Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for the submissions from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the Family Carers Association. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is an organisation I would have worked closely with when I worked for Tusla in family support and I know the amazing work the society does. Can the witnesses talk about the impact of Covid on people who would have been in work previously but are now on the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, and are facing a reduction in that payment in the coming weeks and months? Many people with whom I would have spoken have lost a lot of their savings. They have used a lot of their savings up and are really struggling to make ends meet and meet the costs of rent, mortgages and all of those payments people face.

The witnesses spoke about just transition. It is a really important issue because many people on the margins and people who are really struggling are now faced with higher bills when winter arrives. We have strange weather. Somebody coming in this morning would have known that it was absolutely freezing. People will be putting the heating on as children are going to school, which is impacting severely on people. I would be very concerned that as carbon taxes on individuals increase, people must cope with these taxes but there is a section of society composed of working families who simply will not be able to pay them, particularly those who use cars.

Regarding funding for policy, community development is one of my briefs. I was interested in policy development. I read that there is a review in terms of funding for developing social policy. Why would the witnesses be concerned that this funding would be cut because I know they mentioned it? Is this a significant concern for the witnesses or are they just flagging that?

I worked as a family support worker for Tusla and would have come across very many children and teenagers who are caring for adults. I note that there are no statistics I have seen so far relating to this so how big do the witnesses think this problem is? I know we are talking about funding but there is no funding for young people to help them to care for their parents who are in need.