I welcome to the Visitors Gallery the group of women, including Patricia Walsh, from Rock Street, Tralee, which I am told is the street of champions. They are very welcome to Teach Laighean inniu. Cuirim fáilte rompu.

Ar phríomhleathanach an Irish Daily Mail inniu, tuairiscítear bhfuil sé ráite ag an Tánaiste go gcuirfidh sé airgead ar ais i bpócaí na ndaoine. Gheall an Tánaiste roimhe seo go mbeadh laghdú ar cháin ioncaim do ghnáthoibrithe. Bhris sé an gealltanas sin. Gheall sé go mbeadh laghdú ar chostais fuinnimh, ach tá na costais sin níos airde ná mar a bhí riamh. Tharraing sé siar na creidmheasa fuinnimh a bhí daoine ag brath orthu. Bhris sé an gealltanas sin. Gheall sé go mbeadh plean aige taobh istigh de 100 lá a chinnteodh go mbeadh costaisí cúraim leanaí ar €200 sa mhí. Arís, bhris sé an gealltanas sin. Gheall sé sa toghchan go n-ísleodh sé táillí triú leibhéil do mhic léinn. Bhris sé an gealltanas sin agus chuir sé in airde iad. Níl daoine bómánta; déanfaidh siad breithiúnas ar an Rialtas bunaithe ar na gealltanais atá déanta aige agus ar cé chomh rialta is atá na gealltanais sin briste aige.

On the front page of the Irish Daily Mail this morning, the Tánaiste is quoted as having said he will put money back into people’s pockets. He even describes himself as “Sensible Simon” in his new role in the Department of Finance. However, for workers, families, carers and students listening today, that claim collapses when measured against the promises the Government has made and broken. Let us take these promises one by one. The Government promised to cut income tax for ordinary workers but instead produced a budget that delivered huge tax breaks for developers and wealthy executives, while PAYE workers were left behind. The Tánaiste promised that energy bills would go down under Fine Gael. People have never paid higher energy bills and the Government withdrew the energy credits they depended on. The Government promised to abolish student fees but instead hiked them by €500 compared with what parents were paying last year. The Government promised that within 100 days it would produce a plan to reduce childcare fees to €200 per month. The 100 days are long gone and there is still no plan and no reduction in childcare fees in the budget the Government introduced. It promised to protect households from fuel price shocks but it is now driving up the prices of petrol and diesel through further carbon tax hikes. It promised it would increase the rent tax credit, yet the budget failed to do so, while landlords received tax breaks and rent pressures continue to spiral out of control.

These are not minor oversights; they were clear, repeated promises of the Government and each and every one of them is broken. The Government has done the exact opposite of what it promised. This is the real issue. People are not stupid. They are judging the Government on the promises it made and how consistently they have been broken. At the same time as breaking promises to workers and families, the budget found millions in taxpayers’ money for banks and developers. To be absolutely clear, this is not putting money into people’s pockets; it is taking money out of their pockets.

Hear, hear.

Does the Tánaiste accept that his €9.4 billion budget has left ordinary workers and families worse off? Does he accept that what he is promising in the Irish Daily Mail today is directly contradicted by his own litany and record of broken promises? Will he now commit to a real cost-of-living reset, including the immediate restoration of the energy credits, €10 a day childcare, a ban on rent increases, meaningful rent relief, the scrapping of further carbon tax hikes on petrol, diesel and home heating oil, the abolition of the universal social charge on the first €40,000 of income, and ending the means test for carers and, maybe, the sweetheart deals for banks, developers and vulture funds?

After everything that has happened, why should anybody take the Tánaiste seriously when the promises he made before the general election have been broken one after the other and he has done the opposite of what he promised?

Of course, Deputy Doherty chose not to start today, in his question about our economy and the budget, with the economic figures that have been published in the past hour, which show that, thanks to sensible and careful management, we have an economy that is performing well. We see modified domestic demand, which is pretty much a good proxy for domestic economic activity, growing by 5% annually for the third year. We see consumer spending remaining good, with record solid growth of 2.5%. We see investment in building and construction contributing positively to growth in the third quarter, and we see activity in the sector expanding by close to 9% annually. That is what we want to see at a time when we want to build more homes and infrastructure. We see employment growth as well and an economy doing well in a very challenging environment.

It is against this backdrop that we will continue to pursue sensible economic policies. It is not that long ago since we had high unemployment in this country and people felt they could not get a job. It is not that long ago since we had ghost estates in this country. It is not that long ago since we had to seek help from others to keep the economy running. That is why we will continue to run budget surpluses. It is why we will continue to put money into funds to protect the economy from any shocks, despite Deputy Doherty objecting to the legislation to establish those funds. It is why we will continue to be prudent and sensible in the time ahead.

The Deputy continually comes to this House and does two things. First, he suggests that everything said during an election campaign and stated in a programme for Government must be implemented immediately. The people of Ireland are not stupid.

The Deputy’s cacophony of assistance here is great. What was implied is obviously not reflective of how a programme for Government works. To the people at home, I say we have a programme for Government that commits to what we are going to do over five years. It is a published document, available on gov.ie. We have only delivered budget one of five. The Deputy will be pleased to know there will be another four. He will be 19 years delivering his ripostes to our budgets by the end of this Dáil term. We will deliver four more budgets. In the most recent budget, which the Deputy again fails to acknowledge, we have already taken a number of measures to assist people with the cost of living, and we have tried to target those most in need, which I believed the Deputy might support.

For example, we introduced the largest ever increase in the child support payment, under the Minister, Deputy Calleary. It is a targeted measure to help low-income families and children most in need. We have extended the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance to preschool children, helping those children most in need and their parents with the cost of going to preschool. We have increased the domiciliary care allowance. We have expanded eligibility for student grants under the Minister, Deputy Lawless, meaning more families are benefiting. We have continued with the roll-out of free schoolbooks and free hot meals. All these measures assist families with the cost of living in the here and now. We have expanded the working family payment so more families can qualify. We have increased the State pension. As we speak today, people right across the country are seeing the benefit of the Christmas bonus. This initiative, which costs around €370 million from the budget, is to assist pensioners, carers, people with a disability, those on low incomes and vulnerable people. We will see further expansions to the fuel allowance. We have reduced the VAT rate applying to energy costs to 9%, permanently, or certainly for many years to come. These are practical measures.

The Minister for children will update the Government this month on an action plan on childcare. This week, as Deputy Doherty will be glad to know because he is very worried about this, as he should be because it is a big issue, the Minister announced a capital plan that will see a very significant level of funding for State-led childcare facilities. I am sure the Deputy welcomes this. It is a welcome development. We will commit, with Deputy Doherty and everyone in this House, to delivering during the lifetime of the Government the kind of childcare system on which I believe there is almost a consensus. Childcare is not just a social issue but is now a real economic one as well.

The Deputy should please not continue to come into this House and misrepresent what the Government is doing. The Government has taken action to stimulate housing supply. It has taken action through the budget to help in respect of jobs in rural and regional Ireland, in towns and villages including in County Donegal in the hospitality sector. We have also taken measures to help people with the cost of living, starting with those most in need. The Deputy can be assured we will fulfil the remaining programme for Government commitments over the next four budgets.

Maybe the Tánaiste should read his own ESRI research.

It is not mine.

I am referring to the Government’s own economic research body. What does it say about the budget? It states there will be income losses next year across the board. It states these will be even higher for those on lower incomes, affecting their disposable income. It states this will lead inevitably to reductions in household living standards in 2026. That is what the Tánaiste has been able to achieve with a €9.4 billion budget. This is because he prioritises his buddies. He has left behind and abandoned ordinary people. I put to him, to Sensible Simon-----

Angry Pearse.

How did he break all these promises? He should answer the question. He made pledges to people over and over again. He is Tánaiste and he wants to be Taoiseach in a couple of years. He promises tax cuts every year to workers.

There are no tax cuts in this budget, as he pointed out. He said energy would be cheaper under Fine Gael. People have never paid more. The Government knew that and withdrew the energy credit. People now have to get €321 extra. The Tánaiste promised cuts in third level fees. People are paying €500 more than they paid last year. The Tánaiste promised no shocks in fuel prices. The Government is pushing up fuel prices with carbon taxes. The Tánaiste promised things over and over again and broke them one after another. The question is simple. Why should anybody take the Tánaiste seriously in relation to his latest promise that he will put money back into people's pockets? The ESRI and everybody else knows that what the Tánaiste has done is taken money out of their pockets and left them worse off in a €9.4 billion budget. How the hell could he do that? It is unbelievable in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, Simon.

You can debate the use of the word "sensible", Pearse, but one thing is for sure, no one would ever call you "Prudent Pearse". Had we followed the economic plans of Deputy Doherty's party, God knows where we would be. He has some cheek, coming into this House and raising the issue of college fees, because I am sitting beside a Minister for higher education who has permanently reduced fees and will continue to do so in the time ahead.

Deputy Doherty took to social media yesterday. He will probably recognise the First Minister and leader of Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland, Michelle O'Neill, in the picture I am holding up.

College fees are up.

Yesterday, on its social media account, Sinn Féin heralded the fact that it had managed to freeze fees at £4,855-----

Are fees up or down?

-----and put this up on its social media as though it was good news. It is more than twice what students in this jurisdiction pay.

Sinn Féin are hypocrites and phoney. Your faux outrage, Angry Pearse, does not convince anybody.

Are fees up or down? Are they more or less than last year? They are more.

We are reducing fees in this jurisdiction. Fees in the North are more than double, and Sinn Féin thought to take to social media to say this was great news. Sinn Féin are hypocrites. People see through it and that is why they are sitting over there, giving out, rather than actually being in government, because they have no credibility on this. They say one thing here and do the exact opposite in Northern Ireland. Shame.

Are fees up or down?

We need to get in on this.