Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-06
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

First of all, the Government has provided targeted support. The evidence is there in terms of the free school books at primary and secondary levels. That is a significant measure we have brought in, which this year again will assist many families with what was a major cost for those with children attending primary and secondary school. We have expanded the free hot school meals programme. We have expanded childcare and we need to do more on the childcare front. We have the €280 new baby grant, for example. Hospital inpatient charges were abolished. We have expanded free GP care significantly, particularly for children. In the most recent package, we have significantly provided for a reduction in diesel and petrol that will affect ordinary people.
That is immediate and that is happening. If it was not, their costs would be significantly higher. We have also provided packages for the transport sector of about €40 million per month. There is a €100 million worth of a fuel scheme for farmers, contractors and fishers. Of course, the diesel rebate increased to 12 cent per litre.
We expanded the fuel allowance and increased it to €38 per week. We expanded eligibility and brought in those on the working family payment. Now about 470,000 households benefit from that. The Deputy cannot ignore all that. She does not get to choose which measures Government has introduced to ignore, and just articulate a banal assertion that Government has done nothing. Just because the Deputy keeps saying Government has done nothing does not mean that is true. Clearly, Government has done a lot.
The reality is we have a budget in October. We do not know where this crisis is going or, indeed, the more medium-term consequences of it. We need to hold some resources in reserve for the winter period, at a minimum, and work out how best to systemically cushion the lowest income groups and those who need our support the most.
I support the Deputy's broad principle of targeting. I have challenged others in the House who do not support it but I do. In the budget, we have a far better range of measures so we can arrive at a balanced approach where we can give working people relief but where we can also target measures. We did that in the previous budget with child support payments, which were the highest on record, in terms of what we did there to try to eat into the issue of child poverty. We want to do that consistently over time. We also want to make sure we can reduce the cost of childcare and look again at what we can do in healthcare. Can we add to measures we have taken previously with HRT, free contraception and so on?
If the Deputy wants to blow everything today and spend €2 billion or €3 billion now, she might come back in July and say let us spend another €2 billion. By the time we get to October, there will be €5 billion or €6 billion spent. That is no way to run a country either.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-06/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:54+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-06