With prices rising and incomes having to stretch further, Mary Ryder said her neighbours in Dublin 8 had been "talking about organising a weekly dinner for the more elderly neighbours in their 80s so they'd at least have a hot meal".
“That’s the level we’re at now with this crisis,” she said.
Ms Ryder was among around 100 senior citizens, single parents, workers and students who gathered outside the Dáil on Thursday in protest at the rising cost of living. The rally was organised by the newly formed Cost of Living Coalition, which is supported by Sinn Féin, People Before Profit, student groups and trade unions, and is demanding action on energy, food and housing costs.
Ms Ryder said she had noticed “a huge increase” in her bills in recent months.
“I have free transport because I’m over 70 but heating and food costs have shot up. You see it in the bills. They’re double the price they were,” she said. “We’re supposed to be getting the €200 credit payment from the Government but I definitely haven’t seen it in this bill.”
Another in attendance, Paul O’Brien, said the impact of inflation, particularly for those reliant on the State pension, was “outrageous”.
“I personally have not really been hit, but only because I had a good occupational pension, but looking at the basics for elderly people on an old age pension and the way they’ve been hit… It’s beyond what people can afford,” he said.
“Inflation hits the poorest the hardest so unless this Government does something to alleviate poverty in this country we’ll be facing a major crisis. They are heaping everything on top of the poorest of society.”
Helen Murphy, from Galway, attended the protest to "represent retired workers and senior citizens" because of the "huge impact" soaring costs are having on them.
“When you retire you spend more time in your home,” she said. “That’s just the reality. Yet people just can’t afford to heat their houses. It’s a disaster and I know an awful lot of people it’s affecting.”
The protest organisers encouraged those demonstrating to bring copies of their household bills to "post back" to the Government. They provided a post box to collect bills and letters, which are to be delivered to Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar.
People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett addressed the protest and led chants including "eating or heating is not a choice". His party previously called for the minimum wage to be raised to €15 per hour. A further protest is planned for June 18th in Dublin.