John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)

It is estimated that 10% of the population receive almost 14 times more in disposable income than the poorest who are experiencing the worst income distribution for over 30 years. Some 200,000 children live in poverty. My question is straightforward. Based on the comments of organisation such as Social Justice Ireland and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a huge number of the people suffering from poverty are unemployed and in receipt of social welfare. It is inconceivable to consider reducing social welfare rate based on much of what the Minister said when she was in opposition and what fine organisations such as Social Justice Ireland and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul have stated. As we are in the final week of the Dáil session and before the Cabinet decides on the budget, I ask the Minister to relieve people's misery, because of the speculation and comment in some of the right-wing press that social welfare rates should be cut, by telling the 450,000 who rely on an income on which they can barely survive that their payments will not be touched or cut in the next budget.

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