I have some great friends with me today. I have been involved in Greybridge classic club for the past 15 years. The youngest member, Louise Crowley, is in the Gallery and she is the Limerick IFA chairperson - the youngest chairperson in the organisation. She has been a member of the club since it started and is also its secretary. The Macra na Feirme president and the outgoing president, Elaine Houlihan, are here as well.

These people have been working around the area raising money for charities and people in need. Cliona's Foundation is one of the main beneficiaries of the Greybridge classic club. A total of €300,000 has been raised since its beginnings. We have a Christmas light run on 30 December in Limerick to raise money for vulnerable people, including Cliona's Foundation and Milford hospice. No matter who we ask when we go around the county, and all vintage clubs across the country are doing it, even if people do not have a few bob themselves, they come up with it and support people who are vulnerable.

We are having a presidential election. I will not mention any names but we have a candidate who has withdrawn from the race. This question is coming from members of the Taoiseach's party who have asked me this so I need to ask him. Is it correct that if that candidate who has withdrawn gets 12.5% of the vote, the Government will be reimbursed for the money it has spent to date and the taxpayers of this country will end up having to pay for that? It will come out of the public purse, which is raised by taxpayers. If he reaches a certain percentage, even though he is not running for the presidency, will the taxpayers of Ireland pay for the mistake of running him in the first place during a cost-of-living crisis and after a budget that gave nothing back to working people but increased their taxes? This is the question the members of the Taoiseach's party are asking. They want to know whether it will be refunded for putting up a ghost candidate during a cost-of-living crisis.

I welcome all those who have come from Limerick and from the Greybridge vintage club. I mention vintage clubs all over the country, which do a lot of charity. We all have experienced that in summer festivals or whatever. They bring a bit of excitement, colour and novelty to events and, in the process, raise significant funding. We thank them for that and the work they do. I will not be able to join the run in Limerick closer to Christmas but I will do a swim on New Year's Day.

I will supply his tractor.

That is my commitment. I am not going to dive into the ocean with a tractor. It is wonderful and reflects the very strong value of community in the country. I acknowledge that.

In the context of the cost-of-living crisis, the Government has taken a lot of measures that I outlined in response to an earlier question, particularly in terms of supporting families and increasing the child support payment by €16 for a child over 12 and €8 for a child under 12; extending the fuel allowance to the working family payment, which now means that about 26% of families are covered by the fuel allowance; continuing with the free books scheme, which brings about huge savings for families; and the hot school meals, which have been very effective for many families. We have also kept VAT on electricity and gas prices at 9%, so we have done a lot in respect of the cost of living but on this occasion, we have targeted it. We have provided schools with the highest ever capitation grant, which is €50 per pupil for primary and €20 per pupil for post-primary. This will help schools to meet the cost of living-----

What about the presidency?

I am coming to it. The Deputy did mention the cost of living. Just as he dealt with the question, I will reply to him in like fashion. What we did in the budget in raising public expenditure was to invest in services that matter to people, so we prioritised disability, child poverty and infrastructure for more roads, rail, buses, schools and healthcare facilities across the board. That matters to people.

In fairness to the Deputy, he left Fianna Fáil a long time ago and is now an Independent. His concern for our members is touching but I respectfully suggest that we will deal with that within our party in terms of the issues. The law is the law in respect of deposits and returns. The people will decide. I know we cannot comment on the presidency.

The Taoiseach is running out of time and he cannot comment.

I would just make the point-----

The Taoiseach can come back in again.

I thank the Taoiseach for his vague answer. The bottom line is the taxpayer will pay regardless. The vintage clubs are very important to me for one reason along with the men's sheds and women's sheds. The vintage clubs look after our ancestors and our past and use it for the present to raise funds. The Taoiseach is right. I did leave Fianna Fáil a good number of years ago and am now a member of Independent Ireland, a political party for the people of Ireland. It gives me a voice which I did not have within the Fianna Fáil Party and I will keep using that voice. I want a clear answer to my question. Will the taxpayers of Ireland have to pay for a candidate who is not running? With the laws that are in place, will the taxpayers pay?

I have just answered it - with the laws that are in place. The law is the law.

So the taxpayer-----

That is it. I admire the Deputy's commitment to vintage clubs, men's sheds and women's sheds. I have had a spin in Jack Lynch's car myself. We have enjoyed all of that. The juxtaposition of vintage clubs, men's sheds and women's sheds with the presidency and the rules that apply perplexes me-----

It is to do with charity and raising funding.

-----but it is a very novel way to come around the subject matter. The law is the law. People are entitled to vote in whatever way they wish and if that means deposits or whatever are returned, so be it. I do not think people vote on that basis.

It is not normal for me to comment but I too would like to endorse vintage clubs. I attended a charity vintage run on Sunday where there were 638 vehicles. That is a huge offering in respect of a charitable contribution to any community, so well done, particularly to the clubs in Wexford.