We extend a very warm welcome to the students of the Holy Faith school in Glasnevin who are in the Public Gallery. They are very welcome.

There is real anger among workers and families pushed to the brink by the cost of living. People are working and paying their way yet they are falling further behind with each passing week. We finally have a very frank admission from the Minister for public expenditure, Jack Chambers. He now admits that last year's budget - in his own words - did not give workers a break. There it is. The Taoiseach's own Minister is finally saying out loud what we have been telling him for six months - what the Taoiseach has been denying for six months - that his €9.4 billion budget did absolutely nothing for ordinary working people. In fact, it left them worse off.

That budget drove the deep anger and frustration we now see across the State. As prices were rising and bills were mounting, while working families were under the most severe pressure, the Government withdrew supports. It abandoned its election promises one after another, and it left people high and dry. The Taoiseach had the resources and he made the wrong call. Now the consequences are everywhere. Workers are squeezed, households are stretched to breaking point, people are cutting back on basics and making impossible choices, wondering how they will get through the week, not to mind the next month.

The Taoiseach's own Minister now admits the truth. Will the Taoiseach do the same? Will he admit that he got it wrong? Will he accept that his poor decision-making left working people exposed to the full force of this cost-of-living crisis? Let us be clear. The Government did not just fail to help people but it made things worse. Workers were punished but others did very well - corporate landlords and the banks. Big funds were protected. Those at the top were well looked after. That was the Government's political choice. That was the Taoiseach's personal priority. The Government withdrew supports and then it piled on the costs and increased the charges. School transport costs are up. The junior and leaving certificates were reintroduced, and all of it landing on those same people - the workers and families who are already struggling. The Government does not listen or understand. It is out of touch with the reality of people's lives.

The Taoiseach's Minister now says that everything is on the table for the next budget. Everything. Let us test that. Is his promise to cut the USC on the table - a promise he broke? For low and middle income workers, the USC is a constant drag on wages. Every extra shift and every extra hour worked is taxed again. It punishes work and eats into pay packets.

D'admhaigh an tAire, an Teachta Chambers, nach raibh aon fhaoiseamh d’oibrithe sa bhuiséad deireannach. Táimid á rá sin leis an Taoiseach le sé mhí anuas. An féidir leis glacadh leis sin anois faoi dheireadh? An aontaíonn sé lena Aire féin?

Having failed workers last October, is the Taoiseach seriously asking them now to wait until next January to see any support from him? The crisis is now. It is immediate. It is being felt every single day at kitchen tables across the country. People cannot wait.

As a result of the budget last year, public expenditure will rise by 8.6%. That is not failing anybody. That is a very high increase in investment in public services that all workers benefit from - families and people generally. It is investment in education, health, childcare and right across the board but most critically in housing. Housing remains the number one issue facing our country. We put unprecedented investment into housing so that young working people could benefit from significant supports, from the help to buy scheme, the first home scheme and the rental tax credit. We introduced a significant range of supports to increase housing supply so that young people could be in a position to buy and rent houses they could afford. We will continue to relentlessly pursue the housing question.

In the budget we also, critically, put huge investment into infrastructure. We need new roads, a metro and public transport. All of that helps workers. That is the strategic decision we took to make sure there would be unprecedented investment in water, the electricity grid for electricity and energy, and in terms of road infrastructure and public transport.

Deputy McDonald ignores all of that because she does not adopt a strategic approach to jobs or to the economy. She should always remember that the most important thing in life is that we have an economy that can provide jobs to people. Last year 57,000 extra jobs were created in the economy, which is for working people. They are jobs that will enable them to navigate life, notwithstanding the pressures.

We did not forecast the war in the Middle East. I listened to Deputy McDonald yesterday and today and she ignored the fact there is a war in the Middle East, which is directly impacting fuel prices. That has led to the increase in fuel and has also impacted on other issues. It will filter into other parts of the economy, which is impacting on workers and on families more generally. That is why we announced a €750 million package, which will help workers, farmers and contractors. Food production is very important. The general excise duties will help also.

We also increased the State pensions by €10 in the budget. We increased child support payments. Deputy McDonald ignores that. It was the biggest increase ever. The families of children aged 12 plus get €16 extra, bringing it to €78 per week, while there is an extra €8 for the families of children under 12, bringing it to €58 per week. That was to deal with child poverty because we did prioritise child poverty, along with housing and infrastructure.

We also prioritised disability. An extra €500 million was allocated to disability services. We increased the domiciliary care allowance by an extra €20. We made choices to support and target our resources at those most in need, and those sectors that needed significant investment.

We increased the fuel allowance by €5 per week. We extended it by a month and we brought 50,000 working families into the fuel allowance for the first time ever, which will help them in some shape or form, and alleviate pressure on them. In terms of energy, we also extended the reduction in VAT. We had reduced VAT to 9% on gas and electricity. We have now extended that out to December 2030. We have record funding for home energy upgrades, which benefits many workers. A total of €558 million was allocated in the budget.

Deputy McDonald mentioned education, schooling and so on. We now have free GP care for children under the age of eight. Every individual aged 70 and over has automatic eligibility to a GP visit card.

I thank the Taoiseach. I call Deputy McDonald. The Taoiseach can come back in.

We have free school books and free hot school meals across every single school in the country-----

I thank the Taoiseach. His time is up. I call Deputy McDonald.

-----which benefits workers, working families and society at large.

The Taoiseach's response is very telling because he ignores the immediate reality of people's lives.

Hear, hear.

He ignores the fact that hundreds of thousands of households cannot pay their electricity bills; that families the length and breadth of the country are struggling with their rent, grocery bills, and to put bread on the table. He does not want to know that. There is nothing strategically positive about leaving people in poverty. There is nothing good about creating that level of stress or hardship for families and workers across the country. The Taoiseach's own Minister accepts that. He has said out loud what we all know: that the last budget failed working people and families. He has said and accepted that. How very telling that the Taoiseach cannot accept that.

He turns his face away from the people he should serve. He turns his face away from the reality of their lives.

I thank the Deputy.

It seems, no matter how hard it gets-----

I call on the Taoiseach to respond.

-----Fianna Fáil and Micheál Martin, are quite happy to let people struggle on but people will not tolerate that-----

The Deputy’s time is up.

-----and the Taoiseach will get his response again.

Hear, hear.

Tá cogadh ar siúl. Tá a fhios ag an Teachta é sin. Níl aon amhras ach go bhfuil brú faoi leith ar theaghlaigh ar fud na tíre agus ar mhuintir na tíre de dheasca an chogaidh atá ar siúl agus ardú praghsanna de dheasca an chogaidh sin.

The Deputy has ignored and failed to mention the fact that the war in the Middle East has been a significant factor in the increase in fuel prices. Everybody knows that except her. Equally, she attacked measures in the budget that targeted the poorest working families and the poorest in society. She did not believe in targeting. She wants universality across the board.

The Taoiseach is completely out of touch.

She had a similar approach to Liz Truss on the energy question.

The Taoiseach is completely out of touch. Does he actually pay bills?

We have-----

Does he go to the supermarket?

The Taoiseach’s time is up.

Sorry but I did not interrupt the Deputy. She has always had an inability to allow other people to speak because she does not like the truth.

Fair hearing, Taoiseach.

All I am saying is that we know people are under pressure.

Do you?

That is why we introduced the €750 million package.

Do you?

That is why we introduced the €2 billion-----

No, you do not.

-----social protection package to protect pensioners and workers who needed support.

I thank the Taoiseach. I call Deputy Bacik.

We will do more, and we will do more in the next budget, just as we did in previous budgets.

When?

Next year.