Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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I thank Dr. Kinsella very much and I am aware of the time constraints and I will move quickly onwards. Turning to Social Justice Ireland, I have read its previous pre-budget submissions with interest and I look forward to its next one. One thing that stood out is that in just 15 years, it is expected that more than one in five of our population will be aged over 65. As Sinn Féin spokesperson for older people, I agree with all of Social Justice Ireland's proposals relating to older people, particularly the restoration of cuts to housing aid for older people and for people with different income abilities. Social Justice Ireland has called for multi-annual budgeting, which is something that every group that I have met has mentioned is a barrier to their work. I am interested to hear if Social Justice Ireland has any new proposals in the area of older people that I could assist it with.