Dr. Se?n Healy:

The MESL number is €290. That is the ideal. This is an issue society needs to work on. Do we want everybody in society to have enough to live with dignity? What is that number? For an individual, it is €290 per week. The current welfare rate is €220 per week. In an ideal context, we see €290 as the basic rate but we are not arguing for that because it may have to be worked towards. We have strongly argued in the welfare discussion----