We now have the fiscal power to respond to external shocks. That was not always guaranteed. The external environment that we face is clouded in considerable uncertainty. Whatever the developments are in the Middle East over the coming days, the economic fallout of the conflict is likely to persist given the lasting a real damage to energy infrastructure. As a result, the supply-demand imbalance in energy markets is likely to continue for some time. Although we cannot, of course, know the scale of the imbalance, it …

No thought is ever given to how it would fund its endless commitments.

For a week, the airwaves were filled by those who shout the loudest and command the most attention online.

In an age shaped by social media algorithms-----

-----and 24-hour news cycles, it is easy to mistake that volume for consensus.

People feel real pressures but no one in this republic gets to restrict the right of anyone else to move or go about their business.

Beneath the noise, we have the cancer patients who could not get to their chemotherapy-----

We had the expectant mothers who did not get to their check-ups-----

We had the man who did not get to his dialysis appointment.

We had the worker who lost a day’s pay because they could not get to their job.

We had the parents stuck in traffic with screaming kids. We had the business owner who could not open because of a lack of stock.

While we might not have heard from these people much, we know too-----

-----that they are feeling the pressure.

These are people who feel the pressure every day. They get up in the morning, they go to work and they try to get on with it.

There are genuine, hard-working people concerned-----

-----who joined the protests too because they are feeling the pinch, decent people who need our help and assistance. They will remain our focus. They will remain our focus every day, including in our resolutions tonight.

That is what fairness looks like. It is what a strong economy can deliver: real outcomes, a good job and security for you and your family.

This Government has acted. It has acted decisively and it is using its economic strength wisely. Together, we will get through this challenge-----

-----but we will not get through it by seeking to sow division and tear our country apart.

You were on holidays.