Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

They reduce rents when people find themselves on social welfare. We are all familiar with how the system works. I know it is not easy for people who are trying to survive on social welfare, particularly those who suddenly find themselves in difficulties because their outgoings are commensurate with the good incomes they used to enjoy but no longer have. We have always had a commitment to try to protect such people as much as possible. We will continue to assess whether we can reduce the number of children who are in poverty. We have had huge success in that regard over recent years.

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