At the outset, on behalf of the Social Democrats, I want to extend our very sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Seamus Carroll and his wife, Treasa. Seamus was someone who, when you met him, you were always left with a smile on your face afterwards. He was a very kind, lovely man and he will be very much missed by all of us.

Ní ceart go mbeadh pinsinéirí na tíre seo i ngreim ag an eagla mar gheall go bhfuil costas ró-ard ar an teas ina dtithe. Ní cóir go mbeadh cúis imní ag pinsinéirí na tíre seo agus iad ag téamh a dtithe nó ag cur bia ar an mbord, go háirithe tar éis an uafáis atá déanta acu don tír seo. We are all beginning to wonder what the point of budget day is given that most of the details have been liberally and very publicly leaked in the media. Throughout this torrent of leaks, one detail has remained notably consistent, that pensioners can only expect to see a €7.50 weekly increase in their pensions. That would be a paltry increase which does not even keep pace with inflation. It would tip a huge number of older people, many of whom are already barely scraping by, into poverty. A €7.50 increase would be a clear betrayal of pensioners by both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. During the last election, Fianna Fáil and its coalition partners made a firm commitment to increase the State pension to €350 per week over the lifetime of the Government. Fianna Fáil went even further and said that it would increase core social welfare payments by at least €12 per week every year. Does the Taoiseach not realise that pensioners are relying on him to keep his word? The Government broke its promise at the first available opportunity when pensions last year were only increased by €10, and now it looks like it will be betraying pensioners again.

I have been contacted by a huge number of pensioners who are very anxious and upset at what has been reported. They are already finding things very hard. The price of their food shop is going up every other week and their energy bills are through the roof. Many are living in fear of the coming winter because they have no idea how they are going to keep themselves warm. Their budgets are already stretched to the limit and now the Government is preparing to deal them another hammer blow. Pensioners who have worked hard all their lives should be enjoying their retirement. They should not be lying awake at night worrying about how to pay their grocery bills. An increase of €7.50 would be a betrayal and an insult. This Government has announced nearly every other measure in the budget. Can the Taoiseach now confirm that the Government will not short-change pensioners and will it increase pensions by at least €15 a week?

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. Is léir ón méid atá déanta againn go dtí seo an bhliain seo caite agus na blianta roimhe sin go bhfuilimid sásta mar Rialtas an-chuid tacaíocht agus cabhair a thabhairt do phinsinéirí na tíre seo i ngach aon tslí is féidir linn. Táimid chun é sin a dhéanamh arís sa bhuiséad atá le teacht. Tá sé suimiúil go bhfuil an Teachta ag léamh na bpáipéar nuachtáin lá i ndiaidh lae. Caithfidh sé a bheith amhrasach chomh maith. The Deputy should not believe everything he reads in the newspapers or hang his hat on every report. The reports in respect of the old-age pension, I suggest, may not be accurate at all. I worry about the Deputy's decrying of commentary on the budget or briefings and leakage because he was once a person who advocated very strongly for full transparency from the Government in relation to all measures under consideration. I jest.

There will be a lot of briefing, as there always is before budgets, and speculation and so on but the bottom line is that we are conscious of the cost of living. We are conscious of the impact on a whole range of people. If you look at the social protection budget over the last number of years, it has grown exponentially. We are close to a budget of €2 billion. Last year we concentrated on the carer's disregard and the €10 increase in the old-age pension was well above inflation. We also did significant work on child support payments to deal with child poverty. We saw the largest increases on record there, and in the back-to-school clothing allowances. We also extended the free fuel. The Minister is looking at other ways, in addition to the pension, of helping pensioners in the forthcoming budget. He will be bringing forward proposals in that regard on budget day.

What I would say to the Deputy is, do not believe the reports in the newspapers in respect of pensions because they may not turn out to be accurate. Outside of the pensions, other supports that we introduce through social protection, and through taxation for some pensioners, will be very beneficial to them. We believe strongly in a strong social safety network. We believe strongly in supporting pensioners and over the last six years we have demonstrated that in successive budgets the last Government and this Government have introduced. If you compare our social protection budget with those of comparable member states across the European Union, you will find that we are up there in the top tier of social welfare distribution, the GNI co-efficient and so on. We have a good story to tell in respect of that as a country.

The leaks on the budget are not coming from the Opposition. They are coming from the Government. Where does the Taoiseach think they are coming from? Where does he think those headlines came from? They have pensioners worried sick. Is this just some sort of cynical ploy to manage expectations so that if it the increase is more than €7.50, people are meant to be grateful, even though the Government is breaking its promise of €12? Specifically on the promise that Fianna Fáil gave in the last election, I have the election manifesto here. Does the Taoiseach remember it? It gave, in black and white, a commitment to pensioners of at least a €12 increase in their pension every year that Fianna Fáil is in government.

That is the commitment the Taoiseach gave. He broke it last year. Does he understand that pensioners are relying on him to keep his word? It is not a laughing matter. People are worried sick about how they will make ends meet. Is the Taoiseach going to stick to his word and give a €12 increase, or will he do better by doing what the Social Democrats are proposing, which is to give a €15 increase to pensioners, as provided for in our alternative budget?

First, we recognise the enormous pressure on families and pensioners because of the cost-of-living crisis, which was fundamentally brought about by two major wars, namely, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the 2026 Middle East conflict between the United States and Iran, which really has caused ripples across the entire world in terms of energy prices and knock-on effects on the cost of living.

Last year, we took very significant measures in the budget to protect the most vulnerable, including pensioners, and we will do similarly in the forthcoming budget next week. That is across the board in terms of interventions we have made on energy, which benefit pensioners, by the way, just as they do other sectors of the economy, in terms of the core pension itself and in the form of other measures that affect pensioners. We fully understand that they are under pressure, but the entirety of society, particularly low-income groups, is also under a lot of pressure because of the crisis.

Are you going to stick to your word and give a €12 increase?

We will fulfil the programme for Government over the lifetime of this Government. Of that there is no doubt.

Will you stick to your word?

I did not interrupt the Deputy and he should not be interrupting me. There is a very set protocol in here.

The bottom line is this: the Deputy should not be depending on speculation. Budget day will reveal the full intent of the Government's contribution.