Tá sé scannalach go bhfuair an Rialtas anailís óna chuid oifigigh féin a léirigh go raibh sochair fuinnimh ag teastáil go géar ach mar sin féin chuir sé deireadh leis sa bhuiséad. Bhí an chomhairle seo ina lámha. Bhí a fhios ag an Rialtas go raibh billí leictreachais ag dul suas agus suas, ach chuir sé deireadh go fóill leis an t-aon phíosa chuidithe a bhí daoine ag brath air. We said the Government's decision to cancel energy credits was a terrible call and that the removal of this vital support would leave working households under huge pressure and leave them struggling to pay their electricity bills in the face of relentless price hikes this winter. This morning, it was revealed that the Government pushed forward with the withdrawal of energy credits despite stark advice from its own officials. Documents obtained through freedom of information by Lynn Boylan MEP revealed three damning findings from the internal analysis conducted by the Department of Climate, Energy and Environment ahead of the budget. First, the case for energy credits was stronger this year than last year. The Government knew that annual bills were set to be higher in October 2025 than they were in October 2024. Second, households would have to find an extra €321 to cover their energy bills this winter in the absence of energy credits and, third, an energy scheme for struggling households was shelved and not included in the budget.

It is clear from this analysis that energy credits were badly needed this year. The Government had this advice to hand. It knew energy bills were going up and up and yet it still cancelled the one bit of help that people really relied on to pay off these rip-off bills. This is scandalous and people are bearing the brunt of this. It is clear by the day that the Government ditched energy credits because the election is over and it feels it can break its promises without any consequences.

Working households are paying a heavy price for the Government's cynical choice. It is much colder now. People are finding it harder to light and heat their homes and more than 500,000 households cannot pay their energy bills. The Government's decision to cancel energy credits means that even more families are going to be pushed over that line. The truth is that working people were not a priority in the budget. It was a budget of €9.4 billion that left them worse off and did not even include a cost-of-living package. The CSO just reported on Monday that prices continue to rise and are rising faster now than in the past two years. People are under huge pressure in the lead-up to Christmas. They are watching every single euro and they are forced to make really tough choices.

I spoke to a mother on Monday. She and her husband are working. She talking to me about her three kids. They sat down to write their Christmas list last week. Even though they were not asking for much, she had to convince each and every one of them to drop something off the list. She had to sit them down and explain to those children that even Santa is feeling the cost-of-living crisis this year. Does the Taoiseach in any way understand the pressure that ordinary families the length and breadth of this State are under this Christmas? People see no end in sight. They see a Government that is closed off to their hardship. It cannot go on. The Government needs to act to end the rip-off, to get costs under control and to make life affordable. Its inaction does not cut it and its bluff and spin has run out of road.

This morning the question I, and I am sure many families, are asking is: why the Government cancelled energy credits despite the analysis from its own officials which showed how badly they were needed this year? Will it finally see sense and reinstate those credits to help people through these winter months?

Ní aontaím leis an Teachta in aon chor. Is léir gur chuireamar an-chuid áiseanna ar fáil sa cháinaisnéis, go háirithe do na daoine bochta agus do na daoine ar ioncam íseal. Rinneamar an-chuid infheistíochta in infreastruchtúr na tíre agus mar aon leis sin chuireamar an-chuid isteach do dhaoine le riachtanais speisialta agus do dhaoine a bhfuil ioncam íseal acu. Tackling energy and affordability is a priority of Government. People are under pressure. Up to €3.3 billion had been allocated through energy credits. That did not have any impact in terms of reducing the permanent cost of energy. Of course, the Department of Finance, the Department of public expenditure or, indeed, the Department of Social Protection would not have supported the universality of energy credits on this occasion. The Deputy talks about one group of officials in the Department of energy who had views but there is the broader Government there. We also took the view that we wanted to concentrate and prioritise our resources on those on the lowest incomes and those who would be most impacted by the energy price increases. Therefore, we increased the fuel allowance and we also increased the number of people who would be entitled to the fuel allowance, particularly those on working family payments. Some 26% of households are now entitled to the fuel allowance and that is a help to people facing energy costs. There has been huge investment in terms of the retrofitting programme and the warmer homes scheme, which now has hundreds of thousands of people benefiting from that. There are also the microgeneration supports. About 150,000 people have benefited from the supports we have given for microgeneration.

We prioritised the issue of child poverty. We provided an additional €8 per week for children under 12, bringing that weekly payment to €58 and an additional €16 per week for children aged 12 or over, bringing that weekly child support payment to €78. These are unprecedented increases. We deliberately targeted those households to get far more additionality. Then we invested very significantly in infrastructure.

When I look at the Central Bank and how it analyses inflationary pressures and so on, the Sinn Féin budget would have added - Sinn Féin wanted billions and billions of more spending - 2.5% to the rate of inflation and to the cost of living. That is what its proposals would have done. That would have actually disadvantaged people even more. We have to get the balance right here. It is not fiscally sustainable to have a once-off package every single year for the next number of years. It is just not sustainable.

Just at election times.

Last week, various bodies were saying Government was spending far too much as it is. This year's budget is about €117 billion, €98 billion plus in capital and so forth, and then we have increased current expenditure over the past three years by 15%. We are spending very significant sums of money. We are targeting it in terms of infrastructure, low income families and making sure that those in the lowest deciles of income are protected, insofar as we possible can. We are then dealing with the fuel allowance and so on. Then there is the VAT, of course. We have extended the reduction on VAT to 9% out to 2030, which will save households up to about €100 per year in addition to the tax disregard for households involved in energy microgeneration and so forth.

The Taoiseach's own officials warned him. They said that without Government support, customers will pay more this winter for electricity than at any time during the energy crisis. They said that before price increases, arrears had increased to record levels. We know this and the Taoiseach knew this. It is in black and white in what his officials told him. They make clear and lay out in graphs that families will have to find an extra €321 this winter compared with last winter to pay their energy bills. The Government had all this information, yet still decided to abandon workers and families by withdrawing these energy credits. It did that at a time when the Taoiseach knew and his officials told him energy company after energy company had decided to increase their prices in these months. Over 1 million families are going to see price increases. His officials warned him and he chose to ignore them and abandoned workers.

I will ask the Taoiseach again. Why did he cancel the energy credits despite the warnings from his own officials? Why did he ignore the fact that arrears had reached record levels and that families would have to find €321 and pay higher energy prices than ever before during the energy crisis? Why did he choose to ignore all of that and abandon these workers at this time?

Because we believe in targeting resources as opposed to universality. Sinn Féin must be the only left-wing party in Europe and across the world-----

You did not believe it at election time last year.

Deputy, it is not your question.

-----that does not believe in targeting resources.

You have changed your tune since the election.

The Government bought the votes.

We believe in targeting resources.

At developers.

Please, one voice.

There is a €2 billion social protection package, which is about protecting pensioners, families with children and-----

Institutional investors

-----particularly, people on low incomes. That is the choice we made, and also to improve our infrastructure.

And big developers.

We do have to deal in a more systemic way with the high cost of energy. There are significant factors in Ireland that lead to the high cost of energy. That is well known and well documented. The bottom line is that we have had a very significant budget in terms of expenditure. Deputy Doherty wants to add another €2 billion to it for a short-term intervention which would apply to very wealthy people. Millionaires would benefit from his proposal.

You are giving it to the speculators. Three quarters of a billion.

Deputy, please. This is not musical chairs; it is Leaders' Questions. Do not try to talk over me.

Three quarters of a billion.

When I met with Department of Social Protection officials and the Minister-----

Thank you, Taoiseach.

-----they were very clear about targeted measures, particularly in terms of the most vulnerable children in the country.

Time is up.

Deputy Doherty just wants to ignore all of that.

Thank you, Taoiseach, time is up. Deputy Bacik.

Child poverty has increased every year under Fianna Fáil .

Five thousand homeless children.