Earlier I asked what the Government would do to protect people from the skyrocketing cost of energy and what it intends to do to address both the cost-of-living crisis and the energy crisis, and I suggested that radical and creative measures are needed. We in the Labour Party have proposed a measure that would have the dual effect of helping households struggling with bills and helping us to reach our very much-needed climate targets, and that is Labour's climate ticket. Our proposal is that the Government would introduce in the forthcoming budget a ticket for unlimited public transport journeys around Ireland for everyone for €9 per month. If the Government were to do this, even on a three-month trial basis to the end of the year, it would cost about €150 million. We believe it would have a really positive impact on so many households. We have seen it done in Germany. It was introduced there by the centre-left government to great effect in terms of addressing household bills and reducing climate emissions, encouraging more people onto public transport and out of cars. Will the Government help people in Ireland get out of their cars and get their bills out of the red by introducing a climate ticket?

As the Deputy knows, we cut public transport fares last year by 20% and we introduced a 50% cut in fares for young people. Prior to this September we decided to waive school transport fees for the public, which caused difficulties because more people applied for places than ever before, but it meant getting more people out of cars and onto public transport. The Government is not disagreeing with the principle of what Deputy Bacik is suggesting but we have to be mindful of the practicalities. In respect of the forthcoming budget and the core package of about €5.7 billion, we have to look at a variety of measures in respect of expenditure. The sum of €150 million in one year is a sizeable allocation to just one measure. We will be increasing public expenditure but will do so across a whole range of services. We have to focus on childcare, education and a variety of other areas.