Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh míle maith agaibh as ucht teacht isteach chun an choiste. I thank the witnesses for their very interesting presentations. In some ways, I do not know where to start. I might start with the INOU if that is okay. A line from the INOU's opening statement jumped out at me:

.... access to good social welfare and employment supports and services is critical, not only for people who are unemployed but for Ireland’s social and economic development.

That is an important and strong point. Given the pressures people are facing at the moment with inflation, they are living below MESL already. More and more people are being pushed into poverty. We see all the different reports coming out. Barnardos made a presentation in Leinster House in relation to that today. Their focus was the development of the child and the impact it has on children when their parents are not earning enough. People are budgeting as best they can but simply do not have enough money coming in. Can the INOU give a view on the importance of social welfare for society as a whole? It was already below MESL, but now there is a greater impact as a result of higher inflation and higher costs of living. That is my initial question.