John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach may be aware of a situation where a man who has spent two weeks outside the Dáil is now on the 23rd day of a hunger strike. He has been taken home by his family to his home in Trim, County Meath and although weak, he is continuing his protest. A number of Deputies from different parties, including Deputies Barry Cowen, Willie O'Dea, Clare Daly and others, have spoken to this man and tried to persuade him to end his protest. I have a doctor's note which was sent to me at 2.09 p.m. today. It states this man's blood pressure is extremely low at 78/67 and that he has lost 29 lbs in weight.

This was not to be my Leaders' Question today but I was approached by his partner, his mother, his father and his friends, who asked me to ask the Taoiseach to intervene. There are two questions. Tony Rochford is the man in question and he is self-employed. As we are aware, if a person is self-employed and unable to work, it is almost impossible to receive State support. In other words, most people who are self-employed and lose their jobs cannot receive unemployment benefit. This is an ongoing issue that was to be dealt with over recent years but it has not been dealt with. Under present economic circumstances, this has driven many people, through no fault of their own, into dire financial hardship, where they are relying on the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and other agencies for support. Will the Taoiseach address this problem?

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