The cost of living is putting enormous pressure on households. A report by Barnardos published this morning highlights the sharp impact on families and children. Nearly half of parents say they or their children have gone without or cut back on the basics over the past six months. This includes food, clothes, medicine, electricity and heat. Some 47% of parents say they are forced to cut back on social activities for their kids. The vast majority of those surveyed say they worry about not being able to provide the daily essentials for their children. These are the stories I hear from families as I canvass around the country. Speaking on radio this morning, Barnardos CEO Suzanne Connolly captured the real stress and worry for parents, saying:

Can you imagine what it is like living in a household where you are having to make those type of choices about whether to have the heating on or to have variety in your diet in terms of food? Can you imagine what it is like for parents having to say to children, 'We cannot do what your friends are doing ... we cannot afford it'?

That is the reality for so many workers and families. For many of them, the cost of living has never been higher and getting by has never been more difficult than under this Government. People are paying hand over fist for sky-high energy bills, housing costs, food, insurance - everything - while big, super-rich companies make record profits and the Government stands idly by, allowing rip-offs to happen. People who work very hard to provide for their families are being squeezed every single day.

Having failed to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, the Taoiseach is now talking a big game nine days out from an election. He sat at the Cabinet table as the Government chose not to introduce permanent supports for struggling families, which would have made a long-term difference. He was there as the Government chose not to increase the core rate of child benefit or the qualified child payments to the levels needed. Last month, the Government chose to increase the price of petrol and diesel and it has proposed to do so twice more once these elections have passed. Despite the Taoiseach's stated concern and instead of making every effort to reduce costs for households, he proposes to increase them. He will forgive many for not believing his big talk on the eve of an election.

Tá géarchéim an chostais maireachtála fós ag cur brú ollmhór ar theaghlaigh. Tá an Taoiseach ag caint ar chluiche mór naoi lá amuigh ón toghchán. Ní mór anois aige ach fáil réidh leis na hardaithe peitril agus díosail atá pleanáilte.

If the Taoiseach is genuinely concerned about struggling families, why would he make them struggle more? He must know that raising the cost of petrol and diesel again and again will hurt these families, so he should not do it. If he is serious about tackling the cost of living, he should start by scrapping plans to hike the price of petrol and diesel in August and October.

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the important issues highlighted by the Barnardos survey published this morning. I am very grateful to Barnardos for the work it does and the survey it produced. I thank its dedicated staff and volunteers. Objectively, Ireland is making progress when it comes to child poverty. The consistent poverty rate for children is now lower than it has been at any other time since measurements began in 2004. Similarly, the at-risk-of-poverty rate for children is now lower than at any other time since we started measuring it in 2004. The data also shows the positive impact on child poverty rates of the cost-of-living measures taken by the previous Government. The Barnardos report today has 12 indicators. Of those 12 on page 2 of its statement issued this morning, eight have shown significant progress over the course of the past year. That is why I said this week at the national economic dialogue that cost-of-living supports must also be a focus of the next budget.

It is also why we held the first child poverty and well-being summit in Dublin Castle last week. It had more than 300 participants, including Barnardos, to ask what next do we do in Ireland.

We do not want any child in Ireland to be hungry. We do not want any family in Ireland to struggle. How do we work together on both universal supports and more targeted measures? I must say to the Deputy that by any fair analysis, we have taken a number of measures that have already made a positive difference to families, whether that is reducing the cost of childcare, increasing parents' leave and benefit, providing free schoolbooks to all children in primary school or providing an expansion of the hot school meals programme and making sure we have hot school meals for all primary school children in 2025. Moreover, we have provided access to free GP care and the Government took a really important initiative last week called Equal Start. The Children's Rights Alliance called this initiative one of the most important measures you could take if you were serious about tackling child poverty. This is a new Government-funded model to ensure there are extra supports for disadvantaged children in early learning and childcare. There is of course much more that we want to do, both on the universal side and the targeted side.

The Deputy specifically mentioned the fuel issue. Here is where I think there are a number of inconsistencies in her approach. First, she travels the globe, most recently to Massachusetts, talking to the next generation about the importance of climate change. Yet, she comes in here and - I think many of the Opposition would agree with me on this - refuses to take every single opportunity she has to show leadership on climate. She opposes every single measure put forward, while telling young people across the globe that she wants to address the climate emergency. Perhaps more hypocritical is her position on petrol and diesel. She is misleading people again. To the men and women at home, driving to and from work, collecting children from school later today, I say that while the Government keeps future rises under review, including the August one, the Sinn Féin alternative budget proposed restoring all of the carbon tax by April. Stop trying to cod people. The people are not thick. They can see through this single gear Sinn Féin has, which is to sow outrage, shout and roar, go rah rah rah and stick a video up on Twitter. When push came to shove, at decision point, and Sinn Féin had to present its alternative budget to this House, it proposed to extend the reduced rate of excise duty for petrol and diesel to April, not August.

The report makes absolutely clear that half of households, both parents and children, struggle, go without and worry.

Yes, and let us talk about it.

That is the upshot of the Barnardos report. It is an echo of Social Justice Ireland, which equally recorded those stresses and strains. Insulting me does not take from that reality. I have put to the Taoiseach that he has made and stated his intention that he wishes to tackle the cost of living. He has made quite a production around this. That is good and he should do that. I am saying that hiking diesel and petrol prices in August and then again in October will not achieve that aim. On the contrary it will make a difficult situation far more difficult, particularly for families that live in rural and isolated communities, and for other families who must rely on their car for all sorts of reasons. Why would he do this? I am asking him to put his money where his mouth is. If he believes he will tackle the cost of living, he should start by scrapping the plan and being explicit that there will be no hike in diesel and petrol costs in August or October. It is that simple.

The Deputy must not be a sensitive soul. When I talk about holding her to account for what she said, it is not insulting. I would never insult her. I have great respect for her as a person, but this is what she said about the budget. That is what she said and I can only judge her on the figures she produces and so can the Irish people. I want to motorists to know that, as a Government, we keep this under review and have great form in this regard. Reversals on reductions that were due to come into place as far back as August 2022 have been rolled over.

So, he is not doing it.

Please. The Taoiseach, without interruption.

We are keeping it under review and will make those decisions and continue to keep it under review. However, I am glad the Deputy has also referenced the issue of child poverty today. Child poverty is a really important issue, and we need to do more, but let us look at our record versus Sinn Féin's. In the last budget we extended child benefit, benefiting 60,000 more children. Sinn Féin did not wish to benefit one extra.

Not true.

We put €45 million more into hot school meals, they put a paltry €15 million in. We increased the domiciliary care allowance. Sinn Féin did not think those parents deserved any more.

We did.

We provided a lump sum payment for families on qualified child payment. Sinn Féin did not.

I can feel another fact check coming on.

We increased the income threshold for working families, and Sinn Féin did not do that either. In Northern Ireland, where Sinn Féin is now leading the government longer than I am leading this one, it does not yet have a strategy to tackle child poverty. The Deputy can read what the Northern Ireland Audit Office has said.

Thank you, Taoiseach, time is up.

When is the Sinn Féin First Minister going to deliver a child poverty strategy in Northern Ireland?

On behalf of the Labour Party, I call Deputy Ó Ríordáin.