Can I make a point of order? My party leader has written to the Ceann Comhairle and the leaders of the Government parties. We tried to introduce an urgent motion to condemn the attack on the flotilla. As the Minister knows, there are 20 Irish citizens on board the flotilla trying to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza. They are in international waters. It includes one of our colleagues, Senator Chris Andrews, whose boat has been fired upon on four occasions by Israeli drones. This is so urgent that the Italian and Spanish navies have deployed part of their fleets to support and defend Irish citizens.

We in this House have been refused and blocked from bringing a motion of condemnation before the House today. This cannot be business as usual. I ask the Leas-Cheann Comhairle to allow for the urgency of this issue. I cannot see any issue that could be more urgent. By the time we reconvene next week, God knows what could have happened to those boats. I know there is support. I heard the comments yesterday from the Minister, and they were welcome, but there should be a motion here today. We should be allowed to deal with this issue and pass a resolution. I am asking that this be facilitated today.

The only thing I can do is bring it to the attention of the Ceann Comhairle immediately after the session. I know the Deputy said he has written. It is now a matter for the Ceann Comhairle. That is about as much as can be done.

I appreciate that. What I would welcome in the Government’s response is an indication that it would be happy for such a resolution to come before us. We will work on the wording of the resolution with the Government. This should not go unpassed. We should not go into recess this evening when there are citizens in international waters being attacked by Israel through drones, including one of our own colleagues, Senator Chris Andrews. I ask the Government to say it is supportive of that. As I said, I welcomed the words yesterday from the Minister.

That was a point of order. I now move to the issue that I wish to raise today. Tá an Rialtas seo tar éis cead a gcinn a thabhairt dóibh siúd atá ag breith buntáiste ar dhaoine arís is arís eile. Níl a dhath déanta ag an Rialtas chun smacht a chur orthu ná chun stop a chur lena gcuid praghsanna atá ag ardú agus ag ardú arís eile. Má tá muid leis an fhírinne a insint, ní raibh na creidmheasanna fuinnimh riamh mar réiteach ná deireadh na bhfadhbanna. Bhíodar in ainm tuilleadh ama a thabhairt don Rialtas chun smacht a fháil ar an ghéarchéim seo, ach níl a dhath déanta. Arís is arís eile, tá moltaí curtha chun tosaigh againn ach déanann an Rialtas neamhaird orthu.

It is open season for price gouging and profiteering. Insurance companies, banks, large supermarkets and energy companies are making obscene profits on the backs of ordinary workers, all with the approval of the Government. Insurance companies are making two or three times more profits here than elsewhere. Bailed-out banks are making billions and paying no tax. We have the highest electricity prices in Europe yet, still, energy companies come forward and are hitting households with double-digit hikes in their bills in the coming weeks.

Last week, the Minister's party leader stood where the Minister is today and said: “I want people at home to know that we hear them on the cost of energy and know about the cost of living.” He said that the Government would take action. The very next day, SSE Airtricity became the latest to announce massive hikes in its electricity prices - over 10% - on the foot of four other companies doing the same. These companies know they have nothing to fear from Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil because they have let them rip people off again and again. They have done absolutely nothing to rein in the companies and nothing to stop them hiking their prices up and up.

Let me be clear. Energy credits were never the full answer. They were supposed to buy the Government time. They were supposed to allow it time to get a handle on the crisis but the Government did not do anything. Arís is arís eile, we gave the Government solutions, including powers for the energy regulator to hold energy companies to account, oversight of hedging practices to protect against price gouging, regulation of standing charges, making the PSO levy and network charges fair, and stopping electricity companies profiteering from expensive gas. These could all have cut bills and taken the pressure off ordinary working people but, instead, the Government chose to do nothing.

Instead of ending the rip-off and getting prices under control, the Government is actually making things worse. Landlords are allowed to increase rents, there are carbon tax increases after carbon tax increases, and student fees and local property taxes are going up as a result of Government decisions. This has all been pushed on people at the same time that they are getting hit by double-digit increases in their energy bills. People feel like they are drowning in the cost of living crisis.

We have heard Minister after Minister this week and last tell us what they have done about this measure and that measure, and I am sure the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, will get to his feet and list off all of them again. I am not taking anything away from those measures. I am telling the Minister about the effect. There are more people today, as we speak, behind on their bills than ever before. That is the definition of things getting worse. Does the Minister accept there are more people today who cannot pay their electricity and gas bills than ever before? Will he do the right thing and put energy credits back on the table for this year's budget? Will he use that time to make the reforms that Sinn Féin has repeatedly called on him to make to ensure we end this rip-off on electricity prices and get costs under control?

In the spirit of Deputy Doherty having raised an important issue on a point of order, I will respond to what he has said and will then take time to respond to his additional question.

I agree with him that what is happening with regard to the flotilla is a very serious matter. The Taoiseach and Tánaiste are currently in New York, concluding their work at the United Nations annual assembly. They have raised that matter within the European Union and with other Heads of Government. I have been informed that the Tánaiste has raised this specific matter with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-President Kallas, given the urgency of what is now taking place. We are well aware of the safety risk that is posed to all in the flotilla. I understand there are a number of Oireachtas Members involved in this as well. They deserve the protection of international law and they deserve safety.

I have not seen the wording of the motion, or maybe Deputy Doherty is still developing it at the moment. Therefore, I am not in a position to be able to give a commitment to him now. However, I am in a position to assure the Deputy that when he makes the point that this is a serious issue, we agree, and the Government is treating it as such. All deserve the respect of international law. There are citizens from many countries, including some public representatives, who are trying to play their part in offering direct support to the people of Gaza. That deserves to be recognised in the protection that they get. I am sure Deputy Doherty will engage with the Ceann Comhairle on the motion and I know the Government will too.

In relation to the substantive issue that Deputy Doherty raised on the cost of living, let me open by acknowledging the challenge that it is for many, and I absolutely accept that. For households and businesses, we have seen changes happen over the last number of years with the cost of living. We are seeing indications that the rate of price increases has considerably slowed down. However, that is not across our entire economy and we see some parts of the economy where the rate of price increase continues to be considerable. I also know that the point that the rate of price increase is slowing down can be of cold comfort to those who have seen prices go up by so much over the last number of years.

I know Deputy Doherty has already dismissed what I am about to do as reading out a list, but it is important to emphasise the degree of support that is already available. These measures were brought forward in anticipation of the cost of living continuing to be a challenge across this year. It is these kinds of measures that the Government will aim to build upon when the Minister, Deputy Chambers, and I present budget 2026 on Tuesday week.

If we look at the measures that are being implemented across this year alone, we see the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance, a measure that has given needed support to 221,000 children. Very recently, we saw the free schoolbook initiative being rolled out to every child in primary and secondary school. We see all the efforts that are made every year to reduce school transport fees. We see the progress that has been made in recent years with the availability of free GP care, which is now available for all children up to and including the age of eight.

We have seen the work that has happened with the reduction in the electricity PSO levy. We have seen the significant expansion of the fuel allowance and carer's allowance. In June this year, 138,000 carers benefited, deservedly, from the carer's support grant. This is in addition to other measures that have been built on year by year like free public transport for children and the work that has happened in relation to childcare costs. The public sector pay deal which was implemented again on 1 August mirrors the wage growth that we are seeing across our economy and is playing a role in assisting with the cost of living at a time when prices are going up.

On the particular issue that Deputy Doherty raised in relation to the cost of energy, the Government is very much aware of that. Much, though not all of it, is driven by where we are located and by the mix of energy that is used within our economy and country. We are aware of the impact this is having on our society and our competitiveness. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is completing work in this area looking at the structural changes that we may be able to introduce over time that can play a role.

In the answer that I have offered to the House today I have outlined the measures that are currently being implemented and rolled out that aim to make a difference for those for whom the cost of living is such a challenge. This is what is happening. What myself and my colleagues in government are working on now is determining the further measures we can bring forward that will be affordable and sustainable and will make a difference. A previous Sinn Féin policy in relation to this was the introduction of an energy price cap. Deputy Doherty might use this as an opportunity to explain whether that is still Sinn Féin policy.