I want to raise a report released by Barnardos in the last week of June, which found that one in five families are cutting back on food because they simply cannot afford it. This means 20% of our population. Parents are skipping meals so their children can eat. Others are reducing portion sizes or going without essentials just to get through the week. I find this really worrying. As the Leader knows, for 20 years I have been working with families across Ireland through Tiglin and I have seen what poverty is like. It is often invisible; it is the mother who says she has eaten but perhaps has not so her kids can eat.

Recently I was on "The Late Debate" on RTÉ and a woman, whose name is Lucia, texted in. She said she was at home and had turned off all the lights and the heating when the kids had gone to bed. She said was listening to the radio because it is the only comfort she has. With the permission of the researcher, I asked whether I could ring her on the way home and they allowed me to do so. It was a fascinating story about how she is trying to make ends meet. People like Lucia lie awake wondering how they are going to get to the next pay day. We often sit in this House discussing GDP, budget surpluses and economic growth, and these are really important, but think about the Lucia standing at the supermarket checkout and putting food back on the shelf because she has run out of money.

The Barnardos report tells us there is a huge concern. Children do not choose the circumstances they are born into but they are experiencing food poverty. I know good initiatives are in place but clearly for too many families it is not enough. I ask the Government to have a debate on food poverty and on the rising cost of living and see whether anything can be done to support families who are doing everything right but are still getting left behind. I have said before that the measure of a compassionate society is how we treat those people who are not doing so well and who cannot afford to put food on the table. Surely in 2026 we can do better than this.