Yesterday the Taoiseach told working people and families struggling to get by to wait until next year's budget. He might help them then or he might not - wait and see. That was his message. The consequences of that indifference were exposed yesterday. While the Taoiseach downplayed the pressure on households, the regulator released startling figures. The number of households behind on their electricity bills has shot up again. Listen to this. Some 316,838 households were behind on their electricity bill in February. That is frightening. More than half of these households are in debt for over 90 days and the number is growing. More and more households find it harder to pay their electricity bill, find it harder to get back on track and the fear of disconnection is real. As a matter of fact, 197 households have already been disconnected this year. Many are forced to switch to pay-as-you-go meters where they end up paying the most expensive tariffs and bills. These are families who do everything and are desperate to keep up but they just find themselves in awful situations and the Taoiseach's Government – Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael – simply shrugs its shoulders.

The crisis did not fall out of the sky. The Taoiseach knows it has been getting worse, so how can he not accept the need for an emergency budget? How can he not see the need for energy credits? Last October, we told him that cancelling energy credits in his budget was a terrible decision. The regulator warned him that even more households would struggle to pay their bills as a result of his decision but the Taoiseach ignored those warnings. He withdrew the credits anyway and he left households terribly exposed. He stood idly by as big energy companies, one after the other, hiked their electricity prices up and up and now his energy Minister tells people to brace themselves for even further electricity price increases. There are households in arrears, sky-high prices, fear of disconnection and more price hikes to come.

Today’s CSO report makes clear that people cannot wait until next year’s budget. It tells them what they already knew - that the cost of living is getting worse. Food prices and energy prices are up and pressure on families has increased and the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, sits back and watches. The damage and hardship caused by withdrawing energy credits is plain to see but he does not listen. He does not recognise that he got it wrong. He does not accept that action is now needed. That is not a real or sustainable response. He needs to stop doubling down. Help is needed. Energy credits are urgent.

Ní féidir leis na céadta mílte daoine a mbillí leictreachais a íoc ach fós tá Fianna Fáil agus Fine Gael ag diúltú gníomhú. Tá cabhair ag teastáil ó dhaoine láithreach. Tá cáinaisnéis éigeandála ag teastáil anois.

Families are now asking how bad things have to get before the Taoiseach wakes up. How many families have to fall behind in their electricity bills before he acts? What is the number? Is the number 400,000? Is it half a million? What number spells crisis for the Taoiseach? For every single one of these households, the crisis is now - it is today. They cannot wait until next year’s budget, so the Taoiseach must act. We need an emergency budget now. Families desperately need energy credits now.

Hear, hear.

First, I join the Ceann Comhairle in welcoming the Polish community in the Gallery in celebrating their constitution day. I pay tribute to Deputy Malcolm Byrne, in particular, who is the convenor of the Irish Polish parliamentary group. I welcome the ambassador to-be Mr. Artur Michalski to the House.

I fully reject the Deputy’s analysis of the situation. The first point I would make is that yet again she is ignoring that fact that we are facing a major dislocation of oil supply and disruption because of a war in the Middle East. What is her problem in acknowledging the war in the Middle East?

That is rhetorical and there will be no interruptions.

Since the war broke out, the Deputy keeps pretending it has not happened.

Not true.

It is almost as if she is living in a parallel universe. We have a huge issue-----

What is the Taoiseach going to do about it?

-----as have the world and Europe because of that war which is following on earlier shocks, in terms of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the energy crisis that happened then. We need a Government-----

We do need a Government.

-----and we need a political response that understands the seismic potential damage of this crisis. The Deputy is ignoring it and that is irresponsible and negligent. Anybody I meet, at European level or anywhere, is very concerned about not only the short-term impact but the medium- and long-term impacts to the world of this energy shock crisis. That is not overstating it - that is what people are saying.

We have allocated around €750 million on top of a budget last year that was substantial in terms of public expenditure, and I will deal with that in a second. We just announced one of the highest packages, so we are not ignoring anybody and we are not holding back. We have allocated one of the largest packages across the European Union to alleviate pressures that undoubtedly are on families. We decided strategically to look at the food production sector, so we can continue food production at some affordable prices and the haulage industry in terms of our export economy and also getting goods on shelves in an affordable way. Those packages are substantial by any yardstick.

Then the general reduction in excise duty of 32 cent on diesel and 27 cent on petrol is helping to alleviate pressures. However, the pressures are undoubtedly there, of that there is no doubt. What the Deputy wants to do is spend about €3 billion to €4 billion now.

Yesterday.

Please, Deputy.

What happens in October if this crisis does not abate? What happens in January? What happens our housing investments or our investments across in education, health and childcare? The USC brings in €5 billion to €6 billion. The Deputy wants something for everyone in the audience. She wants universal energy credits. She wants to give credits to the wealthiest in society. She does not believe in targeting anymore. Her measures, if they were brought in, would bring about 2% or 2.5% to inflation. We know who suffers most when inflation goes up - it is lowest income groups. That is not politically fanciful for the Deputy. She has a by-election coming and she wants to win as many votes as she can, so she wants to say, "Let us spend €4 billion and give it out to everybody."

That is what she is doing. Let us be under no illusion that that is what is afoot here.

We have to think even short term to October. We should be looking at more permanent measures that help to alleviate the cost of living. Tá géarghá é sin a dhéanamh. Tá an-chuid déanta againn agus tá níos mó le déanamh againn dan dabht. It is not next year's budget but next October's budget, which is a number of months away.

That will not take effect until January.

No, not necessarily, and the Deputy knows that is not the truth either. We know that we have to help people over next winter, which will be a crucial period, but we are going to do it in a measured, sensible way, not Sinn Féin's way, which is the Liz Truss way,-----

I call Deputy McDonald. I thank the Taoiseach, but his time is up.

-----which nearly blew the British economy apart. That is where Sinn Féin is going.

The number of households in arrears that I quoted to the Taoiseach come from February. That predates the Trump-Netanyahu attacks on Iran. That has made matters worse, which I absolutely acknowledge. What the Taoiseach cannot acknowledge is what the regulator and the CSO are telling the Government directly today, namely, that the cost-of-living crisis is getting worse, including for groceries and energy, and families are struggling. I have given the Taoiseach the figures for the level of arrears. They are terrifying. The Government has allocated diddly-squat - sweet feck all - for working families.

Hear, hear.

That is the truth and families know it. I put it to you directly that your attitude of sitting back and watching this unfold is not acceptable. We need measures now. One of them is energy credits.

The Taoiseach to respond.

That matter is absolutely clear.

I remind Deputies-----

Why do you refuse to act to protect workers and families-----

Deputy McDonald's time is up.

-----in this situation? You are negligent,-----

I call the Taoiseach to respond.

-----not me.

Hear, hear.

Through the Chair, please.

Hold on a second. The budget that we announced last year-----

The Government took away the energy credits.

Please, Deputies, allow the response without interruption.

We have introduced permanent measures that reduce the cost of living. In terms of healthcare, we eliminated all hospital charges. In terms of education, there are free primary schoolbooks.

That is why arrears are up.

Sorry, but if I have to interrupt-----

In terms of primary schools, there are free hot school meals. These are measures that matter. We have expanded the back to school allowance and so on.

The Deputies are speaking out of both sides of their mouths now.

In terms of the fuel allowance, we expanded that.

Family carers are not getting it.

The Deputies have to keep interrupting because they do not like the truth, but 450,000 working families benefit from the fuel allowance. We brought in the working family payment within that. We have done very effective, targeted measures, including free contraception, HRT, and going right through the health services.

These all reduce the cost of living for working families. Sinn Féin chooses to ignore that.

Get out of your bubble. Get out of your bubble.

I welcome at long last that Sinn Féin has acknowledged that there is a war in the Middle East. That is progress from its perspective-----

Enough. Thank you, Taoiseach. Time is up.

-----but I do not accept Sinn Féin's approach to how to resolve the issues for people.

The Taoiseach is making a show of himself.

Before I call Deputy Bacik, I will remind Members not to come to meetings where we all speak out of both sides of our mouths about interruptions. They know the rules. Interruptions are not allowed.

Is that not what that means? It is about----

Each Member is entitled to a fair hearing and each Member will get it.