Child poverty and energy costs
Mary Lou McDonald returned to child poverty and asked for further energy-cost supports, citing Barnardos figures and hardship among families. The Taoiseach said poverty levels had fallen under Government policies before the crisis reversed progress, and pointed to budget measures already taken.
I hope the Taoiseach and his colleagues, rather than answering individual questions, will make a comprehensive statement on these matters.
The levels of child poverty in the State are absolutely unacceptable. We have seen the worsening situation for workers and families laid bare in a report by Barnardos, published this morning. The Taoiseach is probably familiar with its key findings. One in ten parents have used a food bank over the past year. That is double the rate for last year. One in five parents have not had enough food at some point to feed the children. Twenty-nine percent of parents are skipping meals so their children have enough to eat. This is Ireland in 2023, on the Taoiseach's watch. Families were already saddled with out-of-control rents, heating bills and so on. Child poverty, food poverty and wider poverty can be resolved but only if there is political resolve to do so. This is an issue that impacts not only families in receipt of social welfare but also families with one or both parents working. What package will the Taoiseach consider to include a living wage?
We need a spring bonus for social welfare recipients.
Comment on this
We also need further supports in respect of energy costs. Will the Taoiseach put together such a package and, if so, when will he announce it?
Comment on this
Levels of child poverty in Ireland are too high. They had been falling for several years on the Government's watch. I am sorry the Deputy was not willing to acknowledge that but they had been consistently falling because of the policies we pursued as a Government. Over the past year, the cost-of-living crisis has changed that and I acknowledge that many families are now really struggling to make ends meet in a way they were not only a year ago. We did a lot to help in the budget. This included increases in pension and welfare payments, reductions in income tax and in costs such as childcare fees, and with the rent credit. Over the coming weeks, we will examine what we can do to help people in the spring.