The ESRI energy poverty report brings home to us that not only are we facing a crisis, we are in the midst of an economic and social crisis in this country and we must use every tool in our economic arsenal. We feel we should have an emergency budget or an early budget. Failing that, we think there is scope for the Government to implement targeted measures similar to those that have been implemented in our fellow EU countries, including price caps on energy. We ask the Government to consider that. The Minister for Finance has the power to do that and would be following other EU countries that have done so.

There is also scope for increases to the fuel allowance and a doubling of energy bonus payments. Will the Government heed the advice of the ESRI and get to grips with the energy poverty people are facing by introducing a summer welfare bonus, expanded access to fuel allowance and price caps to protect people from the pressures they are feeling every day?

I would argue we have already introduced an emergency budget. Some €1 billion worth of budget measures kicked in only in January. Since then, we have approved a further €1.4 billion in additional emergency measures after the budget, including the reduction in VAT, the reduction in excise on petrol and diesel, the €200 discount on electricity bills for every household and the additional €100 in fuel allowance. As I mentioned earlier, while I am not ruling out further interim measures, we do not plan any at the moment. We are working towards a significant package in the budget, which is now just over three months away.

The Deputy is right that other countries have imposed price caps but they do not work very well. For example, the UK has had to keep on increasing the price caps. Why is that? We do not control the price of oil or gas. It comes in from other parts of the world. The amount that the retailer charges can be capped but if the retailer cannot buy the petrol or diesel at that level, there will be no supply at all.

What governments that introduced price caps have had to do is keep increasing them and that does not work for people.

I would argue that the measures the Government has introduced to date are not working. Indeed, the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, report published today is sending a clear signal to the Government that the measures it has brought in so far are not working. The ESRI has recommended a number of targeted measures which it believes is the way out of this crisis. One is an emergency Christmas-bonus-style double welfare payment and another is an expansion of the fuel allowance to include those in receipt of the working family payment. Will the Tánaiste commit to looking at those two measures and to bringing them in before October? This crisis is really going to hit people in the coming months and waiting until January to bring in measures is not going to be good enough for people.

As the Deputy mentioned, the ESRI recommends a number of measures in its report. I was interested to hear spokespeople for the ESRI talk in interviews about discounts on energy bills - one of the things we have done - as another option and one that benefits lower income households more than higher income households, proportionately. They also talked about increasing income tax credits, which is a form of income tax cut and they also talked about reducing PRSI. There are lots of options on the table and lots of ways that we can help people with the rising cost of living but we are working towards a budget package at the moment.

October is too late.