Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Nearly everything has been covered. The Barnardos Lost campaign has been very effective. It should continue in that vein. It really focuses on the losses of children in poverty. It is really effective.

I will touch on the issue of the austerity cuts. We are coming up to the budget, which is why the witnesses are here lobbying for us to put forward some of these ideas. We have to have a conversation about whether money should go on tax cuts or into areas where people have been particularly affected by the austerity cuts to bring them up to the level they were at before 2008. The increase in cost of living expenses and things like fuel price increases will put more pressure on people who are in poverty. It will cause a lot of financial pressures and emotional pressure on families trying to deal with these costs. We have to broaden that conversation out particularly in the run-up to the budget. I have made the point there should not be any tax cuts because it does not benefit those who need it. There should be an anti-poverty strategy to bring people back to the level they were at before the austerity cuts. There has been real structural damage to families over that period and ten years of it has caused major psychological and health problems. What are the witnesses' thoughts on that?

The €5 per week that Barnardos is calling for will cost €45.6 million.

Given recent announcements on gas and electricity prices, would such an increase be enough?

The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017, which is before the Dáil, can play a role, particularly for lone parents working in the retail sector. The banded hours provision might help workers to access a certain number of hours within a specific period. It was disappointing that an amendment on offering additional hours to workers in the retail sector was lost because the inability to work extra hours when necessary is causing poverty. This was a blow for people. The banded hours provision is a step in the right direction in any case.

I do not know whether Barnardos and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul have considered banding together to put forward an anti-poverty strategy targeting particular areas for funding. A €5 cut in tax will not make any difference to anybody, whereas targeting money into areas will make a difference. We should make that argument in the Dáil and here.