between now and the budget rather than doing nothing in that period.

On Saturday, ordinary people will be staging an intervention by taking to the streets in around five cities throughout the country to protest against the rises in the cost of living. A huge chunk of society is being hammered and this Government has no plan to do anything substantial to address it. There are 200,000 households that do not get the meagre fuel allowance and do not benefit from any of the measures introduced as part of the household benefits package, which has not increased since 2013. There are 480,000 people who qualify for that.

The Government has quite a scandal on its hands and it is not doing anything to intervene to help people. What needs to be done is that workers and people on low incomes who are dependent on social welfare need a pay rise to match inflation. The reports from the public sector pay talks are worrying, and the Minister beside the Tánaiste will know, this, in that they indicate the Government is only talking about below-inflation increases. That will not cut the mustard at all. Workers and people on benefits need increases to match inflation. If they do not get that, the crisis will continue to spiral. Measures such as €100 here or €200 there will not do it. All the Government keeps saying is "mañana, mañana". What is the Government going to do today, tomorrow and before the kids go back to school in September to alleviate the struggles people are facing, including pensioners, people on social protection, workers, families and students, who also face massive costs and earn very little pay? The unions need to step up to the plate and put in pay claims that match inflation, and workers must insist they get that. That will set the benchmark and Government will then have increase social welfare benefits to match inflation.

Listening to the Deputy's contribution, somebody would be forgiven for thinking we had done nothing at all this year. We have taken a lot of action this year, including increases in the State pension, weekly welfare payments and the minimum wage. We are currently in negotiations with public servants about pay increases for them. A lot of pay increases are happening in the private sector at the moment. The Deputy mentioned students. We have made changes to the SUSI grant which will kick in in September. All of these measures have been taken in recent months. We are working towards additional actions on budget day that will make a difference in terms of helping people with the cost of living.

The Deputy mentioned the ESRI report. The ESRI is a Government body, and calculates energy poverty based on the number of people spending more than 10% of their after-tax income on energy. It is not the same as living in consistent poverty or being at risk of poverty or deprivation. It is a particular means of calculating it. Around 30% of households are now experiencing energy poverty, which shows that it is not just those on the lowest incomes who can experience energy poverty. Those on middle incomes can also experience it. That is why I stand over the decision of this Government to introduce universal measures as well as targeted measures. Those on middle incomes, working families and middle-class people are also feeling the pinch. That is why I stand over the decision of this Government to bring in universal measures such as taking €200 off electricity bills, as well as targeted measures such as the extra €100 for people on the fuel allowance. I think that will be the approach we will adopt going forward. We will introduce universal measures to help everyone, because everyone is hurting, and targeted measures to help those who are hurting most, namely, pensioners and people on welfare.

There is a view, and it might be argued by the Ministers here, that if you give people a rise in their income, it leads to spiralling inflation. That is nonsense. There has not been a decent rise in income for most workers in this country for years. The ICTU reckons that over the past two years, workers have lost about €2,500 of their income because of inflation. The Tánaiste can say what he likes about the Government's interventions, but what we are talking about here in this cost-of-living crisis is a reality. We are not making it up. Everybody feels it. The Tánaiste himself has just outlined how middle-income earners feel it too. Middle- and low-income earners are workers, and they need a pay rise. The reports we are hearing from the public sector pay talks are quite worrying, because that will set the benchmark for everybody. That is why we are calling on people to get active on the issue and to insist their unions put in inflation-matching pay claims. It is not true that staff working in Tesco or ESB got inflation-matching pay rises. Over the years, the rises will average out at 2%, 3% or 4% at most. We have a real crisis on our hands. Giving workers and those on social protection an income that can match inflation will not cause inflation.

Looking at the facts and statistics, and the data are produced by the Central Statistics Office, CSO, so it is not my opinion; they are just facts, for the past few years up to this year, average earnings have risen faster than inflation. That is true in respect of the minimum wage, public sector pay and pay generally. This year is different. We are seeing unprecedented inflation and prices rising faster than incomes. As a result of that there must be a response. Part of that response is going to be bigger pay increases than had been planned in the private and public sectors. We are currently in negotiations with the public sector about that. However, we should not see pay increases as the only lever and the only mechanism for dealing with this problem. We can do other things too, for example, reducing the tax burden on people, reducing the cost of childcare-----

What about taxing profits? There should be an increase in tax on profits.

-----and reducing the cost of public transport, as we have done. We have to see it as a package in the round. That is the way the Government is approaching it.