John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Like Deputy Willie O'Dea, I welcome Ms Fahey and Ms Feely to this morning’s meeting. Since I was elected in February, I have met both organisations. I have to put my cards on the table with regard to most, if not all, of the measures which both organisations have put forward. I agree with them, as does my party. We will be launching our pre-budget submission in the next week or so and most of the measures touched on in these pre-budget submissions today will be addressed by my party, as they have been in previous years.

I commend both organisations on the work they do in picking up the broken pieces the State has left behind. Those pieces are, unfortunately, families, older people and other marginalised people who have been forgotten about. The statistics show clearly they are the ones bearing the brunt. Families, older people, lone parents - 60% of individuals from lone-parent households - are the most susceptible to poverty. I commend the work of both organisations and the volunteers who work on the ground helping out people every day who go above and beyond their duty.

The winter fuel allowance payment period was cut back from 32 weeks to 26 weeks. While there were marginal increases last year to address that aspect, the payment is not staying with the rate of inflation. We know how much fuel costs have increased over the past several years. Up to 28% of households across the State experience fuel poverty. We heard the examples outlined in the submissions and I am sure we could all reiterate many cases of fuel poverty we have encountered. These are real people rationing the amount of fuel they burn. They go to bed when the ration of fuel runs out. They are, for example, travelling on trains and sitting in public buildings to keep warm. We have all come across such cases. In 2008, the assistance the Society of St. Vincent de Paul gave to helping out families with energy costs came to €3.8 million.

That figure jumped to €10 million in 2013. At the same time, cuts to the fuel allowance were introduced by successive Governments. This issue certainly needs to be addressed in the forthcoming budget. I take on board the proposal about a bulk payment. I know some fuel companies allow customers to buy oil by the barrel or bucket at an increased cost. That is something I am only too willing to examine and take on board. The fuel allowance needs to be increased from 26 weeks. We need to start reversing the cuts that have been implemented.

We know the old age pension qualification age was pushed out to 66 and we are aware of the impact this has had. The State transition pension was removed in 2012. I know Age Action Ireland has looked at this. People who have hit retirement age after working all their lives are now forced to apply for jobseeker's allowance. A total of 2,590 men and women aged 65 have signed on for jobseeker's allowance - more than any other category. This sets off alarm bells. These people are locked out of drawing down their State pension for a year - a pension for which they have paid contributions during their working lives - and are forced on claim jobseeker's allowance. A total of 2,590 people fit into that category, which is a serious problem. The abolition of the State transition pension has compounded the difficulties. These older people are less well off by least €45 than someone in receipt of the State pension. This area has been highlighted and needs to be addressed.

PRSI contributions have increased from 260 to 520. Again, this compounds the difficulties for our older population in respect of accessing the State pension and getting the full entitlement. The committee needs to get its teeth into this issue. I know there was a discussion on that matter earlier.

One of the meanest cuts affecting the older population was the removal of the bereavement grant. It was a small payment of €850 to help people bury a loved one. This cut has had an impact across the board. We know there is discretion on the part of community welfare officers to help out in situations like that but it is at their discretion. The removal of the bereavement grant has hit so many people at a time when they are at their most vulnerable. It is forcing them into further debt and, in many cases, into the arms of loan sharks. This matter needs to be considered. Hopefully, the Minister has taken on board the submissions and will seek to reverse the cut.

I have met the Irish League of Credit Unions and I welcome the fact that we have micro-credit loans. I spoke to some people during the week who told me that not all credit unions have signed up providing such loans, which is disappointing. Micro-credit loans are a fantastic source of funds for people who might have poor credit ratings or who might be dealing with certain organisations that charge exorbitant interest rates on loans. More needs to be done to encourage all credit unions to sign up to the scheme to ensure that marginalised and vulnerable people can get cheap and affordable loans from credit unions.

The statistics show clearly that lone parents are, by far, the most susceptible to poverty. The fact is that 97,000 children are in a constant state of poverty. It was interesting when the Minister attended our previous meeting and I asked him what specific measures the Government had to tackle poverty, in particular child poverty. He started to give me a lecture on the definition of poverty instead of giving a specific answer on the measures the Government was going to put in place. I have put down parliamentary questions to the Minister asking what specific measures the Government will introduce to deal with poverty and again I have been given lectures on the improving economy. Unless a specific measure is introduced, we will be looking, unfortunately, at all of these issues again. I am asking about the whole issue of lone parents, the changes to the one-family payment and the impact on lone parents once a child hits seven years of age. We know all of the stories and the case examples that have been given. It is an issue that requires serious intervention and one which the committee will have to get its teeth into. My party will be bringing forward specific measures in its pre-budget submission. Hopefully, some of them will be taken on board by the Government.

Another timely issue on which I want to focus is the cost of sending children back to school. We have seen the figures from the different surveys that have been carried out. It can cost up to €900 to send a child back to primary school. For secondary school, it can cost up to €1,500. Cuts have been made to the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance. In 2011, it was cut from €200 to €150, which has had an impact. If one looks again at the breakdown of expenditure set out by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, one can see that the demand for assistance from organisations like that spikes when cuts have been made by Government. Expenditure on households and needs from St. Vincent de Paul has increased by 27% since 2009. We do not have a specific breakdown to hand, but perhaps we can get one for education to see how much is being spent to help families send their children back to school. We see that where cuts have been implemented, the demands on organisations like St. Vincent de Paul spikes. I echo the call to increase the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance. I am again critical of the Minister because when I asked him specific questions in the Dáil, he provided false arguments on the Six Counties, which is not comparing like with like, instead of answering. Education is free in the Six Counties which it is not down here given the cost of school uniforms, books, iPads and other associated IT.