Presidential candidate Catherine Connolly TD has criticised reports that the upcoming Budget may include no new cost-of-living supports, describing it as “an extraordinary display of detachment from the daily realities facing families, workers and pensioners.”

Catherine Connolly said:

“The idea that the Government could go into this Budget and offer no direct cost-of- living supports to people who are struggling to keep their heads above water is extraordinary. It tells us how far removed this Government is from the lives of ordinary people.

“Every day, people are choosing between heating and eating. Families are falling behind on rent or mortgage payments. Workers are seeing their pay swallowed up by food and energy costs. Pensioners and carers are counting every euro. This is not stability - it’s survival.”

Connolly said that the Government’s apparent complacency is unacceptable:

“We have a Government that talks about budget surpluses while people queue at food banks and struggle to afford medication. A society cannot be measured by its GDP, but by how it treats those who are struggling the most.

“The cost-of-living crisis is not over just because the headlines have moved on. It is biting hard in every town, village, and city. The Government’s response must be to protect households, not to pretend that the problem has gone away.”

Catherine Connolly said that, as President, she would continue to raise the issue of fairness and equality in economic life:

“The Presidency has the moral authority to speak to the values that underpin our society. As President, I will continue to give voice to those being left behind - to insist that fairness, compassion, and economic justice are placed at the heart of every national decision.”

ENDS

Contact: press@connollyforpresident.ie