Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This means a family of four children will be down €58 per month in child benefit cuts alone and a family of 6 children will be down €98. That is a lot of money and will have a crippling effect on families dependent on it. Children and the young families have borne the brunt of the budget.

Less than one month since the passage of the children’s referendum, the reality of the Government’s commitment to children is exposed. I warned the Taoiseach before the referendum that people saw the difference between the Government's rhetoric and the reality of its policies on children. The number of children at risk of poverty and deprivation will rise as a consequence of this budget. A recent report revealed that 10% of households suffer from food poverty. It is a new buzzword that means hunger. I come from a community where mothers and grandmothers have been taken to hospital with malnutrition because they are feeding their children. I am sure it is the same in the Taoiseach's constituency. This budget will make matters worse. Basics such as food, clothing and shelter will become unaffordable for thousands of families. The crisis for families will be exacerbated by the decision to cut the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance by 50%. Does the Taoiseach know what it is like to clothe three or four children going back to school when one is earning the minimum wage? The mark of this Government is the defence of the despicable cut by Deputy Joan Burton, the Minister for Social Protection – mar dhea – who told journalists there is a lot of good value in shops in relation to clothing and footwear. It is easy for the Minister to say that, with a take home pay of €169,000. It shows how the Government is living in a bubble and how its ivory towers are removed from the reality of life of most families.

Our leas-uachtaráin, Deputy McDonald, raised the following point this morning. One of the most despicable decisions of the Government parties is the cut to respite care for children with severe disabilities. An féidir leis an Taoiseach éisteacht liom ar feadh bomaite agus gan a bheith ag caint?

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